LSU Gold

#58 Chris Cotton Season 2025

Position
Left-handed Pitcher
Height
5'10
Weight
166
Class
Senior
Hometown
Shreveport, La.
B/T
L
High School
Byrd HS

2013 SEC Academic Honor Roll
2013 Perfect Game Third-Team All-American
2013 SEC Tournament Most Valuable Player
2013 First-Team All-Louisiana
2012 Second-Team All-Louisiana
2010 SEC Freshman Academic Honor Roll

MLB Draft: 14th round in 2013 (Houston)

Talented pitcher who participated in walk-on tryouts in the fall of 2009 and was added to the roster just prior to the 2010 season opener … provided valuable relief innings for four seasons, working as the Tigers’ closer as a senior in 2013 … made 104 career appearances, the third-most in LSU history … member of the 2013 SEC Academic Honor Roll as an international trade and finance major.

2013 Season
SEC leader in appearances on the year with 37 out of the bullpen … recorded a 4-1 mark with a 1.16 ERA and 16 saves … worked a total of 46.2 innings with three walks and 47 strikeouts … fired 13.1 scoreless innings in LSU’s postseason games, recording a 1-0 mark and four saves, allowing only two hits while recording one walk and 11 strikeouts … No. 3 in the SEC in saves with 16; he was 16-for-17 save situations and tied the LSU single-season record for saves, sharing the mark with Matty Ott (2009) … made one appearance in the College World Series vs. North Carolina (June 18), firing 2.2 shutout innings with one hit, no walks and two strikeouts … made two appearances in the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional, firing three shutout innings with one hit, one walk and four strikeouts; earned save vs. Sam Houston State (June 1) by firing two scoreless innings with one hit, one walk and three strikeouts … voted SEC Tournament MVP after earning three saves and a win in the championship game vs. Vanderbilt; worked a total of 4.2 perfect innings in the tournament, retiring all 17 batters he faced with five strikeouts … tied SEC Tournament record with three saves, equaling mark set by Jonathan Holder of Miss. State (2012) and Russell Brewer of Vanderbilt (2008) … credited with save on May 17 vs. Ole Miss as he fired a perfect ninth inning with one strikeout to preserve 2-1 LSU win … earned a save and win May 10-11 at Texas A&M; worked a total of 2.2 scoreless innings against the Aggies, allowing just one hit with no walks and one strikeout … earned 10th save of the season May 2 vs. Florida, firing a perfect inning with eight pitches and two strikeouts … picked up relief win at Arkansas (May 14), firing two scoreless innings with no walks and one strikeout in 10-inning LSU victory … earned two saves at Missouri – 1.1 shutout innings with 2 strikeouts on March 29; 1.1 shutout innings with two Ks on March 31 … worked a perfect 10th inning with two strikeouts to earn save March 15 in 6-4 win at Mississippi State.

2012 Season
No. 2 in the SEC with 36 relief appearances, posting a 7-0 mark and a 1.59 ERA in 45.1 innings with seven walks and 40 strikeouts … limited left-handed batters to a .100 average (6-for-60) on the year … 1-0 with a 2.31 ERA in seven postseason appearances, allowing three runs on nine hits in 11.2 innings with two walks and 10 strikeouts … 4-0 in SEC regular-season games with a 1.40 ERA in 19.1 innings (14 appearances) … the winning pitcher in NCAA Regional final versus Oregon State (June 3) – worked a scoreless ninth inning, allowing one hit with two strikeouts … masterful in relief in the South Carolina series (May 18-19), making two appearances and limiting the Gamecocks to no runs on no hits in four innings with one walk and six strikeouts … Cotton was the winning pitcher in 3-2 victory on May 19 that clinched the SEC title – he worked three scoreless innings with no hits, one walk and four strikeouts … fired 2.1 perfect innings in relief outing versus Vanderbilt (May 13) … pitched 2.2 innings at Florida (April 5), allowing one earned run on three hits with one walk and three strikeouts in LSU win … appeared in all three Arkansas games (March 30-April 1) in relief, firing a total of 2.2 scoreless innings and allowing just one hit with one walk and one strikeout … credited with the win in Game 2 of the Arkansas series as he worked 1.2 perfect innings with one strikeout … relieved Aaron Nola in the eighth inning on March 25 and retired Auburn’s No. 3 and 4 hitters … Cotton was credited with the win, marking his first career SEC victory.

2011 Season
Made 13 relief appearances, recording no decisions with a 3.38 ERA in 13.1 innings … registered two walks and 14 strikeouts and limited opponents to a .216 batting average … excellent relief outing vs. Princeton on March 4 as he worked 1.2 scoreless innings, allowing no hits with no walks and a career-high four strikeouts … worked two scoreless innings versus Ole Miss (April 2), allowing one hit with no walks and one strikeout.

2010 Season
Made 18 relief appearances, posting a 2-0 record and a 5.32 ERA in 22 innings with four walks and 12 strikeouts … recorded two shutout innings vs. Mississippi State (May 21) with one strikeout … fired two shutout innings vs. Northwestern State (April 20) in his hometown of Shreveport … earned win over Tulane (April 14), allowing one run on two hits in two relief innings with no walks and two strikeouts … earned first career victory in a relief outing versus Southern Miss (April 7), allowing one run on one hit in one inning with no walks or strikeouts … longest outing on March 5 vs. Brown — 2.2 IP with one run on six hits, one walk and three strikeouts.

High School
As a senior at Byrd High School, compiled a 9-1 record with a 1.46 ERA … was the winning pitcher in all three of Byrd’s state playoff games … named Shreveport/Bossier All-City Pitcher of the Year … also received 5A All-State First-team honors as well as District 1-5A First-team honors … received All-Academic Class 5A Honorable Mention … member of the National Honor Society.

Personal
Full name is Christopher Michael Cotton … parents are Jim and Alisa Cotton … has two siblings, Kyle and Lauren … said he would rather walk-on at LSU over “any other scholarship offered to me” … majoring in international trade and finance at LSU … born November 21, 1990.

Cotton’s LSU Career Highs
Innings: 3.0 three times, most recently at Alabama (4/20/13)
Strikeouts: 4 three times, most recently vs. Stony Brook (6/8/12)
Hits Allowed: 6 vs. Brown (3/5/10)
Runs: 5 vs. Vanderbilt (5/7/10)
Earned Runs: 5 vs. Vanderbilt (5/7/10)
Walks: 2 twice, most recently vs. Mississippi State (5/25/12)

 

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