WEST POINT — Cohen Trolio didn’t always know golf would take him places.
When he started playing at a young age, the goal was simple: “Get the little ball in the hole,” Trolio said.
Then, he got good. Really good. That mentality had to change.
“Alright, I guess we’re going to have to take it to the next level,” Trolio had to realize.
On Wednesday morning, that next level came into clear view when Trolio, a senior at Oak Hill Academy in West Point, signed his letter of intent to play college golf at LSU.
The young phenom — a semifinalist at last year’s U.S. Amateur who has already qualified for five PGA events — aspires to a professional career. The choice, he said, wasn’t hard.
“It was definitely very, very easy to go to the school, and I’m ready to be a Tiger,” Trolio said.
Trolio’s father and golf coach, Old Waverly teaching professional VJ Trolio, said an appreciation of LSU’s strong athletics and academic programs led Cohen to commit during his sophomore year. So did Tigers coach Chuck Winstead, who Cohen said was honest and knowledgeable throughout the recruiting process and kept Cohen committed to LSU.
“When he made that decision, he’s never looked back on it,” VJ said of his son.
The younger Trolio kept his options open as other offers began to flow in, but LSU remained his choice despite the array of opportunities.
“It was pretty cool to get recruited and to get looked at by a lot of schools,” Trolio said.
When he put pen to paper Wednesday morning, he became the first SEC signee from Oak Hill athletic director Phil Ferguson can remember. Golfer Hunter Atkins, who signed to Southern Miss in November 2016, was the Raiders’ most recent Division I product.
“It’s quite an honor to get to this point,” Ferguson said.
Trolio said it won’t stop with him. He promised six or seven more Raiders — including his younger brother, Collins, and junior Wells Williams — will follow his lead in as many years.
When they do, they’ll get to reap the reward of the work they put in.
VJ and Cohen’s mother, Allison, put in plenty of hours to help their son, and friends, coaches and other family members devoted their time, too.
However, VJ said, no one has sacrificed as much as Cohen himself has for his sport, and Cohen got to enjoy the benefits Wednesday as he prepares to head to Baton Rouge in August.
“It takes a lot of hard work to accomplish these things, and we’re extremely excited for him to go down there,” VJ said.
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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