| Mason Cox | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Cox playing for Collingwood in August 2018 | |||
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Mason Cox | ||
| Nicknames | Coxy,[1] Coxzilla,[2] American Pie[3] | ||
| Born | (1991-03-14)March 14, 1991 (age 34) Highland Village, Texas, U.S. | ||
| Original team | Oklahoma State University (Big 12) | ||
| Draft | No. 60 pick,2015 rookie draft | ||
| Height | 211 cm (6 ft 11 in)[4] | ||
| Weight | 110 kg (243 lb) | ||
| Position | Key forward /ruckman | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Fremantle | ||
| Number | 18 | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 2015–2025 | Collingwood | 139 (127) | |
| 2026– | Fremantle | 0(0) | |
| Total | 139 (127) | ||
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of the 2025 season. | |||
| Career highlights | |||
| Sources:AFL Tables,AustralianFootball.com | |||
Mason Troy Cox (born March 14, 1991) is an American-born Australian professionalAustralian rules footballer who plays for theFremantle Football Club in theAustralian Football League (AFL). Playing as aruckman andkey forward, he first played Australian rules football in April 2014 before making his AFL debut forCollingwood two years later in April 2016. Cox previously played basketball forOklahoma State University in theBig 12 Conference and, standing at 211 cm (6 ft 11 in),[5] is the tallest player to ever be measured at anAFL Draft Combine.[6]
Cox was born inHighland Village, a suburb ofDallas,Texas,[7] to parents Jeanette and Phil, the youngest of their three sons.[8] Cox was a student atEdward S. Marcus High School inFlower Mound, Texas, and was part of the school's state championship-winning soccer team.[9] One of his schoolmates and teammates in college was futureBoston Celtics playerMarcus Smart.[10]
Cox studiedengineering atOklahoma State University, graduating in 2014.[11] While studying, he started playingbasketball as a hobby.[12] He initially joined theOklahoma State Cowgirls' "scout team" to simulateBrittney Griner, formerBaylor University basketball player.[13] After being noticed by former head coachTravis Ford, he was asked to jointhe university's men's basketball team as awalk-on.[10] He played a total of 57 minutes for the Cowboys in 24 games over three seasons between 2011 and 2014, scoring seven points.[14] One of his highlights while playingNCAA Division I basketball was shutting down futureNational Basketball Association MVPJoel Embiid while defending him.[12]
Cox was invited to attend the 2014US International Combine for potential Australian rules footballers, in Los Angeles in April 2014 despite knowing very little at all about the sport.[15] After impressive performances in the skills testing,[16] he travelled to Australia for a second combine and on May 30, 2014, was signed by theCollingwood Football Club.[17][18] AFL teamsPort Adelaide,North Melbourne,[19]Richmond, andFremantle were also reported as having shown interest in recruiting Cox.[11]
Collingwood selected Cox at pick 60 in the 2015 AFL rookie draft and he joined the club's list as an international rookie.[15]
Cox played for the Collingwoodreserves team in theVictorian Football League (VFL) throughout the2015 season while learning the game and improving his skills.[20]
Cox became known for his goalkicking accuracy in the VFL.[21] Cox shone in the2016 NAB Challenge pre-season series showing his ability to compete at that level kicking 2 goals against Geelong, his ability to take contested marks and average a goal a game across both the VFL and AFL drew notice.[21] Despite his strong showing at AFL level in the NAB Challenge, he was not elevated at the start of the season and returned to VFL level for the premiership season.
Cox played well in the opening two games of the2016 VFL season[20] including a dominant performance up forward against Port Melbourne and as such earned a long-awaited call up to the AFL.[21]
Cox made his AFL debut on April 25, 2016, in the annualAnzac Day match againstEssendon.[22] Within the first 80 seconds of the match, he took his firstmark and scored the game's firstgoal with hisfirst kick in the AFL.[23] Collingwood went on to win the match by 69 points.[24]
On September 11, 2017, despite interest from other clubs, Cox signed a three-year contract extension, keeping him at Collingwood until the end of 2020.[25] Cox continued his good form in the2018 season, kicking a career-high five goals in theQueen's Birthday match at theMCG and was awarded the Neale Daniher trophy asbest on ground.[26][27]
In the2018 Preliminary Final againstRichmond, he played a man-of-the-match performance, kicking three goals consecutively and taking many contested marks; Bruce McAvaney remarked: "what has Collingwood unleashed?" when talking about Mason's performance.[28]
In the2018 Grand Final, he kicked two goals during the second half and took many contested marks while playing in Collingwood's loss.[29] He also dominated in its one-point elimination final win against West Coast in the2020 AFL finals series.[30]
Cox received special dispensation from the AFL to wear prescription sunglasses in competition. Cox suffered a tornretina in one eye due to an accidental eye poke in a 2019 game againstGold Coast Suns and a detached retina in the other eye after an on-field altercation in the 2018 Grand Final. He has had six eye surgeries in his career. After the 2019 injury, Cox said he had to spend two weeks in bed in a darkened room for 45 minutes of each hour, calling it "probably the lowest moment of my life."[31]
Cox appeared in a60 Minutes interview in the United States in April 2023.[32] In the interview, Cox explained how sections of the Collingwood crowd would chant "USA USA" whenever he had possession of the ball.[32]
Against the GWS Giants in Round 9, 2023, his performance won praise, declared by some as a career-best, kicking two goals, including a set shot from outside the 50-metre arc.[33]
Cox became thesecond American-born AFL premiership player afterDon Pyke in 1992 and 1994.
