BY NOAH GRIFFITH
FOR THE OBSERVER
SMITHS STATION — Cooper Favors, 17-year-old pitcher for the Glenwood Gators, is the Opelika Observer’s pick for All-Area Pitcher of the Year for Lee County schools after a stellar junior campaign.
A right-handed starting pitcher, Favors started 14 games for the Class 3A state champions, turning in a 12-2 record with a 1.30 ERA. He surrendered just 14 earned runs on 58 hits and 15 walks while striking out 77 batters in 75.2 innings pitched.
With UCL injuries to key arms like senior Hudson Campbell and sophomore Tyler Claridy early in the season, Favors inherited the role of “ace” of Glenwood’s pitching staff and thrived.
“Well, I wasn’t really expecting [to be the No. 1 starter] coming into the season,” said Favors. “I just got there and had to do my best and pitch my hardest for my team.”
Favors not only grew a lot in a major role this season, he did it with little varsity experience prior to his junior season. He was brought up to varsity for the first time in the middle of his sophomore year in hopes of getting him experience behind the likes of dominant arms like Mason McCraine and Tyler Sykes on the 2025 squad.
“Stepping up to be thrust into the No. 1 role is not easy in our program,” said head coach Tim Fanning. “With the number of arms that we had go down and wasn’t able to use all year, we really needed him… [Favors’ performance] was huge for us to kind of calm everything down at the top of the rotation.”
Standing at 5-foot-11 and 185 pounds, Favors is a Glenwood lifer and multi-sport athlete in football and baseball. He has now participated on two championship squads in baseball, one as a youngster taking it all in, and one as the reliable ace in every playoff series.
Last Tuesday, he started Game 1 of the state championship series against the Gordo High School Green Wave at Choccolocco Park. Favors earned the win in that game, pitching 3.2 innings and allowing three earned runs on six hits, three walks and three strikeouts in an 18-6 victory for Glenwood.
The selfless attitude of the Phenix City native showed in his recount of his experience starting the title game.
“I was high off of adrenaline, and you can’t really think in that moment,” Favors recalled of taking the mound at the state championship in Oxford. “I was just trying to zone in as much as I could and focus on throwing strikes, honestly, and doing the best I could for my seniors.”
While Favors is still hoping to accrue more college offers and weigh his next-level options over the next year, he knows exactly what he wants to improve on in next year’s campaign: pitching accuracy and command. His one critique of his performance this season was that he struggled to find the strike zone consistently at times.
Entering his senior year, Favors will carry the momentum from the state championship finish to cap off junior year. Next season, No. 11 for the Gators expects to face tougher competitors that will pose an additional threat to Glenwood with the school’s move to Private Class 2A.
Even so, he’s excited for the chance to repeat as state champions for a fifth consecutive year and relive the feeling of Glenwood’s championship victory from this season.
“It was just feeling like we’ve completed what we have all been working for the past four or five months – just a surreal feeling,” Favors said. “It’s just great to know that I did my best for my seniors and knowing that they’ll take home a state championship ring. That’s something that will live forever.”
