The Cincinnati Reds took right-handed pitcher Tanner Cooper off the board in the 35th round of the 2019 MLB Draft. Cooper graduated from Canandaigua Academy in 2017 and was named to the All-State team twice as a high school baseball player.

Congrats to another incoming signee, Tanner Cooper, as the @Reds tabbed him in the 35th round! #DiamondLions pic.twitter.com/CTvX2d7vqa— Penn State Baseball (@PennStateBASE) June 5, 2019

Cooper originally started his college baseball career at Stony Brook University before transferring to Finger Lakes Community College for his sophomore season. The 6’3″, 215-pound pitcher dominated during his second year of college ball at FLCC, racking up 136 strikeouts in just 72.1 innings, finishing with a 1.62 ERA.

Cooper is cruising through three with 7 strikeouts. Fr. OF Al Xapsos gives @FLCCBaseball the lead with an RBI single in the bottom of the third.

After three complete, FLCC leads 1-0#PBRGroundForces @PBRNewYork pic.twitter.com/wFInqz0Gvu— PBR_NY_Scout_Weitzel (@ny_pbr) May 11, 2019

On the offensive side of the plate, Cooper proved his worth as a two-way player by batting .411 with plenty of extra base hits. He also added 71 RBIs throughout the season before committing to Penn State in November 2018. Cooper’s slated to arrive in Happy Valley for the upcoming fall semester. Now, the Nittany Lion commit will have to choose between playing rookie ball for the Cincinnati Reds or refining his skills in Happy Valley.