College Sports
Matt Wellens column: Whatever happened to New Champ? – Duluth News Tribune
DULUTH — I have many concerns as a parent, but my biggest nightmare is having to replace my child’s favorite stuffie, Teddy. Teddy is a pretty generic bear. He was a gift from my aunt to my oldest child when he was born. Teddy has no doubt seen better days after 6-plus years of love. […]

DULUTH — I have many concerns as a parent, but my biggest nightmare is having to replace my child’s favorite stuffie, Teddy.
Teddy is a pretty generic bear. He was a gift from my aunt to my oldest child when he was born. Teddy has no doubt seen better days after 6-plus years of love. He’s lost a lot of weight, his fur is permanently matted and his bow tie is now just a tattered knot.
What would happen if I tried to replace Teddy in any way? Well, the result would likely be similar
to what the University of Minnesota Duluth went through back in the fall of 2022
when the Bulldogs athletic department tried to replace its own aging and excessively loved stuffie, Champ.
Like Teddy, Champ had seen much better days back in 2022. His gray fur was matted, he smelled as funky as the hockey players he cheered on and at least one version of him was falling apart. So UMD got a new Champ whose fur was soft, breathable and bright, bright yellow.
It was so yellow.
UMD fans responded to the new Champ the same way any child would act if you took away their favorite stuffie and replaced it with a new one. Bulldogs fans threw a tantrum — mostly online, as adults do these days — so large that
UMD gave fans their old gray stuffie back five days later.
On the Bulldog Insider Podcast,
we like to open occasional episodes up to fan questions, and every time someone will randomly ask “Whatever happened to New Champ?”
Every time I skip the question. I’m sorry, but I didn’t have an answer, until now.
I recently spent some time asking those in the know, “What ever happened to New Champ?” and filed fresh data requests to go along with some I filed back in 2022. Here’s what I’ve learned:
New Champ was sent to a farm upstate
That big, bright yellow grin is no longer with us here in Duluth. According to UMD deputy director of athletics Brian Nystrom — who placed the order for the new Champ in the summer of 2022 — the costumes were sent back to the company UMD bought them from, Promo Bears.
UMD spent over $10,000 on three new new Champ costumes
The final invoice from Promo Bears was for $10,716.65, including service charges and credit card processing fees. Each costume was quoted at $3,450. The gigantic heads included a built in fan system for air circulation. Heat exhaustion was a concern with the old Champ costumes. The performers sweat a lot in them, hence the smell.
UMD did not receive a refund for the costumes
And it didn’t deserve one. Promo Bears made the new Champ costumes exactly to UMD’s specifications, basing it off the standing champ logo. The company even matched the color of Champ’s sweater and fur exactly to UMD’s color specifications as the athletic department attempted to get their new mascot as close as possible to the university’s official colors.
New gray Champ costumes were purchased in 2023 for $2,530

Clint Austin / File / Duluth Media Group
Your toddler would definitely notice if you gave them a new version of their most beloved stuffie, but Bulldogs fans may not have noticed that a “new” old Champ has been in use since the 2023-24 season. UMD bought a full replacement costume costing $1,345 and an extra head for $995. Shipping was $140. These new costumes do not have any fancy cooling mechanisms in the heads.
Champ’s name isn’t Champ
The real name of the Bulldogs costumed mascot is actually
“Buddy Bulldog No. 15.”
While “New Champ” was a custom costume, the old one was a generic costume made by
Alinco.
You can buy one yourself directly from Alinco, or through a third party site like
Aardvark USA, LLC/SportsTeamsUS.
The latter is where UMD purchased its costumes from.
Some of you owe Forrest Karr an apology

Clint Austin / File / Duluth News Tribune
He was announced as the new athletic director on Aug. 17 and officially began on Aug. 29. Three days later, he and the department were being pelted with cruel memes — the modern day rotten fruit — and fans were blaming the new AD for a change that was well underway before Josh Berlo ever left for Denver on June 2.
