#38 Riley Cooper Season 2025
MLB Draft: 2023 13th Round (No. 391 Overall) – Baltimore Orioles
Transferred to LSU prior to the 2022 season after pitching in 2021 as a freshman at Arizona … has made a huge impact upon the Tigers’ bullpen over the course of the 2022 and 2023 seasons … helped lead LSU to the 2023 National Championship by earning one win and three saves in the College World Series … has made 62 appearances (four starts) in two seasons at LSU, posting a 9-6 record and a 4.31 ERA in 102.1 innings with 28 walks and 98 strikeouts.
2023 Season
• Led the LSU staff with 32 appearances (three starts), and he recorded a 5-3 mark with a 4.38 ERA in 61.2 innings with three saves, 20 walks and 63 strikeouts
• Pitched brilliantly in the College World Series, making five relief appearances in LSU’s eight games and posting a 1-0 mark, three saves and a 0.93 ERA in 9.2 innings with three walks and nine strikeouts
• Earned the win in Game 1 of the CWS Finals vs. Florida (June 24), firing 3.0 scoreless innings and limiting the Gators to one hit with one walk and three strikeouts
• The winning pitcher in Game 2 of the NCAA Super Regional vs. Kentucky (June 11), as he entered the game in the fourth inning and worked 3.0 scoreless innings with two hits, one walk and two strikeouts
• LSU’s starting pitcher in NCAA Regional championship game vs. Oregon State (June 5); worked 3.2 innings and allowed two runs on two hits with two walks and four strikeouts
• Tied his LSU career high with seven strikeouts in SEC Tournament relief appearance vs. Arkansas (May 25), allowing no runs on two hits in 4.1 innings with no walks
• Earned relief win over Alabama (April 30), working 2.1 innings; allowed two runs on two hits with three strikeouts
• Pitched 1.1 scoreless innings at Texas A&M (March 18), allowing two hits with no walks and one strikeout
• Defeated Western Michigan (Feb. 18) in a starting role, limiting the Broncos to no runs in 5.1 hitless innings with two walks and seven strikeouts
2022 Season
Made a staff-high 30 appearances (one start), posting a 4-3 record and a 4.20 ERA in 40.2 innings with eight walks and 35 strikeouts … finished No. 4 in the SEC in appearances with 30 … appeared in all three games of three different SEC regular-season series vs. Texas A&M, at Mississippi State and vs. Missouri … solid relief outing at Vanderbilt (May 21), allowing six hits but just one run with no walks and four strikeouts … earned a win in Game 1 of the Alabama series (May 6), working 1.2 scoreless innings with three singles allowed … appeared in all three games of LSU’s three-game sweep of Missouri (April 21-23), recording a win and save; he worked a total of 2.2 scoreless innings versus Mizzou, allowing two hits with no walks and two strikeouts … made two appearances in the Arkansas series (April 14-16) and recorded six strikeouts in 3.2 innings … appeared in all three games of the Mississippi State series (April 8-10), posting a 1-0 mark and a 0.00 ERA in three innings with one walk and no strikeouts; fired a total of 40 pitches in the three games … pitched 1.2 scoreless innings vs. Auburn (April 2), allowing just one hit with three strikeouts … earned his first career LSU win on March 20, defeating Texas A&M with 1.2 innings of scoreless relief … limited the Aggies to one hit with no walks and one strikeout in the Tigers’ 7-6 victory … appeared in all three games of the Texas A&M series, working 3.1 innings and giving up one earned run on two hits with two walks and two strikeouts.
2021 Season (at Arizona)
Led Arizona during the 2021 season with a team-high 29 appearances (two starts) as a true freshman … Went 3-0 with a 4.88 ERA in 31.1 innings … held opponents scoreless in 18-of-27 relief outings … inherited a team-high 34 baserunners and allowed only seven (20.6%) of them to score … on eight occasions he inherited multiple baserunners and did not allow any to score … struck out 20 and limited opposing hitters to a .234 batting average … posted dominant in postseason play, going 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA in 5.1 innings across three appearances …tossed two shutout innings against Grand Canyon in the Tucson NCAA Regional … worked 2.1 scoreless frames in Game 3 of the Tucson NCAA Super Regional versus Ole Miss pitched a scoreless inning in the Wildcats’ College World Series opener against Vanderbilt.
High School
Prepped at Clovis North High School in Fresno, Calif. … lettered four years in baseball under head coach Jeff Prieto… 2019 Perfect Game Preseason Underclass All-American and 2020 Perfect Game Preseason All-American … earned All-Conference honors all four years and All-State selections in his final three seasons … participated in the 2018 and 2019 Area Code Games.
Cooper’s LSU Career Highs
Innings: 5.2 vs. Tennessee (4/1/23)
Strikeouts: 7 vs. Arkansas (5/25/23 – SEC Tournament); 7 vs. Western Michigan (2/18/23)
Hits Allowed: 8 vs. Tennessee (4/1/23)
Runs: 6 on two occasions; most recently vs. Tennessee (4/1/23)
Earned Runs: 6 on two occasions; most recently vs. Tennessee (4/1/23)
Walks: 2 on seven occasions; most recently vs. Oregon State (6/5/23 – NCAA Regional)