Cole Bellair is in his second season with the ThunderBolts and second professionally in 2021. He was signed on June 15, 2019 after completing two years at Tennessee Wesleyan University and spent the rest of the year in the Bolts' starting rotation, going 3-7 in 12 starts.

He was named a Second Team NAIA All-American as a college senior, when he went 11-2 with a 1.61 ERA and was the winning pitcher in the NAIA National Championship game. In two years with the Bulldogs, he had a 17-3 record with three saves, a 2.09 ERA and 147 strikeouts with only 27 walks in 146.1 innings. Cole also pitched for two years at the University of Illinois and went 5-5 with a 5.04 ERA in 31 games (18 starts); he was named to the All-Big Ten Freshman team in 2016, when he posted a 3.34 ERA in 59 innings. He attended Lockport Township High School in Lockport, Illinois.