PLAYIN’ IN PARADISE: Plymouth man enjoys fascinating baseball journey
Cooper Donlin will close out his fascinating college baseball career during the 2024-25 season at Hawai’i Pacific University.
The fascinating baseball odyssey of Plymouth native Cooper Donlin grows more interesting by the day.
Introduced to the sport in elementary school while playing for a Plymouth coach-pitch team coached by his dad, the 22-year-old Donlin has played for high-caliber teams from Long Island, New York, to Honolulu, Hawaii.
Donlin, who will wrap up his collegiate baseball career beginning this fall for Hawai’i Pacific University, is currently starring for the Prospect League’s Burlington (Iowa) Bees, for whom he is hitting a robust .393 with one home run, 18 RBI, two triples and four steals.
Donlin is in the midst of a torrid streak at the plate. After his 2-for-3 effort on Saturday, the outfielder had reached base multiple times in 13 straight games and led the Prospect League in batting average.
What makes Donlin’s skills set draw the attention of Major League Baseball scouts is that — along with being a swift, sweet-swinging left-handed line-drive machine — he is a sidearm-throwing left-handed pitcher.
While strictly a hitter/outfielder last season for HPU and this summer for Burlington, Donlin is hoping to revive his mound career during his final season with the Sharks.
‘Don’t overthink’
The key to Donlin’s baseball success — whether standing at the plate or on the mound — is his mindset, he revealed.
“I play better when I’m having fun, when I’m not overthinking,” he said.
“Playing in Hawai’i is awesome. It’s a place a lot of people dream of visiting or living, so to be able to play baseball in Hawai’i is amazing. Living in Hawai’i is not something I take for granted.”
Donlin’s baseball prowess started emerging as a youth when he was invited to play for the Little Caesar’s Baseball Club, an elite program that was founded by Mike Ilitch in 1972.
“Atanas Ilitch, Mike Ilitch’s son, was my coach,” Donlin shared. “That was a great experience. I got a chance to travel throughout the United States for tournaments.”
Donlin’s fastball was touching 80 miles per hour as a freshman at Canton High School.
Collision with COVID pandemic
Following two seasons as a Chief, Donlin transferred to Detroit Catholic Central, where his opportunities were halved after his senior season in 2020 was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The year he did play for the Shamrocks, Donlin earned All-Conference honors.
Donlin was set to play baseball for an Arizona-based junior college immediately after graduating from Catholic Central, however, the pandemic canceled those plans.
“I had to find a new school,” he said. “That’s when Oakland (University) offered me an opportunity to play.”
Following two seasons of limited pitching chances for the Grizzlies, Donlin red-shirted his junior season before transferring to HPU.
“Going from Division 1 to Division 2, the facilities aren’t as nice, obviously, but I’m not complaining,” Donlin said. “I’m an outdoors person, so I’m usually hiking or at the beach when I’m not studying or playing baseball.
“Our home field is located at a park, but we get opportunities to play at the University of Hawai’i’s stadium when they’re out of town and that field is beautiful.”
Fascinating path
During the summers between collegiate seasons, Donlin has played for teams based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana (in a league funded by Major League Baseball), Sandusky, Ohio (the home of Cedar Point) and on Long Island, for the Hamptons Collegiate Baseball League’s Shelter Island Bucks.
Ideally, Donlin will hook up with an MLB team next summer.
If not, he’ll use his bachelor’s degree in business to start a new journey.
Donlin is the son of James and Nicole Donlin. He has two siblings: brother Turner and sister Chloe.
Ed Wright can be reached at 734-664-4657 or edwright@socialhousenews.com.