UMD reached out to Promo Bears in January 2022 about creating a new Champ costume. After going back and forth for a few months mostly about the colors, the order was placed for three costumes in mid-June. They were completed on Aug. 23 and shipped to UMD shortly after.
Clint Austin / File / Duluth News Tribune

Matt Wellens / Duluth News Tribune
A committee of “students, alumni, fans and supporters” was supposed to come together to
“gather input and examine several concepts for the Champ costume.”
Nystrom said names were taken down and the committee process was discussed, however, the university now has no plans to change the costume again in the near future.
UMD learned its lesson. Don’t mess with a kid’s Teddy.
Matt Wellens
covers the
Minnesota Duluth men’s and women’s hockey programs
for the Duluth News Tribune. Do you have an odd question or topic you’d like him to research? He can be reached at mwellens@duluthnews.com or
@mattwellens
on social media channels.
College Sports
Hattie Kanyo — Firefighter to CrossFit Games Athlete
When Hattie Kanyo graduated high school, she watched her peers accept their college offers and move into their dorms. Everyone seemed to have their lives figured out, but she stayed behind. It’s not that she hadn’t thought of college — in fact, she was offered a scholarship to play college rugby. The uncertainty she felt […]

When Hattie Kanyo graduated high school, she watched her peers accept their college offers and move into their dorms. Everyone seemed to have their lives figured out, but she stayed behind.
It’s not that she hadn’t thought of college — in fact, she was offered a scholarship to play college rugby. The uncertainty she felt when choosing a career unnerved her, so she turned down the scholarship and worked random jobs from pizza delivery to night shifts at Walmart to pay her bills.
That led her down an unhealthy path with drugs and alcohol.
A Career in CrossFit
One day, Kanyo’s brother took her to their local YMCA and introduced her to fitness.
“I kind of fell in love right there and then,” she said.
For the first time, she had found an interest that she could turn into a career. So, Kanyo attended the University of Lethbridge for exercise science in hopes of becoming a personal trainer.
While in school, she joined the cross-country and soccer teams, and when she was not in class or at practice, Kanyo found herself in the college gym playing around with skills she found online, such as handstand push-ups and handstand walking.
This caught the attention of her biomechanics professor, Ian Bennett, who was an avid CrossFit athlete at a local affiliate in Lethbridge, Alberta.
“You need to try CrossFit. You’re a runner, you’re a soccer player, and you’re trying all this weird stuff,” he told her.
Kanyo’s first reaction was, “Absolutely not.” So for two years, she rejected the idea. But, she still found herself dabbling with CrossFit movements in the college gym. Soon, she started buying CrossFit shoes and attire.
In 2017, she finally decided it was time to try a CrossFit class.
“They thought I had done CrossFit before. They saw my shoes, they saw my shorts,” Kanyo joked. “I fell in love ever since.”
Kanyo learned that not only could she create a career through CrossFit, but she could also compete. Straight away, she attended a Level 1 Certificate Course and joined the coaching staff at her gym.
Photo courtesy of Hattie Kanyo on Instagram
Firefighting and Fitness
After graduating college in 2014, Kanyo’s ex-boyfriend introduced her to wildland firefighting, a seasonal career that paid well and an exciting new challenge to take on.
Kanyo signed up for wildland firefighting training at the Hinton Training Centre and joined a crew in High Level, Alberta, the furthest north district and a 13-hour drive from her home.
For the next six years, Kanyo spent April through September fighting wildland fires.
“I’m the type of person who, if you tell me I can’t do something, I will do it,” she said. “When I went up there, a lot of the guys kind of looked at me like, ‘Mm, that’s just so-and-so’s girlfriend. She won’t make it very far up here.’”
So Kanyo put her head down and worked hard to prove them wrong. By her third year, she became one of the first female leaders and led crews for the next four years.
