ATHENS, Ga. — It’s never fun to watch your opponent dogpile, especially on your home field. That’s how the 2024 season ended for the Georgia Bulldogs, falling 8-5 to NC State Monday night at Foley Field with a spot in the College World Series on the line.
There’s more to the story though. The disappointment is real and understood. Any time you’re one game away from reaching Omaha the loss is going to sting. However, perspective is important in times like these.
Georgia entered 2024 with a new head coach and 28 newcomers. Nobody knew what to expect of the Bulldogs, thus they were picked sixth in their own division – thought to be the weaker of the two in the SEC. Reining National Freshman of the Year Charlie Condon was a household name and those that had followed Georgia Baseball for a few seasons knew some others. Still, with so many transfers being counted on, it was fair to be uncertain.
Needless to say, UGA outperformed those expectations. Finishing the 60-game campaign with a 43-17 overall record gives Georgia more wins this season – both overall and in SEC play (17) – than any previous one under the direction of a first-year head coach. Wes Johnson became just the second head coach in program history to host an NCAA Tournament regional in his first season on the job, and the Bulldogs advanced out of said regional for the first time since 2008.
“You’ve just got a bunch of guys who got together and started believing in themselves and believing in each other,” Johnson said after an opening statement full of thank yous for those that made the 2024 season possible. “You do that, and as I’ve said for years, there’s talent in this league. If you can get the right group together and get them to believe in themselves, play with confidence, and go out there and take the training we put them through daily, you have a chance. But yeah, what this group of men did was obviously something I’ll never forget.”
“You know, I hope everybody that comes into an SEC job thinks they should be here. I can’t tell these guys to believe in themself if I can believe in myself,” he added later on. “I’m going to work sun up to sun down to do that.”
Georgia’s superstar Condon was fighting back tears the entire time he was at the interview stand alongside Johnson. For the Golden Spikes Award finalist, it was likely the last time he’ll suit up in red and black. He’s widely projected as one of the top picks in this summer’s MLB Draft and coming back probably wouldn’t be in his best interest.
After a season that saw Condon break Bulldog records for both career and single-season home runs, lead the NCAA in batting average and hit the country’s most long balls since the 1990s, the only fitting way for him to go out was with one last home run. He stepped into the batter’s box with one out in the bottom of the ninth and Georgia down four. While his solo shot to right didn’t end up mattering on the scoreboard, it was without a doubt the best way he could’ve gone out.
“It’s a melting pot of emotions right now. I’m proud of this group and proud of what we were able to accomplish. I’m really thankful to have been a part of it,” Condon said. “It’s been a long ride since I got here. I’m just incredibly thankful for this University and this program, my coaches and teammates, everyone who put their time and resources into my development and promoting me the best that they could. I wouldn’t be close to who I am without that.”
Condon will have to wait just over a month to know exactly what is next for him. He didn’t close the door on a return, but his head coach was chuckling as he did so. It would be silly for a player like that to suit up at the collegiate level again next season. What Condon does know for certain though is that Georgia’s program is in good hands – regardless of whether he’s in Athens or not.
“I’ve been seeing bits and pieces of it throughout the year. This program has made a huge leap in the right direction, and I know for a fact that if this is my last year here, it’s in great hands,” Condon said. “There’s no doubt in my mind that this program is going in the right direction and making big steps.”
“Tre (Phelps)‘s going to be a huge, huge part of that. I’m so proud of that guy and can’t wait to see where his career goes. He’s going to be a big, big piece of this program going forward,” he continued. “I’m always going to be around supporting this program, regardless of whether I’m a Bulldog next year or not. I know this program is going to be dangerous the next couple of years.”
Phelps, who was named a Freshman All-American before the game on Monday, twice took the podium this weekend as one of the top performers for Georgia throughout the series. He came up clutch with a home run late in the regional against Georgia Tech. He hit a three-run shot over the batter’s eye in center field in Sunday’s win over NC State and got the scoring started for the Bulldogs with a two-run bomb in the second inning Monday night.
Phelps also made the last out of the game. It’s not a fun position to be in, especially as a freshman, but he took it well. Monday night wasn’t about him, he told reporters. For him, it was all about the upperclassmen and trying to get them another game in a Georgia uniform.
“For me, I have another game. This was all about these guys, this was their last game at Foley Field,” Phelps said. “It sucks to be the last out, but somebody has to do it on one of the two teams. It’s all about these guys though. I wanted them to be able to take everything in.”
“The knowledge of guys like Charlie, Coach Wes, Corey Collins, I tried to take little things from each and every one of them to bring that back to next year’s team and go farther,” he added, already knowing he’ll be looked to as a leader for the 2025 squad. “That’s obviously the goal, to take bits and pieces and put it into the locker room for next year to be successful.”
Now starts the offseason for Georgia, one that’ll be focused on getting the Bulldogs back to this stage and beyond it in year two of Johnson’s tenure. UGA’s staff has already hit the transfer portal hard, adding seven commitments even before Monday’s game. More are to come. There will be decisions made by guys like Condon, Kolby Branch and Slate Alford – all of whom could get drafted – while others from Georgia’s roster will enter the transfer portal themselves. It’s all part of the game these days, and navigating that appropriately will determine how well positioned the Bulldogs are to take the next step.
“This game is really hard. We’ve moved in the right direction, but we have to continue to go out and recruit, as we have been already, to continue to get good quality players in here that fit our ballpark and what we’re trying to do,” Johnson said. “If you do that, especially now with the way things go in the transfer portal and the different things, you should put yourself every year to somewhat have some success, but success if defined a lot of ways.”
“As I tell our players, there’s always another level. I used to tell big-leaguers, there’s this guy named Nolan Ryan, right? He’s got seven no-hitters. I guess if you throw your eighth no-hitter in the big leagues, there’s not another level,” he added. “With that being said, if you’re not trying to improve every aspect of your program every year, then to me, you go backwards really fast. I’ve said this, you won’t ever find another Charlie Condon, at least in my time, in my coaching career. There will be another one come along probably after I’m dead and gone, but you’re lucky if you coach Charlie Condons once every 10 years. You’re extremely lucky. To go out and say you’re going to find another one of him is crazy. You just have to go out and you have to, maybe next year, depending on what you have, you do it a little more with speed, you do it a little more with pitching. I think this year our pitchers grew phenomenally from where we started day one. You started to see, we were a little tired there towards the end. Their heart was in the right spot but their stuff continued to get better throughout. They gave us all they had. Couldn’t be more proud of those guys than I am right now.”
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