OREM — Former Utah Valley State outfielder Kory Drew took the first step toward his childhood dream by signing a pro baseball contract recently with the San Angelo Colts of the Central Baseball League.
Since then, he's been making the best of his opportunity, hitting a team-best .378 in 21 games through Monday, going 31-of-82, with 18 runs, five doubles, a triple and a home run.
Drew left for Texas just two days after the end of the Wolverines' season in late May and was in the lineup the next day.
"I'm so excited and so happy," said Drew. "This is something I've wanted to do since I started playing baseball."
"Kory's the hardest working kid I've ever coached," said Utah Valley State assistant Eric Madsen. "And this is a result of that hard work."
Madsen coached Drew during three of his four collegiate seasons, including his first two years when Madsen was the head coach at Eastern Utah and this past season with Madsen as an assistant under coach Steve Gardner.
Drew led Utah Valley State in hits (79) and runs (47), was second on the team with a .333 batting average and was third on the squad with eight home runs. He finished the year on a strong note personally by being named to the Division-I Independent All-Invitational team after going 8-for-12 with a home run and three runs batted in during the three game invitational.
He was named Division-I independent Newcomer of the Week after going 10-for-23 (.435) with a grand slam and eight runs batted in during the week of March 29.