During her second season, after just discovering CrossFit, she decided to lessen her drinking and dial in her fitness while on shift. Kanyo’s commitment to her fitness influenced her fellow firefighters to also adopt healthier lifestyles.
“All of a sudden some of these other firefighters were like, ‘I want to get fit, I want to work out.’
We would all do workouts together. Then all of a sudden by the third year, everyone was working out.”
The crew banded together to create makeshift equipment for their CrossFit workouts. They attached a board across two trees to hang gymnastics rings. They asked their department for a rower and an Assault bike. Kanyo built a platform to clean and snatch on, and one of her sponsors gifted barbells and plates.
“It was really cool seeing all of the other firefighters going from super hardcore partiers to wanting to get super fit,” she said.
At the end of the firefighting season, Kanyo would return to her CrossFit gym and coach in the offseason. Between coaching CrossFit athletes and mentoring firefighters, she discovered her true calling.
Building Confidence
In 2019, Kanyo retired from firefighting to pursue a full-time career in competitive CrossFit and coaching.
During her first three years in CrossFit, Kanyo had success in local competitions, but when she thought about qualifying for the CrossFit Games, Kanyo doubted herself against the legends already dominating.
“No way. You aren’t good enough and you never will be,” her mind told her.
But during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, she started to drink again and gain weight. When traveling just started to open up again, she flew to Bali and lived there for the next 10 months, resetting her routine and dialing in her training again.
Upon returning to Canada, Kanyo qualified for the 2022 Atlas Games Semifinals, finishing just three spots out of a Games-qualifying position.
“That is when my confidence started building a little bit. I was like, ‘Wow, I’m with some of these really strong girls… . If I can hang with some of these girls, in a couple more years of putting my head down, I can do this.’”
Sure enough, just two years later, Kanyo had a ticket to her first CrossFit Games in hand after finishing the 2024 North America West Semifinal in fourth place. She finished the season as the 18th fittest woman in the world.
Hattie Kanyo at the 2024 CrossFit Games | Photo by Charlotte Foerschler
A Gamble for Gold
In January 2025, Kanyo sustained a shoulder injury while competing at an off-season competition. Despite the injury, she still qualified in 95th place worldwide in the 2025 CrossFit Open. But, to heal properly in hopes of continuing on in the season, her coaches told her she had to rehab as long as possible.
This meant skipping The Fittest Experience In-Person Qualifier and the In-Affiliate Semifinals, giving Kanyo only one shot at qualifying for the 2025 CrossFit Games at the Northern California Classic in June.
“Last year, you only had one chance,” her coach told her. She would have just one chance again this year.
With six top-10 event finishes and an event win in Heavy Isabel, Kanyo finished the weekend with 64.5 points, good for second place, securing her the final ticket to the 2025 CrossFit Games.
“I can easily say the mental side of things is tougher than the physical. Don’t get me wrong, this is an extreme physical sport and is hard as hell, but when the mind isn’t right, all sorts of things can go wrong,” Kanyo said in an Instagram post. “A quick call to Brett Piperni and he was able to help me get my 🧠 right. I appreciate you more than you know.”
A decade ago, Kanyo had no idea where her life was going. Now, as she prepares for her second CrossFit Games, she is ready to enjoy the experience, regardless of her placement. Kanyo stands as proof that success does not always start with certainty.
Watch Kanyo compete at the 2025 CrossFit Games live in Albany, New York, from Aug. 1-3. Single and multi-day tickets are available.
GET TICKETS TO THE 2025 CROSSFIT GAMES
College Sports
Kirby Smart at 2025 SEC Media Days: Key points from Georgia coach, what they mean entering 2025 season
If it was up to Kirby Smart, college football would be centered around “fire, passion and energy” and none of these landscape-altering changes the sport has endured over the last few seasons. The Georgia coach is a football-first guy, after all, forced to concern himself with new norms of personality changes and player entitlement because […]

If it was up to Kirby Smart, college football would be centered around “fire, passion and energy” and none of these landscape-altering changes the sport has endured over the last few seasons. The Georgia coach is a football-first guy, after all, forced to concern himself with new norms of personality changes and player entitlement because he’s seen it inside his own elite program.
