Hear the crack of the bat and feel the crowds in the stadium cheering for the Westfield Hornets. Peanuts, hotdogs, warm summer days, take me out to the ballgame!
“I love baseball”, Cole Brannen said “It’s in my blood, along with some good genes.”
Brannen said his speed and playing abilities are completely God-given, but he has also been extremely blessed to have some fine men invest their time and knowledge to shape him into the player and man he is today.
Cole Minor Brannen is a senior at Westfield School located in Perry, Georgia, and will graduate this year. He is the son of Jarrod and Leanne Brannen and the oldest of five children. Brannen is a center fielder for the the Chain Baseball 17U National Team. He verbally committed to Georgia Southern University in January 2015 and signed in November 2016.
Brannen credited coach Andy Burress for moving him from short stop to center field so that Brannen could better utilize his gift of speed. Brannen played short stop from the time he was 3 until his sophomore year. Burress is the owner of Five Star Baseball in Warner Robins, Georgia, which Brannen is a member of.
Burress and Brannen are cut from the same cloth in that they both love to win but hate losing more. They said they have a mutual love and respect for each other, and Burress knows that he will always get Brannen’s best when he steps on the field as a leader and player. Brannen said he has loved every minute of playing center field and has never looked back on his short stop years.
“My high baseball IQ is the sum of all the years at short stop, and now I see the entire game and know where the plays need to be made on the entire field that others may not see,” Brannen said.
Brannen also attributed his success to his high school coach Rob Fitzpatrick, who has been Brannen’s coach for all his years in high school. Fitzpatrick said he saw the abilities and potential in a lanky eighth-grader and started Brannen on the varsity team as a short stop in an infield of all juniors and seniors and as a drag bunter that Fitzpatrick could count on to get on base and steal his way around the bases. Fitzpatrick and Brannen were scrutinized because Brannen was the youngest to be played on the team.
The playing experience Brannen gained that year catapulted his abilities, which was noticed by coaches and scouts who watched him on the tournament and showcase circuit in the summers before and after his freshmen year, and resulted in Georgia Southern offering him a scholarship. Brannen is determined and excited to be moving into the second round of state playoffs this week.
“I am completely locked-in on winning a state championship for coach Rob Fitzpatrick since I am a senior and so proud to be playing my last season with my two younger brothers on the team,” Brannen said.
Brannen has also worked with Ryan Klesko, former major league player for the Atlanta Braves. Brannen’s family has known Klesko for over 20 years. Klesko has a busy schedule with his own family and hunting show, but he finds time to invest in Brannen by helping him refine his tools and giving him “major league advice and guidance” about the ways to reach his career goals in baseball.
Brannen was quick to say that his first and favorite coach was his Dad.
“He’s the one that got me started after all,” Brannen said.
Brannen has loved baseball all his life, and he’s worked hard to be the best he can be.
“Without the help of my dad in my formative years, I would have never known the love of baseball,” Brannen said. “My dad and I spent countless hours batting and catching. If it wasn’t for all the back yard catch and throw, practice batting sessions, and years coaching my little league teams, I would have never have been the player I am today.”
Brannen sticks to a healthy diet. He eats “absolutely no fast food,” lots of protein, and gallons and gallons of water. He admitted that he does enjoy going out for Italian, grilling steaks at home, and eating his mom’s homemade chicken and dumplings.
Brannen has two Labradors, two Blue Healers, and 11 chickens.
“We eat a lot of eggs,” Brannen said, laughing.
As for entertainment in the little town of Elko, Georgia, where his family resides, Brannen said he has all he needs at home with his four siblings to hanging out with, cookouts, and lots of family fun activities.
Brannen said that in his life, there is no offseason between professional workouts, hunting, fishing, and helping out with his family’s business, Brannen Outfitters.
“My plate is full,” Brannen said.
“I can tell you Cole has always been like the little four-point buck that thinks he is a big ten-pointer, but never has seen his reflection in the pond,” Brannen’s mom said. “If he thinks he can do something, he does it, and he makes it look very easy.”
Pull Out/Side Bar-Bats left and throws right. Earned his Varsity letter as an eighth grader. 2016 Under Armour All-American and Perfect Game Nike All-American. Plays for Five Star Baseball (Formerly Chain Baseball in Warner Robins Georgia. Measured 6.18 seconds by laser in the Perfect Game National Showcase in Ft. Myers Florida. Ten yard split by laser at 1.37 seconds, vertical-33′ home to first less than four seconds. Finished Freshman high school season with .398 batting average. Perfect Game WWBA National Championship (Lake Point-Emerson, GA).Perfect Game 15U BCS Finals (Ft. Myers, FL) -Named to All Tournament Team. Chosen as a member of USA Baseball 2014 Mid Atlantic Team where he played in Cary, NC in the National Team Identification Series. Chosen from hundreds of players for one of 14 roster spots for USA Baseball 17U National Team Development Program which supplies the USA Baseball 18U National Team. Broke the USA Baseball 30 yard Dash record at the event. In August 2015, traveled to California for the week long event to train and play with the USA Baseball’s 17U Team against the USA 18U team and other college teams.
At Full Speed
Written by: Julie Anne Patrick
Photography by: Brittany K. Wyche
