Inspired by College Baseball Daily’s list of the top 100 college baseball players, BluGrass Baseball is counting down the top 25 returning Kentucky collegians in advance of the 2011 season. We enter the top 10 today with another one of 2010′s top freshmen.

No. 10 — RHP Jordan Cooper — University of Kentucky

Jordan Cooper; UK photo

UK sophomore right-handed pitcher Jordan Cooper established himself as one of the top freshman in the state last season while holding his own as a weekend starting pitcher in the Southeastern Conference. Cooper was 4-5 with a 5.71 ERA in 20 games, including eight starts last season. After moving to the weekend rotation on April 25 Cooper surrendered four or fewer runs in each of his first five Southeastern Conference starts.

Baseball America recently ranked Cooper the No. 50 sophomore draft prospect in the country, though he was ranked No. 7 among draft-eligible prospects. Cooper was the 17th round selection of the Pittsburgh Pirates out of high school in 2009 and stands to be a top-10 round pick in 2011 with a strong sophomore season. Cooper was named the SEC freshman of the week on May 17 after surrendering four runs in seven innings in a win against LSU.