The two-time national champion and reigning SEC winner made several broader points Tuesday at SEC Media Days, pointing out how much college football is continuing to evolve with NIL and revenue-sharing and the stress it puts on building a championship-level team.
“You can say what you want, but there’s people more in college football today, especially in the SEC, that are comfortable with where they are,” Smart said. “This is a pretty good life. ‘I’m earning $200k a year. I’m very comfortable.’ And you don’t reach your goals being comfortable. You don’t attain great success.”
Here’s a few of Smart’s key points during his time at the podium and breakout rooms and what we think it means for the Dawgs in the 2025 season.
Georgia seeking coachable, elite talent
Question: Fire, passion and energy are pillars of the program. Can you name players that have exhibited it thus far and why have you added that this offseason?
Smart’s answer: “Why is it important to identify it now? Because the culture in college football is slowly changing. You’ve got to remember, I was part of a nine-year program and a nine-year run (at Alabama) that was one of the greatest ever in college football, OK? And now I’m at a place that’s doing it right and competing on a really high level. I’ve seen what it looks like to have fire, passion, and energy, and I’ve seen guys that were really hungry and I go back to (Alabama’s) Dont’a Hightower, Rolando McClain, Julio Jones and Trent Richardson and Mark Ingram all the way to (Georgia’s) Roquan Smith to Nolan Smith, to Jordan Davis, to George Pickens, to Jake Fromm … D’Andre Swift. You know what they had? They had a love for the game and fire, passion and energy. That’s not the same as it used to be.”
Translation: If you’re coming to Athens looking for a hefty payday and unwilling to work, Georgia’s probably not a fit. Smart, who’s had more first-round NFL Draft picks (20) than losses (19) during his time at Georgia, has had to adjust his recruiting approach just a bit in recent years with other programs offering sizable NIL guarantees with elite-level prospects. He reiterated the same point Tuesday he’s made ad nauseam throughout the offseason: signing with the Bulldogs is a play toward future earnings. He mentioned several former first-round picks as guys who saw the bigger picture and weren’t simply “satisfied” with being a high-level SEC football player.
On Georgia’s QB decision
Question: What has Gunner Stockton accomplished since the end of last season that made you bring him here to SEC Media Days?
Smart’s answer: “He does it the right way. He commands the room and works his butt off. I say all that because Ryan (Puglisi) does a great job too, and those guys are going to continue competing. Gunner’s one of the leaders of our team. You saw that in response last year when he came in after halftime (of the SECCG) and laid it on the line for our team. Gunner’s been a tremendous passion and energy guy, and I’m excited to see him grow and get better.”
Translation: Heading into fall camp, Stockton is Georgia’s QB1 based on what he showed during spring practice and as Carson Beck’s backup last season. Smart selecting Stockton as one of the Bulldogs’ three player representatives in Atlanta signals his trust in the fourth-year player. That said, Smart has not told Stockton he’s going to start in the opener against Marshall and he still has to put his best foot forward in August to lead Mike Bobo’s first-team unit.
Enough Nick Saban speculation
Question: The hot rumor yesterday was Nick Saban coming back to coaching. I was wondering if you could share your reaction?
Smart’s answer: “I heard all the scuttlebutt and everything about it. I almost laughed. It was like somebody needed something interesting to talk about, so they chose to go to Coach Saban to do it. The game’s better with him involved. He is involved. He’s passionate about it. His brilliance in many ways is around football. Around scheme, another way to do something to stay ahead of the offensive minds. Make no mistake about it, the boss at home is making that call for him, not him.”
