Washington Signs Pair of Rookie Pitchers to Roster
WASHINGTON, Pa. (Jan. 20) – The Washington Wild Things have signed a pair of rookie pitchers, one righty and one lefty, to the roster today, both of which pitched last summer in the MLB Draft League for the West Viriginia Black Bears. Southpaw Trey Cooper and right-handed hurler Spencer Hill have become the newest additions to the pitching staff by signing their first pro contracts.
Hill appeared in 13 games for the Black Bears in 2025 after finishing his collegiate career with one season at Ohio State University. For West Virginia, he totaled 10 innings and finished four games. In those frames, he struck out 19 batters against seven hits. The hard-throwing righty had a 17.1 K/9. He appeared in six games and worked 2.2 innings. He missed the entire 2024 season due to injury in what turned out to be his final year at UNC Asheville.
There, Hill spent two seasons on the mound before that 2024 injury. In 2022, he appeared in 12 games and totaled 10 innings, making his Bulldog debut February 20 at Virginia Tech. In 2023, he had his first and only save at UNC Asheville and struck out 16 in 10.1 innings. In 2021, he played at Northern Illinois and had a 2.57 ERA in seven appearances across seven innings. He was a two-year letterwinner at New Albany High School. He pitched parts of two seasons in the NECL with Sanford, a collegiate summer league in the New England region. He then split the 2023 summer between Danville (APPY) and State College (MLBD), where he appeared in a combined 13 games that summer. He struck out 18 in a combined 16.2 innings of work.
Cooper made two starts for the Black Bears in 2025 and totaled 12 innings with 16 strikeouts, seven hits allowed and five walks. He allowed five runs (four earned), coming off a season at Liberty University where he pitched in 16 games from the bullpen, logging 13.1 innings of work. He struck out 16. In 2024 at Liberty, he was 1-2 in 20 bullpen outings. He fanned 30 in 21 innings before playing in the Appalachian League with Burlington that summer, where he started eight of his nine outings, striking out 41 over 27 frames.
He started eight of 19 appearances for Liberty in 2023, his first season at the school. In 32.2 innings, he struck out 32 batters and was 2-3 with a 5.79 ERA. In 2022, Cooper pitched in two games at NC State before pitching in eight (seven starts) for Burlington. He struck out 52 that summer in 29 innings with only 19 hits allowed.
The lefty graduated from Randleman High School, where he was three-time all-conference and an all-state honoree. He helped the Tigers to a runner-up finish in the 2019 2A State Championship.
The Washington Wild Things will open their 24th season on May 7, 2026, with the homer opener scheduled for Friday, May 15 against the Schaumburg Boomers at EQT Park. For updates, season ticket membership information and more, visit washingtonwildthings.com or follow the team on social media at facebook.com/WashingtonWildThings or @WashWildThings on other platforms.
