By By Steve Gillespie / staff writer
May 21, 2002
The Meridian School Board approved of a scholarship in memory of Meridian High School graduate and New York Mets hopeful Brian Keith Cole during its regular monthly meeting Monday.
Cole was killed March 31, 2001, in a car accident on his way back to Meridian from spring training.
With about $18,000 contributed to a special fund since Cole's death, the school district hopes to award college scholarships beginning in 2003 to male and female Meridian High School graduates who are student athlete.
Cole began playing baseball when he was 5 years old. He began playing in the Meridian Public School District as a eighth-grader at Kate Griffin Junior High.
At Meridian High School, he was a member of the 5A state championship baseball team. He was selected an All-State performer in football in 1996 and in football and baseball in 1997 the year he hit 22 home runs, which is still a 5A record.
Cole signed with Navarro College in Texas after high school, where he set numerous records. His professional career included selection to All-Star teams in 1998, 1999 and 2000 with the Kingsport Mets, Capital City Bombers and the St. Lucie Mets.
He was voted the New York Mets Minor League Player of the Year in 2000.
The committee that will choose the scholarship recipients will include the principal, athletic director and coaches.