Translation: Don’t believe anything you hear and only half of what you read. Smart’s a skeptic — he doesn’t think Saban is interested in a return to coaching unlike Greg McElroy’s “source” from earlier in the week. Smart joked that he called Saban and offered him Will Muschamp’s vacated position on staff, but he was overqualified. Smart spent nine years on Saban’s staff at Alabama, including eight as his defensive coordinator, and the two still speak often about defensive game plans and schematic details.
Georgia’s weaknesses — what are they?
Question: What’s a position group on both sides of the football that you’re expecting to be better this year compared to last season or needs to be better?
Smart’s answer: “Yeah, I don’t like the question, I’m sorry. There’s not one position group that we don’t need to get better at. I mean, just me being frank with you, we’ve got to get better at each one. You can say that’s coachspeak, but if I pick one, I’m leaving someone out. We’ve got to improve all around.”
Translation: Georgia — currently with the third-best odds to win the College Football Playoff, according to DraftKings Sportsbook –is not where it needs to be right now if the Bulldogs plan on returning to Atlanta, the CFP and, potentially, the national championship spotlight. Do you think Smart was going to conceptualize two specific areas of improvement from his football team? This is the same coach who, like Saban, insisted to meet with his coaching staff two years ago the day after beating TCU by 58 points in the finale to formulate a recruiting plan since the Bulldogs were behind. The only thing that makes Smart happy is improvement and not resting on position groups perceived as stout entering the season.
Rematch with Alabama will be sweet
Question: Just curious to know your overall analysis of Kalen DeBoer and his first year at Alabama.
Smart’s answer: “I’m not qualified to give analysis of another head coach in our league who I have tremendous respect for … Anytime you come into a situation that he came into behind Nick in transition, it’s going to be a new deal. Think he’s a tremendous coach. Obviously, we played at his place and they did an outstanding job jumping all over us. Lot of respect for Coach DeBoer and the job he’s done.”
Translation: No bulletin board material will be had at 2025 SEC Media Days, at least not from the Georgia locker room. Alabama’s 9-4 finish last season under DeBoer fell well short of preseason playoff expectations, but one of those nine wins did come against the Bulldogs in impressive fashion. Smart mentioned Tuesday that he’s looking forward to hosting the Crimson Tide in Athens but stopped short of any guarantees or game plan details. Like he managed to do previously with a question centered around a showdown at Auburn, Smart was complimentary of his rivalry foe and did not go further.
No shortcuts when building the two-deep
Question: How do you view change within your organization, speed up developing depth with the impact of the transfer portal and NIL?
Smart’s answer: “First of all, you don’t speed up development. That’s a misnomer. If you want to speed up development, you’re probably looking for shortcuts that don’t exist. We can’t replicate reps faster. We can’t speed up a guy’s transition. The transition it takes to become a good football player is different for every kid, and I’ve been fortunate the last 19 years in college football to learn that.”
Translation: There’s no remedy or magic potion used to fill roster holes when trying to develop and build depth in the two-deep, especially from the portal. There’s a reason the Bulldogs have been transfer-selective under Smart and haven’t signed as many transfers as other elites within the top 10. Georgia hasn’t been as development-minded with recruits as, say, Dabo Swinney at Clemson, but the message is clear from Smart: portal additions have to be the perfect fit between the hedges to work.
College Sports
Kai Trump Inks New NIL Deal Ahead of Miami Debut
Today, Accelerator Active Energy – the brand that earned acclaim for launching “The Livvy Fund” with former collegiate champion Livvy Dunne to support women’s college athletes, announced a NIL partnership with future University of Miami golfer Kai Trump, who will enroll at The U in fall 2026. Kai will be featured in Accelerator campaigns and […]

Today, Accelerator Active Energy – the brand that earned acclaim for launching “The Livvy Fund” with former collegiate champion Livvy Dunne to support women’s college athletes, announced a NIL partnership with future University of Miami golfer Kai Trump, who will enroll at The U in fall 2026. Kai will be featured in Accelerator campaigns and the energy drink will be woven into her social media where she has built followings of more than six million across her TikTok, Instagram and YouTube channels.
