Junior (2011):
Cooper made 17 trips to the mound for NM State in 2011 and worked 33.1 innings.
He finished the year with 31 strikeouts while allowing 43 hits and 55 runs.
Cooper was 0-3 on the year but helped the Aggies to wins over Buffalo, Houston
Baptist, I.P.F.W, Binghamton, San Jose State and Hawai'i. He marked a
season-high and tied a career-high of seven strikeouts against Northern
Colorado (April 1) in 3.1 innings of work, although NM State fell 9-6. Cooper
worked a season-high six innings against Seattle University (April 29) and
tallied five K's, while allowing five walks and five runs in a 5-1 loss.
Sophomore (2010): Cooper made 16 appearances on the
mound in 2010, totaling 63.1 innings for the season. He started 10 games for
the Aggies finishing the season with a 4-2 record winning his first game
against Akron (2/28) with eight strikeouts in six innings. Cooper held
opponents to only nine home runs on the year and ended the season with 47
strikeouts. Cooper earned his first league win when the Aggies defeated
San Jose State (4/16) 9-4. That day he threw 7 1/3 innings and struck out
three batters. He followed that performance with a 7-inning outing as NM
State defeated Sacramento State (4/22) 11-4. Copper posted five K's that
day and allowed only three runs.
Freshman (2009): Cooper made 19 appearances as a true
freshman, putting in 30.2 innings of work on the mound. He finished the
year with a 2-1 record picking up his first win against San Francisco (3/22) as
he came in as a reliever. He got his only start of the season in his very
next appearance, which was against Texas-Brownsville (3/25). In that game
Cooper threw a season-high 6.0 innings and earned a season-high seven
strikeouts. He ended the season with 27 strikeouts and a 6.46 ERA.
High School: Cooper pitched and played infield
for Goddard High School under coach Steve Nunez from 2006-08. The Rockets
finished 2nd in district and reached the state quarterfinals in 2006 and 2008,
while reaching the state semifinals in 2008. Cooper was the team
Offensive Player of the Year after hitting .479 and was also the team Most
Valuable Player. He earned 1st team all-state tournament team honors in
2008 and won the team "Golden Arm Award" after he had a 1.89 ERA in
48 innings of work during the '08 season. That season, Cooper was also
selected to the South All-Star team for the annual North-South All-Star
game. He also played basketball for Goddard High School from 2006-07.
Personal: Justin Cooper is the son of
Martin and Rhonda Cooper and was born in Midland, Texas. He is currently
undecided in a major at NM State. Justin's brother, Brandon signed a
National Letter of Intent to play for the Aggies in 2012.
