In an age dominated by technology, it’s been hard to ignore the chatter and anticipation surrounding the Georgia Bulldogs. Outlets such as D1Baseball seemingly turn out new rankings of prospects or teams every week. Georgia has a name on quite a few of those lists. However, coach Wes Johnson is barely reading any of it.
“I don’t get into that that much,” Johnson said. “If that gets me into a regional, then I care how they rank.”
It’s not just the team as a whole getting recognition. RHP Brian Curley, OF Tre Phelps and RHP Kolten Smith all received Preseason All-American Honors from the NCBWA, as well as recognition from D1Baseball, Baseball America andPerfect Game. LHP Alton Davis, 3B Slate Alford and Phelps also received All-SEC recognition.
Similar to their head coach, the players are blocking out the noise from the outside.
“It’s cool to have all this hype,” Curley, a VCU transfer, said. “At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter.”
With all eyes and attention on this team, and its use of the transfer portal, hopes are high and you can feel it in the locker room.
“My whole life I’ve had that expectation, and it’s cool to see the other side of it where you have the high expectations,” said Curley. “But I’m still going to keep playing like it’s opening day.”
While the team doesn’t use the rankings to give them the boost of confidence they may or may not need, analytics play a heavy role in it instead.
“We’re looking at any external stuff to give you confidence,” Curley said. “We’ll say, ‘Alright, we’re going to analyze this. This is why it didn’t work. We’re going to fix it, and you’re going to have confidence next time.”
The Georgia Bulldogs open their 2025 season against Quinnipiac on Friday in Wilmington, North Carolina.