Kai Trump joins Accelerator as an equity partner alongside Dunne and football superstar Travis Kelce.
With zero sugar and no Taurine which is found in many competitor products, Accelerator provides sustained energy and enhances focus so you can Accelerate Your Day. Accelerator’s proprietary blend of natural caffeine, plant-based thermogenics, and cognitive boosters is NSF Certified and clinically proven to help accelerate your metabolism.
“An energy drink with natural caffeine like Accelerator is so important to ensuring I stay focused and have extra energy when I’m in the gym, on the golf course, studying, traveling or as part of my daily routine,” said Kai Trump. “Accelerator has an inspiring group of athlete partners that I look up to and it’s an honor to join the team. I can’t wait to jump in with Accelerator and I’m looking forward to what the future holds in our partnership.”
As part of today’s news, Accelerator and Kai released a video on social media, titled “Kai’s Announcement,” featuring a presidential-themed speech where she announces her partnership and investment in Accelerator Active Energy. The spot was filmed recently at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Fla.
“We are honored to have Kai join the Accelerator team as she becomes an NIL superstar ahead of her collegiate golf career,” said Andrew Wilkinson, Chief Executive Officer at Accelerator Active Energy. “Kai has a very busy schedule including golf, content creation, travel and much more and Accelerator is the perfect solution to providing her the sustained energy without sugar while she’s on the go. We are excited to see all she is going to accomplish in the years ahead as she becomes a leading voice in NIL and beyond.”
In addition to Kai Trump joining the brand, the Accelerator athlete roster features the aforementioned Travis Kelce and Livvy Dunne, soccer star and world champion Lindsey Heaps, top-10-ranked professional tennis star Paula Badosa and baseball rising star and world champion Evan Carter.
About Accelerator Active Energy
Accelerator Active Energy is an energy drink specifically formulated with zero sugar which provides sustained energy and enhances focus so you can accelerate your day. The Accelerator athlete roster includes notable athletes such as Travis Kelce, Livvy Dunne, Evan Carter, Paula Badosa and now Kai Trump. The accelerator is NSF Certified and is available across QuikTrip, Walmart, Hy-Vee, Giant Eagle, Amazon and more. For more information about Accelerator Active Energy visit the .
Follow all social media platforms to stay up to date with everything Miami Hurricanes-related: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, and BlueSky.
College Sports
Argument over ‘valid business purpose’ for NIL collectives threatens college sports settlement
Less than two weeks after terms of a multibillion-dollar college sports settlement went into effect, friction erupted over the definition of a “valid business purpose” that collectives making name, image and likeness payments to players are supposed to have. The new College Sports Commission sent a letter to athletic directors last week saying it was […]

Less than two weeks after terms of a multibillion-dollar college sports settlement went into effect, friction erupted over the definition of a “valid business purpose” that collectives making name, image and likeness payments to players are supposed to have.
The new College Sports Commission sent a letter to athletic directors last week saying it was rejecting deals in which players were receiving money from collectives that were created solely to pay them and don’t provide goods or services to the general public for profit.
A lead attorney for the players responded by saying those instructions went against settlement terms and asking the CSC to rescind the guidance.
“This process is undermined when the CSC goes off the reservation and issues directions to the schools that are not consistent with the Settlement Agreement terms,” attorney Jeffrey Kessler wrote to NCAA outside counsel Rakesh Kilaru in a letter obtained by The Associated Press.
Yahoo Sports first reported details of the letter, in which Kessler threatens to take the issue to a judge assigned with resolving disputes involved in the settlement.
Kessler told the AP that his firm was not commenting on the contents of the letter, and Kilaru did not immediately respond to the AP’s request for comment.
Yahoo quoted a CSC spokesman as saying the parties are working to resolve differences and that “the guidance issued by the College Sports Commission … is entirely consistent with the House settlement and the rules that have been agreed upon with class counsel.”