Cox was delisted from Collingwood at the end of the2025 AFL season, after 139 matches for the club.[34] In November 2025 in the Supplemental Selection Period after the2025 AFL draft, Cox signed a two-year deal with theFremantle Football Club.[35]
Updated to the end of the 2025 season.[36]
G | Goals | K | Kicks | D | Disposals | T | Tackles |
B | Behinds | H | Handballs | M | Marks | H/O | Hit-outs |
| Season | Team | No. | Games | Totals | Averages (per game) | Votes | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | B | K | H | D | M | T | H/O | G | B | K | H | D | M | T | H/O | |||||
| 2015 | Collingwood | 46[citation needed] | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0 |
| 2016 | Collingwood | 46 | 11 | 17 | 7 | 50 | 32 | 82 | 30 | 24 | 79 | 1.5 | 0.6 | 4.5 | 2.9 | 7.5 | 2.7 | 2.2 | 7.2 | 1 |
| 2017 | Collingwood | 46 | 9 | 10 | 5 | 38 | 32 | 70 | 29 | 23 | 145 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 4.2 | 3.6 | 7.8 | 3.2 | 2.6 | 16.1 | 0 |
| 2018 | Collingwood | 46 | 24 | 25 | 12 | 148 | 89 | 237 | 119 | 38 | 164 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 6.2 | 3.7 | 9.9 | 5.0 | 1.6 | 6.8 | 3 |
| 2019 | Collingwood | 46 | 14 | 19 | 10 | 78 | 49 | 127 | 60 | 11 | 56 | 1.4 | 0.7 | 5.6 | 3.5 | 9.1 | 4.3 | 0.8 | 4.0 | 0 |
| 2020[a] | Collingwood | 46 | 11 | 14 | 2 | 38 | 31 | 69 | 35 | 6 | 34 | 1.3 | 0.2 | 3.5 | 2.8 | 6.3 | 3.2 | 0.5 | 3.1 | 0 |
| 2021 | Collingwood | 46 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 41 | 25 | 66 | 26 | 7 | 23 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 5.9 | 3.6 | 9.4 | 3.7 | 1.0 | 3.3 | 0 |
| 2022 | Collingwood | 46 | 18 | 7 | 8 | 112 | 40 | 152 | 58 | 36 | 317 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 6.2 | 2.2 | 8.4 | 3.2 | 2.0 | 17.6 | 1 |
| 2023# | Collingwood | 46 | 19 | 17 | 13 | 109 | 47 | 156 | 69 | 26 | 324 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 5.7 | 2.5 | 8.2 | 3.6 | 1.4 | 17.1 | 3 |
| 2024 | Collingwood | 46 | 16 | 6 | 6 | 69 | 51 | 120 | 46 | 30 | 237 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 4.3 | 3.2 | 7.5 | 2.9 | 1.9 | 14.8 | 0 |
| 2025 | Collingwood | 46 | 10 | 4 | 4 | 39 | 30 | 69 | 27 | 15 | 104 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 3.9 | 3.0 | 6.9 | 2.7 | 1.5 | 10.4 | 0 |
| Career | 139 | 127 | 75 | 722 | 426 | 1148 | 499 | 216 | 1483 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 5.2 | 3.1 | 8.3 | 3.6 | 1.6 | 10.7 | 8 | ||
Notes
Team
Individual
Cox's older brothers also now play Australian rules. Nolan played for theUSAFL National Championships teamAustin Crows and has also represented theUSA Revolution national team.[37] Austin plays for USAFL club theSeattle Grizzlies. Mason has expressed a keen interest in promoting the game at the grassroots level in the US, visiting the US to support his brothers at the USAFL National Championships.[38]
In 2019, Cox was in a relationship withEngland netball internationalGeva Mentor.[39][40]
Cox was seekingpermanent resident status on a path towards Australian citizenship to fulfill his desire to live the rest of his life in Australia, committing to a multi-year contract at Collingwood.[41] At the end of March 2020, he was accepted to become an Australian citizen.[42] Cox became a citizen of Australia on June 22, 2022, at a special citizenship ceremony at the MCG along with over one hundred conferees.[43] Cox later introduced his citizenship lawyer toBryce Cotton, an American basketball player who obtained Australian citizenship in 2025 after years of turmoil.[44]
"'Coxy' got a poke in the eye and the doc ruled him out at half-time having a look at that eye.
