Cornell University Athletics

Senior Season — 2017
Rutherford led the team with seven home runs and 33 RBI, batting exclusively from 5-hole while shuffling between first base and designated hitter with Trey Baur. His .310 average ranked fifth on the team, and his .560 ranked second. Rutherford slugged two homers while driving in five runs in the Big Red's 9-5 victory over Columbia on April 16. He led the team with 11 multiple-RBI games, and he also led the squad with 12 two-out RBI. After the season, Rutherford signed a professional contract with the San Diego Padres and finished out the summer with the club's Rookie-level team in the Arizona League.

Junior Season — 2016
Rutherford earned All-Ivy League honorable mention after serving as the Big Red's everyday first baseman and cleanup hitter, batting .276 with team-highs in home runs (six), RBIs (26) and slugging percentage (.512). His season got off to a blistering start with a pair of four-RBI efforts over his first five games, including a March 12 game at Wofford in which he hit two home runs. That showing helped him earn his first of two Ivy League Player of the Week honors, with the second coming on April 19 after a breakthrough eries against three-time defending Ivy League champion Columbia that saw Rutherford pound out 11 hits over four games. He owned the team's best batting average in Ivy League play (.314).

Prior to Cornell
Rutherford helped Orange Coast College to state championships in both of his seasons with the team, which also produced a Perfect Game Junior College national championship in 2014. Prior to his time with Orange Coast College, Rutherford was a first-team All-Mission League player with Chaminade College Prep, where he was also a member of the National Honor Society.

Personal
Cole James Rutherford is the son of Roy and Julie Rutherford, and he has a younger brother. His brother, Blake, was selected by the New York Yankees in the first round of the 2016 MLB First-Year Player Draft.
He is enrolled in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations.