BATON ROUGE – Shannon Cooke signed with West Ham United Women’s professional club on Tuesday afternoon.
“I am thrilled for Shannon to be signing pro with one of the top clubs in England,” said head coach Sian Hudson. “Shannon was an outstanding player and ambassador for us during her 5 years in Purple and Gold and I know this is just the start of a long professional career for her.”
“I know how much it means to Shannon to be back in England close to her family and what better way than to be playing for such a historic club like West Ham, who’s at the very top of the game in the English Women’s Super League. West Ham is not only getting an outstanding player, but also a great character and leader and I look forward to watching Shannon accomplish all her goals in the game.”
Cooke, a native of Rickmansworth, England, will play in her home country as she continues her soccer career at the professional level. The defender committed to a long-term contract with the club, signing a two and a half year contract.
Last season, Cooke completed her fifth and final season with the Tigers. As co-captain of the squad, she was an important piece to the roster and in the backline. The fifth-year senior started in all 21 matches for the Tigers and recorded a career high 1,857 minutes on the pitch. She also recorded two goals, two assists and six shots on goal in 2022.
After five seasons with the Tigers, the defender finished her career with nine goals, five assists, 53 shots on goal, 94 games played and 7,774 minutes on the pitch. Her 94 games played leads the program as the most in LSU Soccer history.
The England native was named to the SEC preseason watchlist prior to the 2022 season and earned College Sports Communicator’s Academic All-District team. Cooke was a key component of the backline that helped the team reach the second round of the NCAA tournament.
Other accolades include being named SEC Offensive Player of the Week in 2021 and All-Tournament team honors after her performance in the SEC Tournament in 2018.
Cooke will join former player Lucy Parker on the squad. Parker, who is also an England native, played two seasons with the Tigers in 2017 and 2018 and earned multiple honors, including LSWA First Team, Top Drawer Team of the Week, First-Team All-SEC and United Soccer Coaches All-Southeast Region First Team.