With the 122nd pick in the 2021 Major League Baseball draft on Monday, the New York Yankees selected Rapid City native and Stevens high school alum Cooper Bowman. He also spent his teenage year’s playing American Legion baseball for Post-22, South Dakota’s most decorated legion baseball program.
Coming into this year’s draft, Bowman, who just finished his sophomore season as a second baseman in college at the University of Louisville, was ranked No. 171 on the MLB’s top prospect list. His selection in the fourth round at No. 122 overall is considerably higher than projected – and it will help the financial aspect for Bowman as well.
Rapid City’s Cooper Bowman was selected as pick No. 122 in the MLB draft, which has an approximate value of $469K. He was projected to be pick No. 171, which has an approximate value of $293.8K.
— Nate Wek (@Nate_WekSDPB) July 12, 2021
Being drafted 49 picks ahead of his projection was a difference of about $175K.
Bowman, 21, was an exceptionally good athlete at the high school level. He lettered in both baseball and basketball. Along with being rated as the No. 1 shortstop in South Dakota by Perfect Game, he was awarded multiple honors in basketball his senior year of high school. He was the 2018 AA boys basketball Spirit of Su recipient, a member of the ‘AA’ all-state basketball team, and a member of the ‘AA’ all-tournament team.
After high school, and before transferring to Louisville in 2021, Bowman played two years of college baseball at Western Community College.
MLB’s scouting report on Bowman says…
“A product of the same high school that produced Mark Ellis, Bowman could have a similar future as a multidimensional second baseman. He starred for two years as a shortstop at Iowa Western Community College, batting .418 with 44 steals in 84 games and helping the Reivers finish runner-up at the 2019 Junior College World Series, before transferring to Louisville for 2021. He has settled in at second and the leadoff spot and became the Cardinals most dependable hitter outside of [first overall pick Henry Davis].”
Before the draft, Bowman sat down with KELOLAND Sports to chat about his time playing American Legion ball with Post-22 in Rapid City.
“Post-22 does a great job preparing kids for college,” explained Bowman. “There’s just a certain amount of accountability and expectation that they hold and I know a lot of high school programs around that country don’t, just by meeting kids from around the country.”
Some of the other notable Post-22 alumni who went on to have MLB careers are Dave Collins, Kelvin Torve, and Mark Ellis.
In 48-games with Louisville in 2021, Bowman posted a batting average of .293. He also recorded 56 hits, which was third on the team, and had eight home runs. He also stole 20 bases with a success rate of 83.3%.
