A mature-age find from Norwood, Cootee won the Redlegs' best and fairest in 2025 before the Sydney Swans called his name with pick 42 in that year's national draft. The 179cm forward had earlier captained Essendon's VFL side, and he marked his AFL debut in 2026 with a goal. He has played 10 AFL games and kicked 12 goals.