When NIL payments became allowed in 2021, boosters formed so-called collectives that were closely tied to universities to work out contracts with the players, who still weren’t allowed to be paid directly by the schools.
Terms of the House settlement allow schools to make the payments now but keep the idea of outside payments from collectives, which have to be approved by the CSC if they are worth $600 or more.
The CSC, in its letter last week, explained that if a collective reaches a deal, for instance, for an athlete to appear on behalf of the collective, which charges an admission fee, that collective does not have a “valid business purpose” because the purpose of the event is to raise money to pay athletes, not to provide goods or services available to the general public for profit.
Another example of a disallowed deal was one an athlete makes to sell merchandise to raise money to pay that player because, the CSC guidance said, the purpose of “selling merchandise is to raise money to pay that student-athlete and potentially other student-athletes at a particular school or schools, which is not a valid business purpose.”
Kessler’s letter notes that the “valid business purpose” rule was designed to ensure athletes were not simply being paid to play, and did not prohibit NIL collectives from paying athletes for the type of deals described above.
To prevent those payments “would be to create a new prohibition on payments by a NIL collective that is not provided for or contemplated by the Settlement Agreement, causing injury to the class members who should be free to receive those payments,” Kessler wrote.
College Sports
Son of former NHL forward enjoying his role with the Rox
ST. CLOUD — Jackson Cooke had an opportunity to go back to the Thunder Bay Border Cats this summer. The summer of 2024 was a memorable one for Cooke in Thunder Bay. He hit .304 with nine doubles, nine homers, 40 RBI, a .403 on-base percentage and .625 slugging percentage and played in the Northwoods […]

ST. CLOUD — Jackson Cooke had an opportunity to go back to the Thunder Bay Border Cats this summer.
The summer of 2024 was a memorable one for Cooke in Thunder Bay. He hit .304 with nine doubles, nine homers, 40 RBI, a .403 on-base percentage and .625 slugging percentage and played in the Northwoods League All-Star Game.
Besides that, his sister, Gabby Fahey, lived in Thunder Bay.
“It went really well and I really enjoyed it,” Cooke said. “My sister, brother-in-law (Curtis) and their two kids lived in Thunder Bay. I got to see them a lot and I didn’t get to see them much before that.”
The Border Cats wanted him back, but they had a few things working against them. Thunder Bay was 35-34 overall last summer and did not make the playoffs. His sister’s family also moved to London, Ontario, and the St. Cloud Rox made an offer to the Edina High School graduate.
“It’s an hour away from home,” Cooke said. “It’s a lot better baseball here. We weren’t very good in Thunder Bay.”
Last season,
the Rox
won the Great Plains West second half division title, finished second in the first half and reached the division championship playoff game, finishing with a 43-26 overall record under first-year manager Nick Studdard.
“He was a really, really good player and with him being from Edina, it was, ‘hey, we are from right up the road. Let’s make this situation happen,'” Studdard said. “To get a guy like Jackson was great. The tool sets and skill sets that he has … I didn’t realize what a bubbly, great, awesome human being that he is. He’s always having a positive attitude, cheering on his teammates. He’s an absolutely incredible young man.”

Andy Rennecke / St. Cloud LIVE
Cooke has a smaller role with the Rox than he had with the Border Cats and is hitting .233 with five doubles, three homers and 11 RBI with a .362 on-base percentage and .395 slugging percentage and has played in 26 of the team’s 43 games through July 9.
“I’m here to play my part,” Cooke said. “I got that experience last summer and that was fun. I’m having a good time and I definitely enjoy St. Cloud.”
Besides catching, Cooke has also seen some time at first base.
“We’re trying our best to get him as many opportunities as we can,” Studdard said. “For us, it was a match made in heaven. He wants to be a part of winning baseball. I think that’s what made it an easy sell for him. ‘Yeah, it’s just up the road and we’re going to win a ton of baseball games.'”
