SCHAUMBURG, Ill. — It is with great pleasure that the four-time Frontier League Champion Schaumburg Boomers announce that the team has acquired the 2023 Brian Tollberg Award Winner, left-handed pitcher Cole Cook, from the Charros de Jalisco of the Mexican League in exchange for a player to be named later.

Cook won the Brian Tollberg Award as the Frontier League’s Pitcher of the Year in 2023 while pitching for the Joliet Slammers. The 26-year-old finished 12-2 last year with a 2.23 ERA. Cook made 20 starts and threw 137 innings, striking out 131. Cook led the league in ERA, wins and innings pitched while finishing second in strikeouts. Cook recorded 17 quality starts and lasted five innings or longer in every outing while tossing at least seven innings on 12 occasions. Cook logged a 16.1 inning scoreless streak from May 30-June 10 and followed that with a 15.2 inning scoreless stretch. The lefty posted another 15.2 inning scoreless stretch late in the year. Cook struck out eight or more on eight occasions.

Cook was also with Joliet during the 2022 season and posted a record of 11-7 in 19 starts with a 3.22 ERA. The 11 victories tied for third in the league while the ERA ranked sixth. Cook struck out 109 batters in 117.1 innings of work. During the 2022 season, Cook made 15 starts of six innings or more for the Slammers. Over two seasons with Joliet, the Slammers won 26 of his 39 starts.
Over the 11 seasons of Schaumburg Boomers baseball the team has seen just three individuals post a double-digit win year on the mound. The most recent was Ryan Middendorf, who won 10 games in 2021. Middendorf is currently in the minor league system of the Milwaukee Brewers and reached Triple-A last year.

The Boomers will be Cook’s third team in the Frontier League. The Bradley University graduate also pitched for the Southern Illinois Miners in 2019, making five starts following the completion of his college career. Cook has also pitched professionally in the Pioneer League with Missoula and in the American Association with the Gary SouthShore RailCats during the 2021 season.

While attending Bradley, Cook pitched in 53 games, making 28 starts. The Washington, Ill. native shared the team lead by recording five wins in 2019 as a senior and posted an ERA of 2.03, the second lowest ever by a pitcher at Bradley in the metal bat era. Cook has been a winner at every level, finishing 20-5 in high school and 6-3 at Illinois Central College in 2016.

The Boomers have made the playoffs in three consecutive seasons and six times in franchise history and will open the 2024 season on May 10 at Washington. The home opener will take place on May 13 against the Tri-City ValleyCats. Schaumburg has led the league in attendance every year since 2014 and has set single season records for attendance each of the past two years. The team became the first in the league to draw over 200,000 fans in back-to-back seasons since Southern Illinois from 2007-2010.