Mason Cox’s biography, net worth, fact, career, awards and life story

Mason Cox (born 14 March 1991) is an American professional Australian rules footballer who plays for the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Playing as a ruckman and key forward, he first played Australian rules football in April 2014 before making his AFL debut just two years later in April 2016. Cox had previously played basketball for Oklahoma State University in the Big 12 Conference.

Early life

Cox was born in Highland Village, a suburb of Dallas, Texas to parents Jeanette and Phil. He attended high school in Flower Mound, Texas. Cox was a student at Edward S. Marcus High School, and was part of the school’s state championship winning soccer team. Current Boston Celtics player Marcus Smart attended the same school, and he and Cox would later be teammates at college.

Cox studied engineering at Oklahoma State University, graduating in 2014. While studying, he started playing basketball as a hobby. He initially joined the Oklahoma State Cowgirls’ “scout team” to simulate Brittney Griner, former Baylor University basketball player. After being noticed by former head coach, Travis Ford, he was asked to join the university’s men’s basketball team as a walk-on. He played a total of 57 minutes for the Cowboys, scoring seven points.

AFL career

Cox was invited to attend the 2014 US International Combine for potential Australian rules footballers, in Los Angeles in April 2014. After impressive performances in the skills testing he travelled to Australia for a second combine and on 30 May 2014 was signed by the Collingwood Football Club. AFL teams Port Adelaide, North Melbourne, Richmond, and Fremantle were also reported as having shown interest in recruiting Cox.

Cox played for the Collingwood reserves team in the Victorian Football League (VFL) throughout the 2015 season whilst learning the game and improving his skills.

After playing well in the opening two games of the 2016 VFL season, he made his AFL debut on 25 April 2016 in the annual Anzac Day clash against Essendon. Within the first 80 seconds of the match he took his first mark and scored the game’s first goal with his first kick in the AFL. Collingwood went on to win the match by 69 points.

Statistics