One of the reasons why Cooke has not played as much for the Rox is because Carter Jorissen is the starting catcher. Jorissen, who is from Cal State Bakersfield, is hitting a team-leading .367 with a .472 on-base percentage in 19 games.
“Because of who is as a person and a teammate, you want to give him as many opportunities as possible,” Studdard said of Cooke. “Carter Jorissen has been really, really good for us.
“I think (Cooke’s) done a great job of battling through adversity. Whether that’s hard hit balls that don’t fall. Hitting balls hard or soft and it doesn’t go his way. He’s battled through a lot of adversity, but he’s kept a really, really good attitude through it all. That’s why you’re starting to see him have some more success.”
Cooke has moved around a bit in his college career. In 2023 and 2024, he played for the University of Tennessee-Martin. As a sophomore, he hit .289 with one homer and six RBI in 21 games after appearing in 11 games a freshman.
“I wasn’t playing much and didn’t really like my situation there and my coaches,” Cooke said. “I had a good summer last summer and Pitt was one of my dream schools growing up.”

Contributor Alex Jurkuta / St. Cloud Rox
Cooke transferred to the University of Pittsburgh. He had a bit of an up-and-down season with the Panthers. Cooke played in 33 games, nine of which were starts. He hit .204, but he had six homers, two doubles and 17 RBI in 49 at-bats.
In a game against Kent State on March 19, he hit a grand slam and drove in five runs in a 17-13 win. On April 4-6, he played in two of three games against Miami and was 2-for-7. On April 12-13, he played in all three games against Virginia, but went 0-for-11.
“They wanted me to succeed,” Cooke said. “I just didn’t do my job. I started Friday (April 17) at Duke and then just got to pinch hit.”
Despite the ups and downs of the spring, Cooke said he is happy at Pittsburgh.
“I enjoyed it there,” he said. “The guys and the coaches are awesome. The coaches were very easy to talk to, unlike my coaches at my old school. Hopefully, I’ll be playing every day and get back in the lineup. That’s the plan.”
Interestingly, Cooke did not play hockey long when he was growing up in Edina, a city known for its hockey. And oh by the way, his dad, Matt, played wing in the NHL from 1998-2015.
Matt played for the Vancouver Canucks (1998-2008), Washington Capitals (2008), Pittsburgh Penguins (2008-13) and Minnesota Wild (2013-15).
“It was cool,” he said. “You’d get to go to games and I’d get to go into the locker room. There would be (Sidney) Crosby.
“I got to spend a lot of time in the locker room before practice, before games, after games. I was always around the guys and my dad had me around the locker room growing up.”

Andy Rennecke / St. Cloud LIVE
In 2009, Matt Cooke was a member of the Penguins’ team that won the Stanley Cup.
“We were in Detroit for that,” he said. “All the family sat together after we were on the plane. It was crazy. It was unreal. I remember so many fans outside. Trying to get on the ice after the game was a struggle. It worked out.”
He played hockey until he was “8 or 9, but one of my best friends growing up played baseball and I stuck with it.”
While he may not get a ton of playing time, Studdard said that Cooke plays a key role on the Rox.
“If you go up and down this roster, they love Cooke to death,” Studdard said. “He’s just awesome and is that great of a dude. That’s what makes it tough that he isn’t in there every day.”
St. Cloud center fielder Nolan Geislinger, an Eden Valley-Watkins graduate, said that he enjoys Cooke’s personality.
“I don’t think he’s had a bad day,” Geislinger said. “He always seems to be messing with me. He’ll randomly mess with me and I’ll say something back to him and he’ll give me a big hug. He’s definitely a good guy to have in the dugout. Sometimes, it does get annoying when he’s doing something with me.”
What kind of things does he do?
“He’s slapping me, messing with my hat, anything he can find,” Geislinger said. “He’ll throw seeds at me.
“He’s from Edina and I tell him, ‘You’re from Edina and nobody likes Edina.’ I always say something like that. It’s kind of funny.”
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