From Purdue to the Pros: College Teammates Milburn, Cook Find Their Footing with ThunderBolts08/05/2025 1:34 PM
 By Emma Cho
The familiar, buzzing Saturday-night baseball atmosphere had taken over Ozinga Field. Over two thousand fans filled the stands, adorned in colorful Hawaiian leis from the Jimmy Buffett-themed night, and the tune of “Margaritaville” floated around the ballpark. Under the bright lights, 23-year-old Isaac Milburn stepped onto the diamond to make his professional baseball debut for the Windy City ThunderBolts. In front of new teammates, coaches, and opponents, the starting pitcher threw five and a third scoreless innings. When manager Toby Hall came to relieve Milburn, the rookie pitcher stepped off the mound and handed the ball to a familiar face: Avery Cook, his teammate from Purdue University. Cook was also making his professional debut, and he mirrored Milburn’s performance with a scoreless outing. The two Boilermakers propelled the ThunderBolts to a 2-0 victory over the first-place Gateway Grizzlies July 26. Just two months ago, Milburn and Cook had thrown their final strikeouts in their Purdue uniforms and walked the stage at graduation. Now, they stood on the same field once again, making their professional debuts together. Despite being slotted into the ThunderBolts’ starting rotation, Milburn was mainly a middle reliever at Purdue. It was with the Madison Mallards, a collegiate summer team, where Milburn found success and further experience as a starting pitcher. He posted a 2.76 ERA, starting six of the seven games he appeared in for the Mallards. He believes he fits best as a starter. “It's similar to pro ball, collegiate summer leagues, so I felt like I'd already done it. It’s like it was just another day, another start for me,” Milburn said regarding his first Bolts’ outing. “I was super comfortable [July 26] and I'm excited to keep going.” Milburn exuded an easygoing and cheerful attitude as he recalled his start; Cook insisted they were both nervous. “He won’t say it, but there was definitely nerves going into the game,” Cook said. “It’s your first professional outing. For me, at least, I was pretty nervous, you know, being a bullpen guy, not knowing when you're going to go in the game…but once I hit the mound, it just kind of transformed into another game.” Milburn threw 5.1 innings, allowing just four hits and striking out three batters. When it was time to hand the ball off to his friend, it was a close game with runners on first and second base. Cook is no stranger to those situations — he is currently ranked fifth all-time in career saves (14) at Purdue, and was ranked tenth nationally in regular-season appearances (28) for the 2025 season. Milburn was confident that Cook would get out of trouble. “It was super cool to have a guy I know coming in and lock it down for me,” Milburn said. “It was a close game and I was pretty sure he was going to get it done, but you got to watch and make sure and pick him up after he's done.” Cook allowed no runs and struck out one in 1.2 innings of relief. “I had a lot of fun,” Cook said. “Obviously, the team did what they had to do to get the win, so it was a great experience for my first outing. Following Isaac was special too.” Milburn smiled and jokingly patted Cook on the leg. “Yeah, him saving my runs is huge,” he said. “That was great.” Their trust in one another is evident now, but almost a year ago, Milburn and Cook were just getting to know each other. Milburn transferred to Purdue for the 2024–2025 school year after three years at Eastern Kentucky University. Their camaraderie did not always come so naturally. “I don't think we got along right away,” Cook said with a laugh. “I thought he was a little weird.” “Yeah, a lot of people think I'm… I'm different. I'm different,” Milburn agreed, smiling. Last August, Milburn joined the Boilermakers alongside 29 other newcomers — over half of the 2024–2025 roster. “He was quiet, he kept to himself,” Cook recalled, thinking about his first impression of Milburn. “He didn’t really buy into the messing-around part at first, like how baseball teams are. But we definitely broke his shell. It definitely became really fun to be his teammate after a while.” Milburn said Cook helped him adjust to the new school. “Avery was a big leader there, so he showed me the ropes a little bit, even though, you know, he said all that stuff [about me being weird],” Milburn said with a laugh. “If I ever had a question or anything, he'd always answer it. He would always help me get through the transition of getting to a new school and that gave me some trust with him.” After college, they were both determined to continue playing baseball. Milburn and Cook received offers from various teams, but decided to continue their baseball journey together with Windy City. “The one [offer] from [a] similar team was here,” Cook said. “We thought it'd be a great opportunity, just come and learn it together and have each other to ease the tension of coming into a new clubhouse. We definitely had a lot of conversations, just texting back and forth when the draft ended and we were just ready to make our next step, so it was a cool thing that we got this opportunity together.” Milburn and Cook also credit manager Toby Hall as one of the main reasons why they signed with the ThunderBolts. Hall’s impressive baseball career, with nine years of major league experience and being the all-time leader in games played as a catcher for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, drew the two of them to Windy City. Milburn saw Hall as a great manager — and said he has been nothing shy of that. The rookies have nothing but positive things to say about their new lives in Crestwood. Their teammates have welcomed them with open arms. They are currently living together with a host family — “Shout out Bill and Laurel,” Cook said — which has allowed the two of them to grab meals together and talk about baseball. And, of course, get an authentic taste of Chicago. “We went into Chicago [our] first night here. We got a deep dish pizza, so we’re getting the full experience,” Cook said. Milburn and Cook are both looking forward to solidifying their roles on the team and contributing to wins. For the two of them, affiliated baseball and a chance at the majors are still their end goals. “The dream’s still alive and well, we’re just going to keep putting our best foot forward and just help the team win whatever situation we get put into,” Cook said. “We’re just going to keep pushing and try to do as best we can and hopefully we get a call one day.” Josh Newman, an assistant coach at Purdue, said Milburn and Cook are two players who represent their program to the highest degree, on and off the field. “It's so awesome to see those guys continue to make the dream [happen] and make the most of the opportunity that's presented in front of them,” Newman said. “Those guys are relentless in their pursuit of being the best they can be, and great things are ahead of them.” |
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