When he was a junior at New Hope High School, Jacob Wilson didn’t have many friends in his own grade on the soccer team. So he asked his fellow juniors on the Trojans’ baseball team to try out the sport. If they didn’t like it, Wilson told them, they could quit, no hard feelings.
“‘Shoot,'” Cooper Odom told Wilson. “‘I’ll do it.'”
Right away, Wilson — a skilled forward with years of experience playing varsity soccer — could tell Odom was talented. By the end of the year, Odom was a starting defenseman for the Trojans, showing off his athleticism — and finding his love for the sport.
“‘Dude, this is way better than baseball,'” Odom told Wilson.
Odom and Wilson are seniors now, and they grew closer through the two seasons they spent together on the soccer field. In mid-January with neither sure of his collegiate future, they hatched a plan.
“We were like, ‘How cool would it be if we went to school together and played soccer together?'” Wilson said.
On Jan. 24. Southwest Mississippi Community College soccer coach Zach Mills came to the Trojans’ senior night match against Corinth. He had talked to Odom and Wilson when they went down to Summit for a campus visit, and Mills liked what he saw from the pair. He offered both players scholarships on the spot.
“‘Dude, we were literally just talking about this,'” Odom and Wilson thought.
Two weeks ago, the duo made up their minds. On Feb. 28, they held a joint signing ceremony as both players chose to continue their soccer careers together at Southwest.
“They’re both really good young men,” New Hope coach Andrew Olsen said. “I’m excited for them. I can’t wait to go watch them next year.”
Olsen knew Wilson had aspired to play college soccer since seventh grade, but he was impressed by Odom’s ability to learn fast. At center back, Odom’s baseball instincts transitioned naturally to soccer.
“He picked up the game a lot quicker than a lot of players I’ve coached,” Olsen said. “All year long, any ball that was in the air, you better believe Cooper was gonna be there.”
Odom, Olsen said, was the only player voted captain unanimously by his teammates.
While he anchored the Trojans’ back line, Wilson dominated up front. He told Olsen before the season he wanted to score 20 goals — he finished with 22 as his speed and physicality were constantly on display.
“Outside backs, they had a really hard time handling him,” Olsen said.
Now, Wilson will team up with Odom again with the Bears and form a formidable duo on the field. They’ll also join current New Hope senior Presley Hall, who signed to play baseball at Southwest in January.
“Especially that far away, it’s good to know people that’ll be down there with you so you’re not all by yourself,” Wilson said.
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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Related Photos
Striker Jacob Wilson signed to Southwest Mississippi Community College on Feb. 28. He had 22 goals and 12 assists this season. Photo by: Submitted photo
Center back Cooper Odom only started playing soccer his junior year, but he proved an effective defender for the Trojans. Odom was unanimously voted captain by his teammates this season. Photo by: Submitted photo
