The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss' Kris Cox Plays For Team Canada
2/1/2001 | Baseball
Feb. 1, 2001
PANAMA CITY, Panama - Having the chance to represent your country on the international stage is one of the biggest honors any athlete can achieve. Ole Miss junior OF Kris Cox received that opportunity this past November.
Cox was one of 22 players selected to Baseball Canada's Senior National Team that competed in Panama City, Panama Nov. 24-Dec. 3 in the America's Qualifying Tournament for the 2001 World Cup. The Senior National Team is the equivalent of the squad that represented the United States and captured the gold medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia.
He was just one of three collegiate players on the team as the competition was open to professionals.
Cox, who calls Breckenridge, Colo., home, was eligible for Team Canada since his father, Robert, is a Canadian citizen.
He started in center field during all six of Team Canada's games and helped the Canadians to a fourth-place finish and a berth in the 2001 World Cup to be held this upcoming November in Taiwan.
"It was the best experience I've had in baseball in terms of the players I played with and against, and in the atmosphere," Cox said.
Facing mainly professional pitchers, Cox went 6-for-18 at the plate, and drew seven walks. He also scored three runs and stole three bases.
"That was the best pitching I've seen," Cox said. "The Dominican Republic used pitchers that were playing at the Class A and AA levels in the minor leagues, and Panama had a pitcher that just finished the season in the Mexican Leagues."
Team Canada finished with a 3-3 record, losing to Panama in the bronze medal game.
