Who is Oral Roberts OF Jonah Cox? A closer look at the legendary hit streak that has propelled the Golden Eagles to the College World Series

Oral Roberts Golden Eagles junior utility player Jonah Cox has been making a name for himself throughout the 2023 college baseball season. He is approaching an NCAA Division I record that many people believe will never be broken. His 47-game hitting streak is 11 games away from the 58-game record set by Oklahoma State's Robin Ventura in 1987.

Cox has been one of the biggest reasons why the Golden Eagles have made it this far on their incredible postseason run to the College World Series.

Let's take a closer look into Jonah Cox's stats and how likely this record is to have a new name atop the leader board.

How well has Jonah Cox been hitting this season for Oral Roberts?

In his first season with the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles, Jonah Cox has definitely made his name known. An All-American as well as the Summit League Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year, Cox has a .420 batting average and 110 hits. His batting average is seventh in the nation, and his hit total is the best in college baseball.

His hitting streak is already tied with two other players for the third-longest in Division I baseball history. Garrett Wittels of Florida International had a 56-game hitting streak in 2010.

Stephen Schoch

@bigdonkey47

Jonah Cox extends his hit streak to 46 straight games with a really cool home run. Doing 46 of just about anything in a row is already hard so doing one of the hardest things in sports 46 games in a row is cool

591

24

Jonah Cox extends his hit streak to 46 straight games with a really cool home run. Doing 46 of just about anything in a row is already hard so doing one of the hardest things in sports 46 games in a row is cool https://t.co/9KO04rJl5d

Cox's approach at the plate has been exceptional as he has only been hitless in one game this year, going 0-for-4 against Dallas Baptist on March 12. During his hitting streak, he has 84 hits in 199 at-bats (.422). It's not like Cox is putting up empty numbers as the program is an incredible 42-5 during the 47-game streak.

For Cox to break Ventura's record, it would not be able to happen until next season.

The maximum number of games the Golden Eagles could play in the CWS is eight (five in bracket play, three in the championship series), and that would leave him at 55 games at most. Should ORU cruise to the title, the Golden Eagles would play a minimum of five games, putting him at 52. At a minimum, ORU will play two more games this season.

Ventura, who won the Dick Howser Trophy and the Golden Spikes in 1988 for OSU, was the 10th pick in the 1988 MLB draft and played 16 seasons in the majors, earning six Gold Gloves and two All-Star nods. He also famously ended up being pummeled repeatedly after charging Texas Rangers ace Nolan Ryan.

Ventura, who is in the College Baseball Hall of Fame, also managed the Chicago White Sox for five seasons.

What are the chances that Jonah Cox breaks the NCAA hit streak?

The chances that Jonah Cox breaks Robin Ventura's hit streak is difficult to predict. Cox can go 0-for-1 with a walk or a sacrifice fly, and that will be it despite having a productive game. Pitchers and coaches may also want to avoid being part of history and could pitch around him. If he gets out in his first at-bat, Cox may not get a pitch to hit the remainder of the game.

This will be an interesting record to keep track of throughout the remainder of the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles' season, but this has about a 10 percent chance of staying alive by the end of the College World Series.

​