Mason Cox

Mason Cox

Cox training with Collingwood in 2014
Personal information
Full name Mason Cox
Date of birth (1991-03-14) 14 March 1991
Place of birth Highland Village, Dallas, Texas, United States
Original team(s) Oklahoma State University (Big 12)
Draft 60th pick, 2015 Rookie Draft
Height/Weight 211.4 cm / 110 kg
Position(s) Ruckman / Forward
Club information
Current club Collingwood
Number 46
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2016– Collingwood 2 (3)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of Round 6, 2016 season.

Mason Cox (born 14 March 1991) is an Australian rules footballer who plays for the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).

Early life

Cox was born in Highland Village, a suburb of Dallas, Texas[1] to parents Jeanette and Phil.[2] He attended high school in Flower Mound, Texas. Cox was a student at Edward S. Marcus High School, and was part of the school's state championship winning soccer team.[3] Current Boston Celtics player Marcus Smart attended the same school, and he and Cox would later be teammates at college.[4]

Cox studied engineering at Oklahoma State University, graduating in 2014.[5] While studying, he started playing basketball as a hobby.[6] He initially played in the women's "scout team" to play like Brittney Griner, former Baylor University basketball.[7] After being noticed by former head coach, Travis Ford, he was asked to join the the university's basketball team as a "walk-on". [4] He played a total of 57 minutes for the Cowboys, scoring seven points.[6]

AFL Career

Cox was invited to attend the 2014 US International Combine for potential Australian rules footballers, in Los Angeles in April 2014. After impressive performances in the skills testing[8] he travelled to Australia for a second combine and on 30 May 2014 was signed by the Collingwood Football Club.[9][10] AFL teams Port Adelaide, North Melbourne, Richmond, and Fremantle were also reported as having shown interest in recruiting Cox.[5]

Cox played for the Collingwood reserves team in the Victorian Football League (VFL) throughout the 2015 season whilst learning the game and improving his skills.

After playing well in the opening two games of the 2016 VFL season,[11] he made his AFL debut on 25 April 2016 in the annual Anzac Day clash against Essendon. Within the first 80 seconds of the match he took his first mark and scored the game's first goal with his first kick in the AFL.[12] Collingwood went on to win the match by 69 points.[13]

References

  1. ↑ "Mason Cox bio, stats". espn.go.com. ESPN Inc. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  2. ↑ "American Mason Cox kicks goal with first touch in AFL". Seven Sport. 25 April 2016. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  3. ↑ Magelssen, Tommy (26 April 2016). "Former Flower Mound Marcus soccer standout, Oklahoma State basketball player Mason Cox makes debut for 'Dallas Cowboys' of Australian rules football". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  4. 1 2 Hines, Kelly (27 April 2016). "Former OSU basketball player Mason Cox scores opening goal in Australian Football League debut". Tulsa World. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  5. 1 2 Quayle, Emma (21 May 2014). "Could Mason Cox be the next really big thing?". The Age (Fairfax Media).
  6. 1 2 Hines, Kelly (28 April 2014). "Does OSU's Mason Cox have a future in Australian Rules Football?". Tulsa World. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  7. ↑ Hines, Kelly (15 February 2014). "OSU walk-on Mason Cox in spotlight after big game against Texas". Tulsa World. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
  8. ↑ Twomey, Callum (28 April 2014). "Taller than Sandi: Basketballer shines at US combine".
  9. ↑ Higgins, Ben (30 May 2014). "Collingwood snares 211cm US prodigy Mason Cox as an international rookie". Herald Sun. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
  10. ↑ Chiarelli, Simon (30 May 2014). "Magpies sign 211cm US athlete". collingwoodfc.com.au. BigPond.
  11. ↑ "Mason Cox". Inside Football. Archived from the original on 25 April 2016.
  12. ↑ Baldwin, Adam (25 April 2016). "Collingwood’s American import Mason Cox boots first goal with first kick on ANZAC Day". Fox Sports.
  13. ↑ King, Travis (25 April 2016). "Ruthless Pies smash Bombers in Anzac Day fizzer". AFL.com.au. BigPond.

External links

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