2026 Mets Draft profile: Kooper Schulte

Kooper Schulte comes from an extremely athletics-oriented family. His father, Justin, pitched for the University of Iowa in the mid-90s and has been a collegiate baseball head coach since 1999, first with Mount Mercy University in Cedar Rapids and then with Southeastern Community College in West Burlington, Iowa since 2006. An uncle, Vance, played baseball at Vanderbilt, another, Vaughn, played baseball at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, another, Chad, played baseball at Waldoft University, and an aunt, Shalae, played softball at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids.

Kooper attended New London High School, lettering five times with the Tigers and posting a cumulative .358 batting average with 21 doubles, 2 triples, 9 home runs, and 39 stolen bases. In his senior season in 2022, he hit .444 with 13 doubles, 1 triple, 6 home runs, and 9 stolen bases, helping lead New London to the 2022 State Championship. While he was considered one of the better players in the Hawkeye State, he was not as well-regarded nationally. He went unselected in the 2022 MLB Draft and attended Central Arizona Community College after graduating.