Tyrell goes from Minooka to Dayton to Padres draft pick

Cole Tyrell's career is full of promotions and position changes.

Though each one of them, he has been successful. From Minooka Community High School to the University of Dayton and now his most recent stop, professional baseball with the San Diego Padres organization.

"I am not surprised that Cole was drafted," said Jeff Petrovic, Minooka's baseball coach. "Cole is a hard-nosed kid that hates losing. We rarely see athletes that are as baseball savy as he is at such a young age. As a fielder, he can play almost anywhere on the field."

In his final year with the Dayton Flyers, Tyrell, who started all 55 games, finished with a .326 batting average. In 215 trips to the plate, Tyrell smacked 70 hits (18 doubles, one triple, 10 homers). He crossed the plate 50 times, drove home 49 runs, walked 26 times and stole seven bases. Personally, it was his best year, but not his favorite.
 
"I will never forget my junior season," said Tyrell. "Everything clicked that year. We won the first ever conference title in baseball and set a school record for wins. I hit three homers against St. Louis University. We could not have played better as a team or gotten along better."

In his final three years, the former Minooka star did not miss a single start, helping Dayton post 92-77 during those three years. During Tyrell's junior year, Dayton was 38-19 overall and 21-6 in the Atlantic 10 conference. They earned a bid to play in the NCAA Division I Tournament. He never batted lower than .295 in his final three years.

In his four years, he had 236 hits in 816 at bats to finish with a career .289 batting average. Of his hits, 54 were doubles, two were triples and 25 were homers. He drove home 165 runs, scored 150 times, walked 80 times and stole 31 bases.
 
During his freshman year, he played second base. He transitioned to shortstop the following year and remained there his entire college career. In the San Diego organization, he started with the Arizona Padres and played 14 games. He had 11 hits (four doubles, one homer), eight runs scored, seven RBIs and two walks.
 
"Cole was one of my all-time favorite players," said Tony Vittorio, Dayton's head coach. "He was a coaches dream. I loved the way he played with passion. In practice, he worked hard to be come a great player. If my son grows up exactly like him, I will be a lucky man."

He has since been promoted from the rookie league to the Padre Class A affiliate in Eugene, Oregon. While he is listed as a shortstop, the Emeralds are training him to be a catcher. While he does not have a hit in his first five games, he has a walk and one run scored.
 
"I think they made me a catcher based on body type," said Tyrell, who is 5-foot-11 and 200 pounds. "I have played a few positions, but I am happy about that. The more positions I am adept at playing, the better my chances of making the major leagues."

The son of Phillip and Cheryl Tyrell of Minooka is three credits shy of earning a bachelor of science in accounting. Under a program offered by Dayton, Tyrell has already started his master's degree in accounting. He has seven credits toward his accounting masters degree. For his play on the baseball diamond, he was named Dayton's Most Improved Player of the 2008 season. He was named an Atlantic 10 Conference Scholar Student/Athlete during his final three years.