Cohen Finds Detour to Pierce a Good Way to Reach the Top

This is not how Jason Cohen planned things, but he’s not complaining.

Not quite three years after concluding a stellar baseball career at El Camino Real High, Cohen is one of the catalysts on a Pierce College team looking for yet another championship. One of only three returning starters for the Brahmas, he is a quiet leader who lets his prolific bat make the noise.

“He has made a mark for himself as an outstanding college hitter,” Pierce Coach Bob Lofrano said. “I think Jason is one of the finer hitters at this level in California and he’s got the stats to prove it.”

As a third baseman and third-place hitter last season, Cohen batted .376 with four home runs and 37 runs batted in while helping the Brahmas win their second consecutive Western State Conference title and finish third in the state behind Fresno and Sacramento.

In WSC games, Cohen batted .350 with 21 RBIs and three triples and was named to the all-conference team. Overall, he struck out only 19 times in 165 plate appearances.

But although he enjoyed a solid season, the junior college level is not where Cohen wanted to be after high school.

After two outstanding varsity seasons at El Camino Real, Cohen had set his sights on USC. He batted .367 with two home runs and 23 RBIs his senior season and had a team-leading .407 batting average his junior year with nine doubles and 17 RBIs.

However, the Trojans didn’t offer Cohen a scholarship and he decided to walk on. A year later, he was walking out.

The Trojans redshirted him in 1991 and Coach Mike Gillespie couldn’t guarantee him a scholarship the following season. So Cohen had few alternatives but to quit. With $21,500 in tuition to pay off, Cohen couldn’t afford to stick around.

“It was flat-out money,” Cohen, 20, said of his reason for leaving USC. “My family didn’t have the funds (to pay for another year). Coming up with that kind of money is too much to ask.”

Enter Lofrano and Pierce.

The Brahmas were coming off a WSC co-championship and were loaded with sophomores. But Lofrano was happy to make room in the starting lineup for another good hitter. And Cohen was eager to put up numbers that would attract offers from Division I schools.

“My idea at first was to play one season (at Pierce) and then go to a four-year college,” Cohen said. “After talking to Coach Lofrano, I decided to stay another year to strengthen my game.”

The thought of Cohen improving is not what opposing pitchers wanted to hear, but it’s a sure way to pique the interest of coaches from major colleges. Cohen said defending NCAA Division I national champion Pepperdine, among others, is taking a close look at him.

To help him become a more refined player, Lofrano talked Cohen into switching this season to first base, the position he sought at USC.

“I sold him on the idea that he’s such a fine offensive player, that he didn’t need to have any negatives defensively,” Lofrano said. “He wasn’t a bad third baseman, but third base is not an easy position to play and it could distract him. Now he’s a better overall package to sell.”

Cohen, an outfielder at El Camino Real, welcomed the change.

“There were really two reasons for the move,” Cohen said. “For one, we had (freshman) Lou Tapia (of Notre Dame High) coming in and Coach wanted to put him at third. And at third base I could make the plays. . . but I was nothing spectacular. I was spending half my time working at third base, where now it is more or less 90% hitting and 10% on the field.”

The extra work at the plate is as important for the team’s future as it is for Cohen. On a roster full of freshmen, Cohen figures to be one of the veterans expected to produce consistently so the Brahmas can challenge for another WSC pennant. But Cohen says he doesn’t feel added pressure.

“Not at all,” he said. “The guys who are taking over for the players who left are quality athletes and are going to do the job. I foresee the new guys playing their hearts out. And I know you are not going to get anything but 110% from the veterans.

“The veterans want to prove that they didn’t have fluke years last year, and the new guys want to prove that they can play at this level.”

That’s something Cohen already has done, even though he did not anticipate a junior college stint. But, he says, things couldn’t have worked out better.

“It’s turned out to be a blessing in disguise,” Cohen said.