Opponents of the Cook High Hornets baseball team over the next couple of years may be seeing history in the making.

If Kaleb Cowart can keep topping himself, there is no telling what kind of numbers the young man will put up as a senior.

The 2008 All-Tiftarea Player of the Year was 10-3 on the pitching mound this past season. In just 82 innings of work, he struck out 106 batters, while walking only 46. Oh, he also posted a 0.60 ERA.

To prove he was not a one-hit wonder as a player, Cowart also batted .410 with 13 doubles, two triples, eight home runs and 39 RBIs. His on-base percentage was .571, so he was on base nearly 60 percent of the time he batted.

While eight home runs is reason enough to say he has a lot of power potential, Cowart also proved to be a threat on the base paths with 20 stolen bases.

Mind you, he posted all of these numbers as a sophomore. Which means he was driving in 39 runs, while possibly not being old enough to drive a car.

I have read on Web sites that Cowart may be considered a candidate for National Player of the Year as a senior in 2010. Heck, if he progresses and improves his sophomore numbers, he should get some consideration as a junior.

To make matters even better for the Hornets, Cowart is not the only top sophomore on the team.

D.J. Johnson was 10-1 as a pitcher this past season with a 0.86 ERA. He also averaged more than one strikeout per inning pitched as he struck out 97 in 73 innings of work. He also allowed 25 walks, and the stat that really impressed me was that he only allowed one home run in that 73 innings.

Johnson also batted .379 with eight doubles, six home runs and 24 RBIs. He had an on-base percentage of .480.

With Cowart and Johnson in the midst for the next two years, I would go ahead and advise anyone going to Adel to watch a Cook High baseball game to arrive early. There will probably be a lot of guys present with radar guns, also known as college and professional scouts.

Also, I would take sunglasses, because Cook head coach Bob Owsley’s grin over having Cowart and Johnson for two more years will probably be very bright.