By Jake Mastroianni
In 2024, the Georgia Bulldogs and head coach Wes Johnson entered the season with low expectations – at least from the outside, as they were picked to finish sixth in the SEC East.
A 17-1 start before SEC action began caught the attention of many, but then they got swept by Kentucky (before the country knew who Kentucky really was) to begin conference play.
The Bulldogs sat in the middle of the pack for most of SEC play with a 10-11 conference record at the end of April. But then they swept Vanderbilt and South Carolina in back-to-back weekends.
Finishing the regular season with a 17-13 mark in the SEC was good enough for them to host a regional where they had some scares against Army and Georgia Tech, but advanced 3-0.
As a top-eight seed, they hosted NC State in the Supers, but the veteran-led Wolfpack bested them in a winner-take-all game three.
It was an incredible year for the Bulldogs with a generational talent in SEC Player of the Year Charlie Condon. The big question many have now is – can Wes Johnson and his staff stay on top?
Offense
Condon and Corey Collins will be huge losses for the lineup that are likely irreplaceable. Both hit over .350 last year and combined for 57 home runs and 136 RBI.
However, this lineup may be much deeper than it was a season ago with some of the guys returning and the veterans they brought in through the transfer portal.
Tre Phelps is back after a freshman All-American season. He and Slate Alford - who hit 17 home runs last year and drove in 69 - will form a strong core at the top of the lineup.
They figure to be solid up the middle with shortstop Kolby Branch returning after hitting 17 home runs last year along with Henry Hunter taking over as the primary catcher.
But, as is the case for many teams in today’s era of college sports, a lot of their success will depend on how well incoming transfers mesh and to what degree they contribute.
Outfielder Robbie Burnett is the toast of this year’s transfer class on the position player side. He hit .357 at UNC-Asheville last year with 17 home runs.
Other transfers who figure to have an impact are Nolan McCarthy (Kentucky), Daniel Jackson (Wofford), and Devin Obee (Duke).
With all the talent up-and-down this lineup, I expect the Bulldog offense to be once of the most explosive in the nation. This Georgia squad will not be flying under the radar, and they are a consensus Top-15 team across all polls.
Pitching
Coach Johnson has a long track record of success on the pitching side, but the Bulldogs staff ranked 10th in the SEC in ERA last year at 5.71.
Going into 2025, there is a lot more quality depth and certainty in the rotation with the return of Leighton Finley, Kolten Smith, and Charlie Goldstein. Goldstein is expected to miss the first part of the season as he works his way back from having internal brace surgery last June.
Those three alone combined for 182 innings last year with 224 strikeouts.
They got a big-time transfer from Alabama in Alton Davis, who has 12 saves the past two seasons and electric stuff. Ole Miss transfer JT Quinn has elite stuff as well with a fastball that gets in the upper 90s.
Brian Curley (VCU) and Zach Brown (Ohio State) are likely to have a prominent role in the pitching staff, with Curley currently having the inside track to close games for the Bulldogs. A three-headed monster of Davis, Curley, and Brown in the bullpen gives Coach Johnson a lot of flexibility with he manages over the course of a weekend series.
Year one was a great start for Wes Johnson at Georgia, but going into year two, he now has the depth to really compete for a College World Series title.
Projected Lineup
C: Henry Hunter
1B: Ryland Zaborowski
2B: Christian Adams
SS: Kolby Branch
3B: Ryan Black
OF: Tre Phelps
OF: Nolan McCarthy
OF: Robbie Burnett
DH: Slate Alford
Projected Starting Rotation
SP1: Kolten Smith
SP2: Leighton Finley
SP3: JT Quinn
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