Florida State has filled its shortstop opening with a transfer portal addition, as Indiana’s Cooper Malamazian announced his commitment to the Seminoles.
Malamazian arrives in Tallahassee after two seasons with the Hoosiers and will be a junior at FSU. The six-foot-two, 200-pound right-handed hitter is originally from Nazareth Academy in Clarendon Hills, Illinois, and has been a regular in the Indiana lineup since day one. Over the last two years, he appeared in 106 games and made 97 starts, including 84 starts at shortstop.
His first season at Indiana brought early recognition. Malamazian was named a Second Team Freshman All-American by Perfect Game and earned Big Ten All-Freshman Team honors at shortstop.
He made 33 starts at shortstop and 13 at third base while hitting .320 with a .394 on-base percentage and .512 slugging percentage. He also finished with 17 doubles, two triples and four home runs.
This past season, Malamazian took another step forward at the plate. He batted .301 with a .389 OBP and .444 SLG%, adding 10 doubles, three triples and four homers. Defensively, he started all 51 games at shortstop and posted a .922 fielding percentage with 14 errors.
Across his Indiana career, Malamazian owns a .310 average, an .867 OPS and a .932 fielding percentage with 22 errors. He also has a 10.2% walk rate and a 23.5% strikeout rate, and from his freshman year to his sophomore season he cut his strikeout rate by about six percent while raising his walk rate by just over three percent.
Malamazian steps into a clear need for Florida State after Gabe Fraser entered the transfer portal earlier this month.
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