Interview with Former UNC Diamond Heel Pitcher Matt Cox
Former North Carolina High School standout and Diamond Heel Pitcher Matt Cox was born and raised a Tar Heel. The son of two Chapel Hill graduates in Mike and Gerri Cox, Matt grew up in Southeastern North Carolina with Carolina Blue blood already coursing through his veins. Matt Cox was a three time all-county player while playing baseball at West Brunswick High School (NC) helping lead them to a State Title in 2004. Recently, Keeping it Heel had the opportunity to sit down with Matt and pick his brain about his time at Chapel Hill, his College World Series experience, and his professional life after baseball. Matt also tells us how a simple Roy Williams pep talk led to a CWS run.
Keeping It Heel : Give us a little back-round of Matt Cox and where you’re from in North Carolina.
Matt Cox: I grew up in Shallotte North Carolina, which is in between Wilmington and Myrtle Beach. Both of my parents went to Carolina, so, I mean naturally I kinda grew up brainwashed to love the Tar Heels. But, you know its not too hard to be a fan when you grow up watching guys like Vince Carter and Julius Peppers. There was a lot of good sports here when you were pulling for the Tar Heels as I was coming along . My parents and I, we would try to make it up to the campus 2-3 times every year, so it almost seemed like home already in a sense, before I even started getting recruited. Before I really thought about where I would even go to college, as a kid, Chapel Hill and being a Tar Heel was already something familiar.
KIH: Who were some of your influences on the baseball field? Either as a kid, or in High School.
MC: As a kid, we really didn’t get to too many baseball games, but I remember on my recruiting trip watching one of my first college baseball games. I remember thinking this team is going somewhere, watching Daniel Bard and Andrew Miller up there just shutting people down as Sophomores. That told me this would be fun either way, then seeing those guys in person and playing with them, I knew we had a real shot at doing something special. In High School, I played at West Brunswick High. We actually won the 2004 3-A State Championship my Junior year. Played four years and was a letter-winner under coach Mike Alderson. I had experiences their under coach Alderson that prepared me and helped me through my recruiting process and getting me ready to play at the college level.
KIH: Winning a State Championship in any sport has to be special for a High School kid. Tell us about your Junior season of High School baseball and anything that stood out to you.
MC: Well, we weren’t exactly the most talented team. I mean we weren’t even the most talented team in our own conference. The year before, in 2003, everyone thought we had a chance to go and win a state title because we had 7 or 8 Seniors who all went on to play College baseball. My Junior year though, we only had maybe 5 guys who hit over .300 and ended up with a losing record at one point during the season. I think we were 8-9 at one point and then we just kinda developed this “refuse to lose” attitude. Attitude is everything. I mean, talent will take you so far but you know its your drive and your will to win that sometimes puts you over the edge. We just ran hard to every bag, competed hard with every pitch and bunt. It was something that I learned at a young age and maybe at that time during ’04 with my H.S. teammates we all learned what it meant to work hard and accomplish something.
KIH: Coach Mike Alderson, still at the school you attended in West Brunswick High School (NC), is coming off another county Coach of the Year award and postseason appearance with his team in 2012. What do you think has helped him maintain success, for decades now, in leading North Carolina High School kids on the baseball field?
MC: I believe he has been the coach their at West Brunswick now for over 20 years. He can, has, and could, coach about anything sports wise their, but you can tell his real passion is Baseball. He actually even got married on the baseball field. I mean, he takes 14 year old kids, not ready for much of anything and by the time they are 18 and have played three or four years under him they are prepared to go to college. Which for an 18-year-old, that is a tough thing going off to college, and under coach Alderson we were all ready. Along with his son, assistant coach B.A. Alderson, I learned a lot from both of those men. Next to my father and family of course, the combination of all three of them had me more inspired than anything.
KIH: A few months ago, the University of South Carolina hired former UNC assistant coach Chad Holbrook as the baseball teams new head coach. Coach Holbrook has a great reputation recruiting and was part of the staff that recruited you. What was your recruiting process like, and what can College Baseball and USC expect out of Chad Holbrook as a Head Coach?
MC: Originally, at first I was looked at by the pitching coach and another former Tar Heel player, Coach Roger Williams. I thought he was one of the best pitching coaches in America. Through the years, then, Carolina had built a reputation for having some top notch pitching. Coach Williams was a very important reason for that. He brought in guys like Daniel Bard and Andrew Miller before Carolina had even gone to a World Series and reemerged. For me, as soon as they started looking at me it was pretty much Game Over. I knew that that was the only place I really wanted to go.
As soon as they came in the picture no one else mattered. Assistant coach Chad Holbrook’s track record speaks for itself when it comes to recruiting talent. When you got a guy who has gone to the College World Series 7 of the last 8 years, it isn’t hard to piece together that he is a huge part of the programs success. Seems like its an easy fit for him to be the new head coach of South Carolina. South Carolina has obviously turned into a college baseball powerhouse and I’m sure he(Holbrook) is an important centerpiece as to why that is.