At just 16, St. Joe's Prep pitcher Cole Kuhn already throwing 101 mph
St. Joe's Prep junior pitcher Cole Kuhn models his game after a few Phillies legends.
"Roy Halladay and Cole Hamels," Kuhn said. " In 2008, they won it, and I was born in 09, so I'm definitely a big Cole Hamels fan."
Kuhn is 6-foot-6 and 220 pounds, and at only 16, he throws over 100 mph. After working with Ascent Athlete, a baseball development program in Garnet Valley, Pennsylvania, Kuhn saw his velocity jump from 90 mph in March 2025 to 101.8 in January.
"I was overwhelmed with joy," Kuhn said. "I was really focused on this winter, getting stronger and more explosive. Then 101 comes, and I feel great about it."
As a freshman, Kuhn stood at 5-foot-11, 165 pounds and played three sports. Then he hit a growth spurt, shooting up to 6-foot-6 in two years. He put soccer and basketball aside and now solely focuses on his game on the mound.
"The goal for him is throw hard, throw strikes, get guys out at the highest level possible," David Keller, a pitching coach at Ascent Athlete, said. "Building that frame on him was the biggest part."
Kuhn attributes his flame-throwing capabilities to his work in the weight room and training five days a week at Ascent Athlete, where he said he had a total physical transformation.
"That is where I really started to mature in the weight room," he said.
Kuhn still knows the real work is mental.
"Being a pitcher, you have to stay in control," he said. "And to be in control, you have to have control over the physical game and the mental game. Visualization, my biggest one. I visualize myself on the mound doing what I do best: throwing strikes."
The Philly phenom committed to Duke University and can't wait to bring the heat.