CALEDONIA — The hat fits perfectly.
A few days ago, Cole Gullette admits his hair looked a little “shaggy,” so any hat, especially the one he will wear next, didn’t feel just right.
That’s why the Caledonia High School senior infielder/pitcher planned stop at the barber shop Tuesday one day before his scheduled appointment to sign a National Letter of Intent to play baseball at Mississippi Valley State.
The barber must have done a great job because Gullette couldn’t stop grinning Wednesday as he wore his MVSU baseball cap after finalizing his plans to play at the Division I level.
“It feels like all my work paid off,” Gullette said. “All of it has gone to wearing this hat, so it feels good.
“It fits perfect now.”
Gullette, a 6-foot-1 1/2, 180-pounder, hit .289 this past season for Caledonia, which finished 14-13 and lost to Itawamba Agricultural High in the first round of the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 4A State tournament. Gullette scored 10 runs, had 22 hits, and 10 RBIs. He led the team with 10 stolen bases. He also appeared in five games (five innings) on the mound and had one save.
Gullette said his time with the Team Mississippi travel ball team, which is based out of Mathiston, helped him showcase his skills. He felt his ability to showcase his speed and his versatility in the infield — he can play third base, shortstop, and second base and has played in the outfield in high school — helped him catch the attention of coaches, especially the coaches from MVSU. He said the coaches from MVSU saw him at the first tournament he played in — he played in 40-50 games during the summer — and contacted him. He said the coaches kept track of his progress and asked if he would like to visit the campus. Gullette said he visited the campus in Itta Bena three or four weeks ago and watched the MVSU baseball team play Jackson State. He said he enjoyed the campus and the program, players, and coaches and didn’t have to think long about whether he wanted to go to MVSU.
Another phone call — a week or two ago — resulted in a verbal commitment that he finalized Wednesday.
“It is going to be a big transition,” said Gullette, who also played football and soccer at Caledonia High. “It is going to be faster, so I am going to have to work in the cage more and see different types of pitches. Not many people play DI, so you’re going to get the best of the best of high school. It is just going to be if I can hit the ball.
“I am going to have to put more time into the cage and, hopefully, hit off machines that throw a little harder, so it will be an every-day thing, me seeing that pitching.”
Gullette said his work ethic has helped him realize the first part of his dream to play college baseball. He said he recalls playing baseball with his mother, Lesley, and his grandmother, Amelia Shirley, in the front yard when he was 4 years old. He said the professional dreams started at that point, but Gullette said that step will take even more hard work. The prospect of working that hard doesn’t faze him.
“It is my first thought. I just comes natural,” Gullette said. “It is something every little kid wants to do when they play baseball. You want to go to college and then, hopefully, you can go to the next level.”
Gullette said the MVSU coaches told him the program is losing a lot of seniors from this year’s team, so he feels he will have a good chance to come in as a freshman and earn playing time.
Gullette said his younger brother, Karsten, who is in the fourth grade, has the same dream to play baseball in college and as a professional. By the time Karsten reaches high school, Cole will at the end of his college journey. If he continues to work hard, he hopes he can realize the next step in his journey: playing professional baseball.
There will be plenty of hats and haircuts between now and then, but Gullette said he will never forget the road to Wednesday and all of the people who have helped him take the first step.
“I was thrilled,” Gullette said. “Speechless is the word. I didn’t know what to say because I was so excited. It is the day I always imagined it would be when I was a kid. That is the best way to describe it.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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