With Opening Day just two days away, Georgia head coach Wes Johnson said he’s still not 100 percent sure how his weekend rotation will look against visiting UNC-Asheville.

“I’m almost made up my mind but I’m not there yet. I’m going to continue to look. I think people get caught up in the starting rotation opening weekend, and you get so caught up in looking at the first three games that you forget you’ve got a really good Georgia State team that is really offensive, and you play on Tuesday,” Johnson said. “Then you’re moving into the next week, and you’ve got five games. When you’re planning, you’re not just talking about this weekend, you’re planning what’s happening the first three weekends. But I’m getting close to that.”

Although Johnson wasn’t ready to offer specifics, he will have several options.

“You’ll see a lot of Charlie Goldstein somewhere, you’ll see a lot of Leighton Finley,” Johnson said. “Christian Mracna, Brian Zeldin, Kolten Smith, Jarvis Evans. Those guys are all throwing the ball well. Brandt Pancer is throwing the ball well. A young man who is kind of a sleeper is Max DeJong. He had a phenomenal early spring for us, and really attacked the strike zone and threw the ball well.”

Whoever winds up starting, Johnson said he’s going to be extremely prudent.

Only four pitchers on Georgia’s entire roster have gone five innings, and that list does not include Finley or Mracna who, along with Goldstein, are the three pitchers expected to see this weekend’s starts.

“I don’t want to make the journey too long for them right out of the chute,” Johnson said. “I want them to build into that journey, and when they show me they can, then we will continue to extend them. We’re going to push them, but I can’t make that journey too long. We’re going to mix and match.”

The Bulldogs will be doing plenty of mixing and matching with their lineup.

“You could see every position player on our roster start at some point, depending on what they do,” said Johnson, whose starting lineup could feature many different combinations, depending on the opposing pitcher.

“I really like the way we’re able to match up with left versus right, and as I alluded, if they throw a lefty, we can run nine righties out there,” Johnson said. “If they throw a good righty, we can run as many as six lefties out there. So, that being said, you do the math, that could be 15 guys playing this weekend.”

A scorecard will come in handy.

Georgia features 28 newcomers on its 2024 squad, including 18 transfers and 10 true freshmen.

Although it’s unclear how many freshmen will initially play, keep an eye on Trey Phelps and Trey King.

King is a slick-fielding second baseman who batted .517 his senior year at McIntosh High.

Phelps, meanwhile, was rated as the state’s second-best third baseman by Perfect Game and has hit the ball extremely well both in the fall and preseason.

He could play some first base for the Bulldogs.

When Johnson yells “Hey, Goldstein,” Dylan and Charlie Goldstein both turn around.

Well, not really.

Still, it’s not often you find two players in the same team with the same last name.

“We’re actually roommates, and it’s so funny how that worked out,” said Dylan Goldstein, no relation to Charlie. “I had no idea there was another Goldstein on this team. I just got a text to reach out to these guys who I might could live with, and one of them had the last name Goldstein. I’m like, no way.”

Both players are expected to play huge roles with Johnson’s first team.

Charlie Goldstein will be one of Georgia’s weekend starters after a strong second half last year, while Dylan is a transfer from Florida Atlantic, where he batted .297 with 13 homers and 62 RBIs.

Phase 1 of the $45 million renovation to Foley Field was recently completed. Johnson loves what he’s seen.

“I couldn’t be happier with where that’s at. I think that’s obviously a huge credit to Josh Brooks and what he’s done from a fundraising standpoint,” Johnson said. “It’s moving at a great pace. I think we’re at a great point right now.”

Among the projects completed during Phase 1 was a brand-new locker room and team room.

Phase 2 will include a new pitching lab, hitting area, and coaches' offices. Work for Phase 2 will begin immediately after the season and be completed by the start of the 2025 campaign.

“The locker room and team room is second to none in this league, and all that’s going to do is help us in recruiting,” Johnson said. “I’m obviously very excited with what’s going on.”

Although Johnson has no idea what the future holds for his team this spring, he likes where it’s at heading into Friday’s opener against UNC-Asheville (3 p.m.).

“We feel really good about our work in the offseason. This league is tough, but it’s like I told our guys, everybody wants to talk about failure,” Johnson said. “You also have to deal with success at times, and I’ve seen good teams that could be good on paper go out and have some success and actually struggle with that. It’s going to be a balance for our guys.”

Picked sixth in the East by his fellow SEC coaches, Johnson said he’s placing no limits on what his Bulldogs might do.

“When people ask us how close we are, that’s a tough question for me, no matter where we are,” Johnson said. “You’ve got to see how your team deals with success as well as failure, and then you’re able to make those adjustments, coach them, and if you can get on track, anything is possible in this league.”