James Cooper (minors10)

James Darrell Cooper

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 3", Weight 185 lb.
• School Grambling State University

• Born February 12, 1982 in Cullen, LA USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

James Cooper played three years in the minors then became a college head coach at age 27.

As a sophomore at Grambling State University, Cooper hit .376, then .386 in 2003 as a junior. His senior year, he batted .393, third in the Southwestern Athletic Conference. His 9 triples led the SWAC and tied Trevor Crowe, Brett Gardner and one other player for third in NCAA Division I. He made All-SWAC as an outfielder.

Cooper then was picked by the Houston Astros in the 33rd round of the 2004 amateur draft. He hit .232/.333/.304 for the 2004 Tri-City ValleyCats but showed superb defensive skills, with 7 outfield assists, 3 double plays and just one error in 40 games. He tied for the New York-Penn League lead in double plays by an outfielder.

Back with the ValleyCats in 2005, Cooper hit .260/.348/.370. He tied Gardner for the best fielding percentage (1.000) of any NYPL outfielder. Let go by Houston, he signed with the independent Sussex Skyhawks and batted .272/.366/.388 in 2006 with 22 steals in 25 tries.

After his playing career ended, Cooper returned to Grambling to earn a master's degree in sports administration. While there he also worked as a graduate assistant coach during the 2008 season. He spent the 2009 season as a full-time assistant coach under Barret Rey. Cooper was promoted to head coach in July 2009 when he was just 27 years old. After 12 years at Grambling, Cooper resigned his position in late 2021.

The New York Yankees hired Cooper as their minor league outfield/baserunning coordinator for the 2022 season though he was also listed as a defensive coach for the FCL Yankees. During the year he managed the FCL team for a day and earned his first minor league managerial win in extra innings. He became the full time manager of the FCL Yankees in 2023 and Tampa Tarpons in 2024. After the 2023 season he managed the Mesa Solar Sox in the Arizona Fall League.