Cole Milliken’s summer leading into his senior year of high school was memorable. The Lebanon Yellowjacket generated stats like over 1.000 OPS.
Lebanon’s first-year head coach knew he had a standout player on his squad come the spring.
“I would be lying if I said that Cole wasn’t one of the reasons that I took the job,” said Lebanon Head Baseball Coach Alex Wheeler.
Milliken’s first few weeks of the high school season didn’t pan out to his standards.
Rather than letting that get the best of him, he found motivation and wrote it under the bill of his hat.
“You’re the only kid to hit the Texas kid because Milli hits, even if things are going bad, remember that,” Milliken said as he read the message he wears on gamedays.
Milliken’s 17U coach sent him that text after one of his many great outings over the summer. In this case, going 3-for-3 against a pitcher committed to Texas.
“Ever since I wrote it down, I’ve been hitting the ball like I always do,” Milliken said.
Something so simple in writing resonates a lot for the senior. Just like the note he wrote to his future self when he was 11 years old.
“When I was in the fifth grade, I wrote a little letter, and I said I wanted to play at Missouri State when I got older. That’s just been my dream school,” Milliken said.
Milliken is signed to play for the Baseball Bears, the dream becoming a reality. He says that his emotions were everywhere when Missouri State expressed interest.
“It can be nerve-wracking and exciting,” Milliken said. “You have the pressure of playing in the summer and all that, but you just have to stay positive and let it all work out.”
Even after putting the pen to paper, Milliken’s work ethic has not come to a halt.
“I want to give all my effort into hitting, after practice, taking ground balls,” the Yellowjacket said.
The end of Milliken’s senior year is around the corner, with the infielder nearing a 1.000 OPS yet again. With a positive attitude and some extra motivation, not once did a slump get in his way.
