Former South Mountain Community College pitcher, Luis Cota, was named the Kansas City Royals minor league pitcher of the year for 2005.  Cota, the 2004 ACCAC Player of the Year and JUCO All-American, pitched one year at South Mountain CC before signing a $1.05 million contract with the Royals in May of 2004.  In his first full season of professional baseball, Cota finished with a record of 5-8, 137 strikeouts, and an ERA of 4.01 in 26 starts for the Burlington Bees, Class A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals.  Over a year’s time, Cota’s fastball has increased from 95-96 mph to a high of 99 mph during the summer of 2005.  In May of 2005 he was named the Midwest League Pitcher of the Week.  In the fall of 2005, he attended the Royals Instructional League, for the organizations top young prospects, in Surprise, AZ.  Cota currently resides in Tucson during the off-season.