Pauley Making Big Jumps On The Mound

Cole Pauley RHP / SS / Lexington, OH / 2022

LEXINGTON - Football in the fall meant no baseball for Cole Pauley.

“I’m the quarterback and I wanted to focus on that,” related the Lexington sophomore. “But as soon as it was over, it was back to baseball.”

The 6-0 175-pounder has made the most of his time since then.

“One of the biggest things I’ve improved is my velo,” noted the fifth-rated uncommitted right-handed pitcher in Ohio’s 2022 class, who credited lifting with the football team and trainer Dean Taylor with contributing to the jump. “At the end of last year I maxed out at 80-84, but now I’m up to 89. It’s taken a lot of work, but I don’t plan on slowing down my work ethic.”

Although no visits have been made, the 28th-ranked sophomore in the state has attended camps at Ohio State, Wright State and Ashland, with Cincinnati, Toledo, Miami, Ball State and Ohio U others that have been in contact.

“They like my work ethic and by fastball,” Pauley said. “I’m just being myself and building a relationship with them. They liked when I told them the story about the customized glove by my grandma.”

A green color representing Lymphoma with a pink lining for breast cancer, the glove also has the name “sandjoy41” on it in honor of his grandma, Sandra Joyce Pauley, who passed away in January of 2019.

“She loved baseball and was at every game she could be,” Pauley noted about his grandma, who was born in 1941, hence the 41 on the glove. “She meant everything to me. Every minute I got to spend with her meant the world to me. I miss her a lot.”

Obviously, family has been a big part of Pauley’s life.