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Photo: Nicholas Faulkner/Icon Sportswire

Name: Jacob Cozart

College: North Carolina State University

Bio: L/R 6-3, 222lbs.

DOB: 01/09/2003

Scouting Grades on 20-80 Scale

Skill Grade
Hit 40
Power 50
Run 30
Arm 55
Field 50
Future Value 50

Analysis: 

Jacob Cozart comes from a family of baseball players. His dad was an accomplished player at the University of Central Florida and his brother, Caleb, is a senior and played UNC-Greensboro this past season. 

Cozart’s athletic traits shine in his movements behind the plate. He is explosive in his movements from the crouch which enhances his skills as a blocker and allows him to control the run game when coupled with his plus arm. 

He shows some solid tools in the batter’s box with a strong lower half that he’s able to tap into to produce solid power numbers in game.  

College Career: 

Cozart amassed 150 starts over his three years at North Carolina State after immediately stepping into a starting role during his freshman year. He provided more defense than offense in 2022, putting up a respectable .240/337/.377 as a newcomer in the ACC before breaking out during his sophomore year. 

In 2023, Cozart cemented himself as an all-conference performer, earning All-ACC second-team honors as he saw a significant offensive improvement. His newfound power stroke led him to belt 10 home runs and 14 doubles on his way to a .301/.392/.546 line. Increasing his OPS by over 200 points while maintaining his defensive prowess caught the attention of scouts heading into the summer of 2023. He also competed in the USA collegiate national team trials that summer before heading to fall camp at NC State.

Year ISO K% BB%
2022 .137 15% 10%
2023 .245 17% 11%
2024 .296 17% 19%

2024 was another impressive year for Cozart. He helped lead NC State back to Omaha for the first time since 2021. He had another jump offensively, increasing his OPS by another 100 points on his way to a .305/.437/.601 line for the season. He socked 19 home runs this past year, but what may be a more impressive development is his plate discipline. He walked more than he struck out this season, raising his walk rate from 11% in 2023 to 19% in 2024. He was a key cog in Pack9’s run to Omaha with timely hits like this: 

 

Stance

Cozart does a great job creating favorable angles with his setup to maximize his power and simplify his swing. 

With his lower half, he starts with a wide base and a slightly open stance. He internally rotates his lead leg and sinks into his back hip, stacking most of his weight onto his backside and creating tension in his legs.  

On top, he closes his shoulders to the pitcher, allowing you to see a glimpse of his number from a normal center field camera. This allows him to create some tension across his midsection as he waits for the pitcher to move toward the plate. He keeps the bat almost completely flat as he holds his hands a few inches behind his left ear. 

As the pitcher breaks his hands there is almost no movement from Cozart’s upper half. His hands and head stay remarkably still as he starts a medium-sized leg kick. He squats a little further into his legs during his load and as he shifts his weight toward the pitcher he gets into a strong launch position and he fires his hands. 

When he is swinging well, this is a very compact operation that can do serious damage to his pull side against all pitch types. 

Approach: 

Cozart likes to pull the ball in the air so he looks for pitches middle-in early in counts. These are the pitches he can do the most damage on and he does a great job at punishing mistakes in this zone.

Using our “Synthetic Statcast” tool, we can see that when he got his pitch this year, he made the most of it. 

Name Barrel % (percentile) Average Launch Angle Hard Hit %
Jacob Cozart 10% (85th) 16° (87th) 37.9 (76th)

He does a good job limiting his chase below the zone on offspeed pitches and has proven that he is willing to take a walk. However, he did have some struggles this season chasing fastballs that ride above the zone above his bat path. Cozart doesn’t have top-of-the-line hand speed like others in this class and struggles to get to the top rail at times. 

His tendency to want to wrap the barrel around the ball and drive it to right field also leaves him susceptible to spin in and out of the zone. If he gets fooled and gets onto his front foot too early he can’t always delay his hands enough to make contact and that can also result in weak ground balls to the first and second basemen. 

His offensive profile will take a back seat to his defensive responsibilities as a pro given his position, but Cozart should be able to tap into his raw strength at a high enough level to be a factor at the plate with a slightly refined approach. 

Defense: 

Much like shortstops and centerfielders, the most important factor in evaluating a catcher is whether or not they can handle the position in the major leagues. 

Cozart gained the reputation of being one of the top defensive catchers in all of college baseball over his three years in Raleigh. He is a great framer who is adept at stealing strikes in all parts of the zone. He does very well at beating the ball to its spot and has soft hands when receiving. 

Cozart is a very good athlete and does a great job moving from his preferred one-knee-down stance, but blocking is the area where he has the most room for improvement. His larger-than-average frame and good mobility allow him to pull off acrobatic stops like this: 

At his best, he has great blocking range and deadens the ball right in front of his body allowing him to easily recover and prevent advancements. However, he did get caught this year lifting his glove off the ground on blocks to both sides, allowing the ball to slip underneath his glove and get to the backstop. 

Cozart’s other calling card is his arm and his ability to slow down the run game. He threw out 33% of base stealers in 2024 and has consistently produced sub-two second pop times on throws to second base. His plus arm speed and mobility allows him to throw from multiple windows with authority. He generates good carry on his throws like the one you see here:

One of the trademark stats that we curate in the major and minor leagues is Defensive Runs Saved, a wholesale evaluation of a player’s defensive performance. 

We calculate the DRS for college players in power conferences as well. Here is how the top catchers in this years draft class compare defensively: 

Name: Defensive Runs Saved Innings
Malcolm Moore 2 415
Jacob Cozart 1 428
Caleb Lomavita -2 402

*Our college Runs Saved calculations do not include a framing component 

**These calculations are scaled to MLB fielding averages. 

Projection: 

He doesn’t have eye-popping hand speed but does a good job punishing mistakes and can tap into his raw power consistently. He will likely see an uptick in his strikeout rate in pro ball as he sees better offspeed offerings, but his improved plate discipline should help him get on base consistently. 

His carrying tool will be his defense and he already showcases above-average framing ability. Cozart projects as an above-average defensive catcher with solid run-producing potential.

Comp: Austin Wells

Draft Projection: 1st Round