For twin brothers Connor and Cole Tate, not taking advantage of the NCAA’s Covid waiver to return to their final year with the Georgia baseball team was never a consideration.
You bet the Oconee County duo were all in.
“I always wanted to play all my years out here and do what’s best for the team as a whole,” said Cole Tate, who returns for his second year as the Bulldogs’ starting shortstop.
Ditto for Connor.
“It (the decision to return) was pretty much automatic, because technically I redshirted my freshman year, so really I had another year,” he said. “It was pretty automatic that I did it.”
The Tate brothers weren’t the only seniors to come back for one more run.
Center fielder Ben Anderson, infielder/outfielder Garrett Blaylock, and first baseman/outfielder Chaney Rogers join the Tates as Bulldogs taking advantage of the Covid waiver, with infielder Joshua McAllister also electing to use his final year of eligibility to return for one more year.
If experience is a factor, the Bulldogs figure to be in good shape by the time the season opens Feb. 18 against Albany.
“I definitely feel that’s going to be a big factor. I think it’s seven of our starters are going to be fifth-year guys, redshirt seniors,” Cole Tate said. “That’s a lot of experience. All those guys have played in the SEC a couple of years, have great experience, and we’ve all played together except for one guy. I think we’re capable of doing something special here.”
Should that happen, the Tates will no doubt be playing big roles.
In his first year as a starter, Cole Tate batted .319 with a team-high 67 hits, including double digit safeties a team-best 20 times. Twin brother Connor led the team in hitting at .344 with 10 homers and 33 RBIs.
“You’re talking grown men—big, strong, physical grown men playing college baseball,” head coach Scott Stricklin said of the pair, now 23 years old. “It’s nice to have guys like that, and they’ve been on both sides. They’ve been where they haven’t been playing every day; they had to work to where they are. and that’s what's so satisfying for us, the coaching staff, and I’m sure it is for them, too. Nothing was given to them. They had to earn it, work, and they’ve earned their spot, and now they’re team leaders.”
If it seems the Tates have been around forever, you would not be too far off.
Connor and Cole came in a year after the class that included the likes of Aaron Schunk, Tucker Bradley, Tucker Maxwell, and LJ Talley.
In other words, the pair had to wait to their turn.
But once their opportunities became available, both players stepped right in.
“It was definitely 100 percent tough, because everybody wants to play,” Connor Tate said. “But we learned from them, and it helped us as players.”
Now, they’re trying to return the favor while leaning on their experience to will the Bulldogs back into the NCAA Tournament after missing out last spring.
“When we first got here, we knew we had to work really hard and keep grinding. I didn’t play my first year, and my second year I just came in as a defensive replacement. You’ve just got to believe in the process and keep going,” Cole Tate said. “When you get your chance, you’ve just got to be ready for it.”
No matter what the journey entails.
For Cole Tate, that meant coming on board as a preferred walk-on while Connor did so as a scholarship player. Cole Tate was ultimately placed on scholarship last year.
“They came in really talented; they’re hard workers. Everyone knows they worked really hard when they were young kids,” Stricklin said. “They came in with Aaron Schunk, they came in with LJ Talley, with Cam Shepherd, Tucker Maxwell, Tucker Bradley, all those guys were ahead of them. So, they kind of had to work their way up. But there’s something to be said for being patient, working hard. Everybody wants to play, but they didn’t let it get them down. They just kept working to get to where they are.”
