Allatoona High School’s Cooper Underwood prepares for 2025 MLB Draft

Game footage used in this story courtesy of Prep Baseball Georgia.

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - When your name is Cooper Underwood, the only thing constant in life is change.

“I just think it’s crazy we were out here like three months ago,” Underwood said.

And, of course, an arsenal of pitches that make him one of the best in this year’s MLB Draft class.

“It’s a blessing, just taking it as a day-by-day kind of thing,” Underwood said.

“Whatever door God opens I’m going to run with that.”

For the last two years the Allatoona ace is currently committed to play for Georgia Tech, and will soon have to answer the same question that all high school prospects face -- choosing college, or starting a pro career.

Just don’t ask him for an answer yet.

“I have no clue what’s going to happen,” Underwood said. “All it takes is one team to really like you to fall in place. Whatever God lays out. Hopefully it’s one clear decision, either I’m going to go play pro ball or I’m going to go play college baseball for the next three years and get picked really high in three years.”

But the toughest part about this week won’t be making a decision or waiting for a call.

It’s saying goodbye to high school ball.

“I come here in training a lot,” Underwood said. “It’s where I come back pretty much every time. This place is home for sure.”

Because home makes Cooper who he is.

“My dad passed away when I was 15 years old,” Underwood said. “He tied my right hand behind my back when I was younger to make me be left-handed. He was huge on baseball. The field and being here at Allatoona, it took everything off me. I was happy to be here. It just made me work harder, put my head down and take every day for a new opportunity and wake up every day with a smile on my face.”

His life is about to change, but Cooper won’t. Because what he leaves behind at Allatoona are the same things he’ll bring to wherever he is next.

“I’m very excited to see what happens,” Underwood said. “If it’s that, I’m going to be pumped about it, we’re going to get on that flight to Arizona or Florida and work our way to the big leagues as fast as we can.”

And if things do get tough, all he’ll do is look up.

“I’m happy that he’ll be able to watch down on me and I know that he already knows what’s going to happen because he’s up there,” Underwood said. “It’s hard to think about stuff like that because I wish he was sitting right next to me on that day. I know he’s watching down on me making sure I’m doing the right stuff.”

The 2025 MLB Draft begins on Sunday at the Coca-Cola Roxy in Atlanta.