Jorgensen signs to play college baseball at Western Oregon

Jan. 22—LA GRANDE — One of La Grande High School's top athletes officially decided his future in collegiate athletics.

Cole Jorgensen, a multi-sport athlete at La Grande, signed to continue his baseball career with Western Oregon University on his signing day on Monday, Jan. 10. The catcher has been an anchor to the Tigers' baseball team throughout his high school career and will look for continued success on a strong Wolves team next year.

"Playing college baseball has always been my dream, ever since I was 9 years old and started playing travel baseball," Jorgensen said. "I've always really wanted to play at the next level."

In addition to his prowess behind the plate, Jorgensen has excelled in football and wrestling. Following a season in which the La Grande football team went 7-2 and made it to the 4A quarterfinals, Jorgensen was named 4A first-team all-state at the defensive line position and honorable mention 4A all-state on the offensive line.

Jorgensen said that he has enjoyed his time on the La Grande football and wrestling teams, but that focusing on his true passion on the baseball diamond has always been his goal moving forward.

"Being able to just purely focus on baseball all year round is going to be really nice," he said.

Even splitting his time with other sports, Jorgensen has excelled on the diamond for La Grande. Head coach Parker McKinley stated that Jorgensen stepped in as a freshman after older players on the team were injured and took on an immediate role on the baseball team.

"He's tough as nails," McKinley said of his starting catcher. "Cole has gotten so big and so strong and has really started to mature into quite the young man. He's very physical and can handle the catcher position well with that."

During the 2021 spring season in which La Grande came just shy of a 4A state championship, Jorgensen led the Tigers with a .643 batting average. In 67 plate appearances, Jorgensen tallied 36 hits, three home runs, 10 runs and a team-high 32 RBIs. In 11 games for the La Grande Legacy Legends in the summer, Jorgensen averaged .467 at the plate and tallied 10 RBIs and 14 runs in just 38 plate appearances. Defensively, Jorgensen recorded a .991 fielding percentage on 109 attempts during La Grande's spring season and was 1.000 on 62 attempts for the La Grande Legacy Legends this past summer.

Jorgensen remarked that his time at La Grande has helped him prepare for the next level of competition. Beyond racking up elite numbers at the plate, he credits catching for strong pitchers who have gone on to play college baseball — such as Riley Miller and Parker Robinson — during his time at La Grande.

"I've had great coaches at La Grande ever since I was little," Jorgensen said. "I feel pretty comfortable as a catcher. I've caught for some pretty good pitchers throughout the years who have gone on to the next level."

Joining the pack

For Jorgensen, the initial recruitment process to Western Oregon quickly made the Wolves his top choice.

"I went on a visit to Western and met up with their recruiting coordinator, Coach (Trevor) Podratz, and I really liked him. He took me around the campus and I really enjoyed the campus," he said. "He just seemed like a really nice guy and he fit my personality really well, so that seemed like a great fit for me."

Jorgensen is set to join a Western Oregon team that went 22-8 in 2021 and made it to the NCAA Division II West Regional final game. The Wolves came up just shy of a trip to the national championships. The program boasts 23 players drafted into the MLB and 49 players who have appeared for MLB teams or their minor league affiliates.

"Obviously it would be a dream to go to the next level, so I think it's really awesome to know that guys have come out of there and done that," Jorgensen said of Western's history crafting MLB players. "It's really exciting for me."

McKinley noted that the catcher is the first player he has coached who went on to play at Western Oregon, and he hopes Jorgensen can possibly open the door for more potential recruits.

"I'm excited for Western to get a kid from La Grande and see what he's like," McKinley said. "Cole will do an amazing job being an ambassador for his teammates and his high school program. It has the potential for more kids in the future to follow him."

Jorgensen shared a similar sentiment, noting that he hopes to represent the Tigers well and raise interest in what the La Grande program has to offer.

"I want to make us look good and hopefully open some doors for future players from La Grande who might want to go to Western," he said. "I want to show them how good of a program we have here and how hard we work, and what our intent is every day in practice."

Starting from the bottom as a freshman for Western, Jorgensen will rely on the same work ethic that earned him a starting spot as a freshman on the La Grande team.

"I'm going to try my best to earn my spot, work hard every day and try to represent La Grande baseball as best I can," he said.

One last run

Before Jorgensen takes his talents to Monmouth, the senior will be looking to lead a very talented La Grande team this spring. The Tigers, who return a plethora of starters from last year, came just one inning away from a potential state title last spring. With La Grande up 2-1 in the final inning, Hidden Valley's Issak Hill crushed a grand slam to win the state title game by a 5-2 margin.

McKinley noted that the loss stung bad for players and coaches alike, but that the team is motivated for this season because of it. The Tigers will need their players all around the diamond to perform at a high level, but La Grande's pillar behind home plate will go a long way in both offensive production and managing the pitching staff from the catcher position.

"Hopefully it's us again in the championship and hopefully we can come out on top this time," Jorgensen said. "I feel like we're really really solid. I feel like we should be right back up there."

"Going into his senior year with another year of experience and knowledge and even more strength — he's worked hard for that stuff — I think he'll play a huge part in what we'd like to see," McKinley said.

Having already accomplished a major personal goal in securing his spot on a collegiate roster, Jorgensen would like one more accomplishment under his belt before his time at La Grande is up.

"I'm really motivated to win a state championship with these guys because I've been playing with them since I was 9 years old," Jorgensen said. "I think we all want it a lot and know that we have the capabilities to do so."

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