Georgia’s baseball team may have the most returning experience of anyone in the country.

When the Bulldogs hit the field Friday for the first official day of preseason practice, head coach Scott Stricklin will welcome back 29 lettermen, including eight starters and 13 pitchers who logged innings a season ago.

The reason? When the NCAA granted athletes the opportunity to take a waiver year due to Covid-19, most of the Bulldogs took advantage. In fact, the only position player not back is outfielder Riley King.

It’s this returning talent that has many who cover the game believing the Bulldogs are in line for a return trip to the NCAA Tournament after missing out last spring.

“We’ve got some good problems. We’ve got a lot of depth, and that’s what these next few weeks and months are about, competition to try and finalize spots in the lineup,” Stricklin told UGASports Tuesday. “We’ve got a lot of position players that need to play, and that’s what we’re hoping for, is play lots of guys. But there's a lot of competition for the spots in this lineup. The core group is back, but we’ve got some good, young players as well.”

Fitting them all in—well, that’s going to be a challenge.

However, winning games is what’s most important, and just like in the major leagues, Stricklin and his coaches cannot be worried about feelings once the season begins.

“My job is not to keep everybody happy. Our job is to win games and put the guys out there who we feel give us the best chance to win that day,” Stricklin said. “That’s tough. Every coach wishes they had that problem, but when they do, it’s still a problem. It will be interesting to see how it works out.”

…Jonathan Cannon appears set as Georgia’s Friday night starter, but after that, the other two spots will be up for grabs.

There’s no shortage of potential candidates.

Liam Sullivan (1-3, 3.99), newcomer Dylan Ross, Luke Wagner (3-3, 4.58), Mississippi State transfer Davis Rokose, and freshman Coleman Willis, Garrett Brown (missed last season due to Tommy John surgery) and possibly lefty Jaden Woods (4-1, 4.58) are among those Stricklin and pitching coach Sean Kenny will look to fill the four starting roles.

Stricklin said he believes Cannon (4-2, 3.98) has the potential to take a step similar to Emerson Hancock and Cole Wilcox, currently in the minor leagues with Seattle and Tampa, respectively.

“I really do. He has all the intangibles. He’s 6-5 and athletic, he’s a four-pitch mix, he’s competitive, and that’s the thing I was really happy with,” Stricklin said. “The first half of the season he was really up and down because of his illness and trying to get on track. But the second half the season he pitched a lot better.”

Ross is another one to watch.

Like Cannon, the 6-5 Statesboro native checks in at 251 pounds with an upper-90s fastball, effective slider, and split-finger pitch.

“He reminds me a lot of Tony Locey (former Bulldog pitcher),” Stricklin said. “He’s also got pretty good command.”

…Stricklin said pitchers Garrett Brown and Will Childers have both recovered from their Tommy John surgery after missing all of 2021 and are ready to resume integral roles with the team. In fact, Brown will be on the mound Wednesday for two innings of live pitching.

Childers is a little bit behind Brown, but not by a lot.

“(Childers) is throwing, and he feels really good. It’s been positive,” Stricklin said. “Both of those guys are going to be major factors on this team and to not have them last year really hurt us.”

…Along with Woods, Stricklin said Jack Gowen (1-0, 2.16), Nolan Crisp (1-1, 3.91), and Michael Polk (2-1, 1.86) will each be vital in the back end of the bullpen.

Crisps has adjusted his approach, resulting in an uptick in velocity,

Will Pearson (2-0, 3.91), Collin Caldwell (0-1, 4.58) and the aforementioned Childers are also expected to play key roles.

…Graduate student Ben Anderson (.206-4-17) and Connor Tate (.344-10-33) are expected to be two of the three outfield starters, but they’ll have plenty of competition.

Stricklin rattled off Chaney Rogers (.278-4-32), Garrett Spikes (.222-0-2) DA Allen (redshirted), Cole Wagner (true freshman), Luke Wagner (.229-0-3) and Randon Jernigan (.213-0-6) as other potential players.

Georgia’s head coach also said that Garrett Blaylock (.243-9-29) has transferred from the infield to the outfield.

Other returning starters include third baseman Josh McAllister (.333-9-29) and shortstop Cole Tate (.319-2-20,) with Rogers and Parks Harber (.248-3-19) expected to split time at first.

Florida transfer Cory Acton is expected to be the key man at second, with designated hitter/catcher Corey Collins (.283-8-37) playing a major role in the middle of lineup.

Collins and fellow sophomore Fernando Gonzalez (.254-2-13) and Shane Marshall (.196-0-3) will handle the catching.