MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama men's golf program has added a junior-college All-American to the roster for next season after head coach Ben Hannan announced Monday that Drew Cooke has signed a National Letter-of-Intent and will enroll in school in the fall.

Cooke — a native of Lecanto, Fla. — will have two years of eligibility remaining after playing the last two seasons at Eastern Florida State J.C.  He's the fourth member of the Jaguars' 2015-16 recruiting class, joining incoming freshmen Jarand Arnoy (Bergen, Norway), Brooks Rabren (Dozier, Ala.) and Stephen Wall (Madisonville, La.).

"We've been following Drew for the last year — we saw him play last fall and again this spring," Hannan stated.  "We were impressed with his continued improvement and potential upside.  He is a strong, athletic player who has shown the ability to shoot some low scores when he's on.  Also, I have enjoyed getting to know Drew through the recruiting process and believe he'll be a good fit with our team.

"Because our team make-up next season will be different than years past regarding competition experience, to add an individual who has already played at the collegiate level will give us more depth and maturity as well.  We're looking forward to Drew joining us next fall."

This season, he has been a mainstay in the Titans' line-up as they advanced to the National Junior College Athletic Association national championship in Newton, Kan.; EFSC won a playoff to finish second while Cooke earned honorable mention All-America distinction after tying for 13th in the individual standings with a 293 score over 72 holes.  His efforts helped the school win the NJCAA District 4 championship last month, as he finished second in a field of 39 individuals with a 217 total following a 2-under-par 70 in the final round.  The Titans claimed the team title by 21 strokes, while Cooke was one shot behind a teammate for medalist honors.

Cooke carded a 72 to help the Titans to a dual-match victory over Florida Tech to conclude the regular season, while he shared honors for the low round with a 71 in a match against Guilford (N.C.) in mid-March and was medalist with the same score in a victory over St. Peter's (N.J.) a week earlier.  He added a top-five finish at the Doublegate Collegiate Invitational to open the month, highlighted by a 3-under-par 69 in the second round en route to an even-par 216 54-hole total, and also tied for eighth to help EFSC claim Florida Tech's Panther Invitational the final week of February.

His efforts helped the Titans rise to No. 1 in Golfstat,com's NJCAA rankings early in March.

Cooke — who stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 185 pounds — is a graduate of LeCanto High, where he was selected to the all-county team on four occasions and named all-district three times.  He was the district champion as a junior after leading the Panthers to the title, and was runner-up twice at the event; LHS also claimed the district when Cook was a senior.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

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