Meet the new ’Noles of FSU baseball: INF Cooper Swanson

When you see the last name Swanson linked to Vanderbilt its natural to believe that they may have some relation to Dansby Swanson, former Commodore, No. 1 overall selection, and current Atlanta Braves shortstop. Cooper Swanson, having originally chosen to follow in the former’s footsteps, changed his mind during his recruitment. In a story from The Left Bench, despite there being no relation between the two, Cooper spoke quite highly of Dansby

“Just the way he plays, he goes out there every day 100 percent and tries to help his team win,” said the Fort Myers, FL native. “Someday I want to be in his shoes.”

Cooper Swanson (INF)

Once looked at as the “next great Vanderbilt shortstop”, Swanson committed to the Commodores in 2014 before ultimately flipping to join the Seminoles. Swanson has spent time as a pitcher and a shortstop — pitchers are much more in-demand — but he’ll be the first to tell you that he greatly prefers playing shortstop.

During three varsity seasons at The Canterbury School (Fort Myers, FL) he stood out at each step of the way. Swanson’s production increased every year while in high school. As a sophomore he batted .200 with three home runs, 20 RBI, and 20 runs scored. Last season, his senior year, he put up a .420 batting average, six home runs, 21 RBI, and 30 runs scored.

Ranked as the 16th overall shortstop in the state, 80th in the nation by Perfect Game, Swanson has an extremely strong frame, athletic movements, and has sneaky speed. His arm speed, 91 mph across the diamond, is enough to keep him at short, but his frame and athleticism could be used at 3B if needed.

During a Prospect Development Pipeline interview Swanson stated that his favorite baseball moment was winning the 3A State Championship, during his junior season. That interview was in March of 2017 — just a couple of months before, as a senior, he would help Canterbury to back-to-back state titles. As is the case with several youngsters on the FSU roster, Swanson has championship experience that he hopes to build upon with the Seminoles.