Think of how unusual it would be if, in the span of 10 days come July, an area of the country would have an 18-year-old taken in the first round of the National Hockey League draft, and another 18-year-old taken in the first round of the Major League Baseball draft.
Well, it’s a definite possibility for the Pittsburgh area this summer — and it would be a rather Cole and Cooley thing.
The athletes from the Pittsburgh area are hockey player Logan Cooley and baseball player Cole Young. Now, Cooley isn’t technically from a Pittsburgh area high school because top-level hockey players don’t play high school hockey in Western Pa. They play on elite travel teams and in Juniors, and that’s what Cooley did. But Cooley was born and raised in West Mifflin.
Then there’s Young, a shortstop at North Allegheny High School in McCandless who is a senior and been a starter since his freshman year. He lives in Franklin Park.
Although Cooley doesn’t attend West Mifflin High School, for the sake of comparisons, think about how North Allegheny and West Mifflin schools are only 24 miles apart.
As for their talent, Cooley is definitely a first-rounder. Heck, there’s even a chance he could be the first player taken in the NHL draft, which is set for July 7-8 in Montreal. The MLB draft is July 17-19 in Los Angeles.
There is no doubt Cooley will be a first-round pick. He could be the first player taken overall. Two weeks ago, the NHL’s Central Scouting bureau released its final pre-draft rankings for North American skaters, North American goalies, European skaters and European goalies. Cooley was ranked the No. 2 North American skater. Most mock drafts have him going anywhere from No. 2 to No. 5.
Only one Pittsburgh-area hockey player has ever been taken in the first round of the NHL draft. J.T. Miller is from Pittsburgh — sort of. He spent most of his childhood in East Palestine, Ohio, but moved to Moon as a teenager and played youth hockey in Pittsburgh, mostly for the Pittsburgh Hornets, who are now part of Pittsburgh Elite. He was taken with the 15th pick in the 2011 draft.
You could say Cooley is Western Pennsylvania hockey’s version of WPIAL football’s Terrelle Pryor (Jeannette class of 2008), Lavar Arrington (North Hills 2007), Brian Davis (Washington 1985) and Bill Fralic (Penn Hills 1981). They were all considered by publications as the No. 1 player in the country. That’s what Cooley is to hockey. It’s just that he didn’t play high school hockey here.
Cooley showed his outstanding talents again recently when he played for the U.S. in the World Under-18 Championships. He scored 10 points in six games, helping the U.S. to a silver medal.
As for Young, Baseball America ranks him the No. 21 prospect, among high school and college players, for the draft. MLB.com did a mock draft May 11 and had Young going at No. 21.
Baseball America’s mock draft April 1 had Young going No. 24. But a more recent Baseball America draft did not have Young in the first round.
But no matter what happens with Young, if Cooley goes in the first round of the NHL draft, that would mean the Pittsburgh area will have had an athlete taken in the first round of the draft in the four professional leagues in the past six years. And yes, that includes the NBA. Imagine that. That’s an amazing fact for Western Pa. And all but Cooley played in the WPIAL.
Here are the players with Western Pa. ties who were first-round draft picks, either out of high school or college, in the sports of football, baseball and basketball since 2017.
NFL
2017: Malik Hooker, New Castle High School (Ohio State), 15th pick
NBA
2019: Cam Johnson, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (North Carolina), 11th pick
MLB
2021: Will Bednar, Mars (Mississippi State), 14th pick
2020: Austin Hendrick, West Allegheny, 12th pick
2017: Brendan McKay, Blackhawk (Louisville), 4th pick
2016: Alex Kirilloff, Plum, 15th pick
First Published: May 18, 2022, 6:30 p.m.
