Senior Spotlight: Cole Gilley / East pitcher is recovering from knee surgery following football injury

Columbus East quarterback Cole Gilley limps on the sideline after being injured in the first quarter of a sectional football game against Center Grove at Columbus East High School in Columbus, Ind., Friday. Nov. 1, 2019. Mike Wolanin | The Republic

Editor’s Note: With the coronavirus outbreak shutting down spring sports, The Republic will be featuring senior athletes from Columbus East, Columbus North and Hauser whose final seasons were affected by the decision over the course of the spring.

Early in the second half during a football game against Seymour this past fall, Columbus East senior Cole Gilley injured his leg and didn’t return.

Gilley then proceeded to get an MRI, and the initial results were a sprained MCL and a deep bone bruise. There also was thought at the time that there could have been a meniscus tear, as well, even though the MRI did not show it at first.

With a recovery time of six-to-eight weeks, it meant that Gilley would have to miss playing in the home finale against Madison, which was senior night for the Olympians. Even though it hurt him that he couldn’t play on the field during senior night, getting healthy was his first priority.

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Three weeks after the injury, Gilley was back on the field for East’s sectional game against Center Grove. About five minutes into the game, he dropped back for a pass and suddenly, he heard his knee pop.

Gilley went in for a second MRI soon after, and it revealed even worse news — he had torn the root of his meniscus. He went to a doctor for the procedure on Jan. 8, where they had to drill a hole into his tibia bone to attach the meniscus back together to get more blood flow.

However, things had gotten worse. There was also discovery of two more additional tears in his knee.

Gilley was told it was going to be an estimated four-month recovery process. It meant that his baseball season had the slight possibly of being over before it even started.

However, on April 6, Gilley was cleared to start running and weightlifting on his knee. He said that he hasn’t gotten all the mechanics and workouts done since he is transitioning from football season to baseball season because of the surgery.

“I was still going to miss the early part of the season. The earliest I could have been back is in the early part of May,” Gilley said. “I wasn’t for sure if I was going to hit or not this year because when you twist your knee when hitting, it puts pressure right on your meniscus part of it, so, I wasn’t sure about the hitting part, and I was thinking about just pitching. Right now, I feel like I could get on a mound and throw, but it’s just that I haven’t been able to throw and really push off my lower half and really get everything.”

During his recovery, Gilley still found ways to contribute to the baseball team.

“He was kind of down there for awhile, and that’s tough to possibly miss your senior year because of injury. He was working to get back and was hoping to get back sometime in May. He was doing rehab every day and working his tail off everyday so he could get back and join his teammates out on the field,” East coach Jon Gratz said. “He was coming to our workouts, even though he couldn’t do anything, but he was helping all the younger guys and offering advice and being the leader that he is.”

Gilley led the Olympians to their first Class 4A state final last season. He was one of 23 players named to the National High School Baseball Coaches Association 2020 Indiana Preseason All-State team, was First-Team All-Hoosier Hills Conference in 2018 and 2019 and was named The Republic Baseball Player of the Year in 2018.

Gilley’s high school baseball career has ended, but will continue in the college ranks at Indiana State.

“One thing I noticed from him as a freshman was that he was a very young, mature man as a freshman,” Gratz said. “He acted a little older than his age, and that’s kind of helped him really be a leader and be mature on the field and off the field. Even as freshman, you could tell he was going to be a really good leader. He really didn’t talk a ton as a freshman because that’s harder to do, but as he started to get older, he was starting to step into that leadership role.”

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Q: Can you describe how you felt when you heard that your season was canceled?

"For me, it was disappointing. I love baseball. I just wish we had a senior night with that and graduation and everything like that. I’s disappointing. It is what it is. Honestly for me, I’d much rather miss out on a senior year of baseball and make sure everything is healthy (from coronavirus) and make this world go back to where it was."

Q: What is your best memory with the program?

"One of them was my sophomore year when we beat Columbus North in the sectional, and that was our first sectional in 19 years. Also, then making that state run last year for the first time in school history. That’s pretty crazy to think about that I was a part of that. We had a really good team, and you can’t thank the coaches enough for supporting us and pushing us to get better."

Q: What will you miss most about your school and team?

"Team-wise, I love those guys. It’s like a brotherhood. All four years, it’s been nothing but a blast playing baseball for Columbus East. I’m going to miss all those guys. It’s disappointing just because it’s different when you’re playing for the school across your chest and not some travel ball team. I’m just going to miss all those bus rides, messing around on the bus and having fun. All the games, all the big-time championship we won and getting rowdy on the bus. It’s not specifically just the games, it’s everyone around it.

"For school-wise, I love Columbus East with the football, baseball and all the teachers. Everybody that was there — the teachers, all my classmates, teammates, coaches, that was what made Columbus East a great experience for me."

Q: What lesson(s) did you learn from your time with the program?

"All the hard work is going to pay off. Coach Gratz is always preaching that you are going to get out the work that you put in. Every time you are going out there and pushing yourself, pushing your teammates and holding each other accountable. It’s not about you, it’s about the team and doing whatever you can for the team to help them win."

Q: What are your plans for college or the future?

"What I’m going to be majoring in is pre-physical therapy. I was thinking of business, marketing and sales, but I’m leaning toward physical therapy right now and minor in business management. What I want to do after college is hopefully get drafted (by Major League Baseball), but if that’s not what God has planned for me, I’ll go to PT (physical therapy) school. Once I can get a physical therapy job, I’m wanting to do that because physical therapists can make their own hours, and I also want to train people on the side where it involves weight programs and pitching lessons and hitting lessons. I can hopefully use my physical therapy knowledge to help with baseball players on the side."

Q: What is your final message to the team?

"Just keeping working hard, and don’t take anything for granted. Baseball doesn’t last forever. You have to have fun while you’re playing it. It’s not a job right now, you go and have fun. Trust God’s plan for you and keep working hard and doing everything you can in the best of your ability. If you play for the team, play for the school, play for the city and play for the coaches, the results are going to be really, really, good."

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