LEXINGTON, Va. – VMI junior outfielder
Cole Jenkins had a huge week at the plate last week and has been recognized by numerous outlets for his performance. He earned the
Perfect Game/Rawlings and
Southern Conference Player of the Week Awards and was also named one of
Collegiate Baseball's National Players of the Week.
The last Keydet to earn national player of the week honors was Matt Pita on March 5, 2018 - the Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week.
Jenkins had a breakout performance Thursday in a SoCon doubleheader sweep at Western Carolina University. He drilled four home runs (two in each game) and finished the day with six hits and six RBI. The Mechanicsville, Va. native also hit well in VMI's midweek non-conference game at VCU Tuesday, going 2-4 with a triple, a run and a stolen base.
For the week in three games, Jenkins hit .571 with six RBI and six runs with a 1.571 slugging percentage. He stole two bases and drew a walk to help the Keydets improve to 18-14 overall and 5-3 in the league.
"Cole was instrumental in helping our team capitalize on winning this weekend at WCU," said head coach
Sam Roberts. "He offensively contributes a tremendous amount to our program. This recognition is well deserved."
Jenkins now has eight homers this year, tied for first on the team and tied for third in the conference. He ranks sixth in the SoCon for slugging percentage (.664), tied for sixth in RBI (31), tied for second in doubles (11) and tied for third in total bases (75). Jenkins has a .336 batting average with 27 runs and a .393 on base percentage while starting in each of VMI's 32 games.
This is the third conference weekly award for a
Keydet this season,
Zac Morris was named the Player of the Week for the week of February 27 while
Justin Starke had the top honor on March 20.
