Disappointing End to Turnaround Season for UGA
ATHENS - It was a disappointing end to a fun and unlikely season.
If you were told at the start of the year that Georgia would be a national seed in the NCAA Tournament you would have a hard time believing that. Scott Stricklin needed a good season to remain as head coach at UGA, and got a great one.
Georgia’s youth and mistakes of the previous seasons melted away. These Dawgs gave way to a Duke team that was as plugged in as anyone I have seen here at Foley Field in some time. The Blue Devils went down to Georgia and hit a bunch of baseballs - a bunch.
That’s how this season ended for the Dawgs, but the future appears much brighter than it did this time a year ago. Georgia is relevant nationally in baseball again. That is something that hasn’t been the case in a decade.
Keegan McGovern’s time at Georgia is up, but the bulk of the program has the ability to come back for another season at Foley Field. Another national seed isn’t out of the question. To be clear, these types of seasons should be happening at Georgia more than we’ve seen since 2010. There’s simply too much talent in the state, and the scholarship situation at Georgia is hard to beat (that’s for another time).
Making baseball matter at UGA is a challenge - no doubt. But seasons like this will help.
This season was step one in what will be a multi-year process getting this baseball program right. Perhaps like men’s baseball - this program is the hidden jewel of the athletic department… it could be so very good. Like, really, really good. Baseball resources in this state are rich.
Losing a regional your home field as a national seed isn’t fun - ask Florida State and Stanford. But we will see what the future holds for this program that only now seems to be hitting its stride. Time will tell if this was a blip on the screen, or the start of something that matters.
