The sight of Charlie Condon and John Marant in the same lineup for Georgia could be an intimidating one for opposing pitchers next spring.
At 6-foot-6 and 225 pounds, Condon established himself as one of the best players in college baseball. Marant also takes up a lot of space in the batter’s box.
The former Sandy Creek standout announced his transfer to Georgia on Thursday after earning first-team junior college All-American honors last year at the College of Central Florida. Officially, he checks in at 6-6 and 233. Along with Western Kentucky transfer Lukas Farris (6-5, 220), the Bulldogs will not be lacking for size.
Like Condon, Marant swings a productive bat. Last spring, Marant, who originally signed with Georgia Tech, hit 434 with 15 home runs and 70 RBIs as a sophomore for the Patriots. As a freshman, he hit .311 with 12 home runs and 52 RBIs.
In a telephone interview with UGASports, Marant says the idea of teaming with Condon certainly has its appeal.
“He’s a phenomenal player. I watched a lot of baseball, and you can see what he’s doing and did as a freshman,” he said. “It’s going to be pretty cool playing with him, and I bet there will be some friendly competition trying to see who can outdo each other. I can’t wait to meet him.”
Although head coach Wes Johnson is busy finishing out his duties with LSU, which plays Florida this weekend in a best-of-three series to decide the champion of the College World Series, the Bulldogs have been one of the busier teams in the NCAA transfer portal.
Thursday’s additions of Marant and Florida Atlantic outfielder Dylan Goldstein make it six new players who so far have joined the Bulldog baseball program from other schools.
More are expected.
For Marant, the opportunity to become a Bulldog was a no-brainer. When assistant coach Will Coggin made the offer earlier this week, Marant did not hesitate to say yes.
“I was at Tech before I went to JC, and after I left, I knew I wanted to stay in Georgia after going to Florida,” said Marant, who has actually yet to speak with Johnson. “He (Coggin) talked to my coaches at my junior college, talked to them briefly. It was only three or four days ago. I knew as soon as he got in contact with me, if the opportunity was there, I was going to take it.”
Although he signed with Tech, Marant never played in a game for the Yellow Jackets after leaving three weeks before the season began.
“It just wasn’t a good fit,” Marant said. “Plus, I wanted to go to junior college.”
Marant served as his team’s designated hitter after undergoing Labrum surgery last summer. He said after his conversation with Coggin, he expects to play a big role.
“He told me they have a big need for left-handed bats. He seemed pretty confident with the class that’s coming back, and the guys they were bringing in, that we’re going to make a run,” Marant said. “To be honest with you, it’s all surreal to me at the moment. I’m just biting at the bit. I’m ready to go. He was excited about who they were bringing in and the team that they had left.”
NOTE: As expected, 2024 commit Cale Stricklin de-committed on Friday. A catcher, Stricklin is the son of former head coach Scott Stricklin.
