Georgia’s annual fall baseball practice was different for Wes Johnson and the Bulldogs in many respects.

With Foley Field amid its $45 million renovation project, the Bulldogs spent the past two months at nearby Athens Academy taking the first steps for what many are predicting will be another successful campaign.

Despite some key losses that include players like All-American Charlie Condon, first baseman Corey Collins, and catcher Fernando Gonzalez, Johnson and his staff have fortified the 2025 squad with a host of talented transfers, along with a promising group of freshman and other newcomers that have experts like D1Baseball bullish on the season ahead.

After coming one game short of earning a trip to the College World Series, Georgia is being pegged as a team to keep an eye on next spring.

“You either like having people talk good things about you so early, or you kind of rather they kind of wait and see a little bit, right?” Johnson said. “Well, I guess the one good thing is, as I've said for years, if you don't think you're gonna be good at the end of the fall, you're probably not gonna be good, right? So, it's good to hear that people are talking about you, but I've already addressed it a little bit with our team, just saying, ‘Hey, look, the best teams keep their head down.”

Part of the reason for the optimism is what on paper could be the most quality pitching depth the Bulldogs have had in years.

Not only does Georgia welcome back weekend starters Leighton Finley (6-1, 4.14), Kolten Smith (9-3, 5.56), Charlie Goldstein (4-1, 3.72) and Zach Harris (5-2, 6.87), the Bulldogs added a bevy of talented arms, including Alabama transfer Alton Davis II (4-2, 5.61, four saves) played for USA Baseball’s Collegiate National Team this past summer.

A lefty with a mid-90s fastball, Davis is a rubber-arm pitcher with the ability to start and relieve.

He’s not the only talented pitching addition.

Ole Miss transfer JT Quinn enjoyed an impressive camp and brings a wealth of starting experience from the Rebels, while VCU transfer Brian Curley, Georgia State transfer Davis Chastain, and Eastern Kentucky lefty transfer Bradley Stewart also bring some needed power arms.

ABAC transfer Jordan Stephens brings another high-end fastball into the mix, as does redshirt freshman Paul Farley, who displayed impressive mid-90s velo during scrimmage games.

Southern Cal transfer Eric Hammond offers some welcomed experience, while Ohio State transfer Zach Brown is a rubber arm righty with the ability to induce ground balls.

Returnee Mathew Hoskins, Brian Zeldin, and DJ Radke are also back as experienced arms.

“I’m really excited about where our pitching staff is now. I think we've got some options. We can really, really match up,” Johnson said. “We’ve got some flexibility. Don’t get me wrong, if a guy’s cruising, he’s going to go five, six or seven innings. But we could also match up games. You could look up and we could throw four pitchers. We could throw 12 pitchers in a weekend, and it wouldn’t surprise me one bit. So, I really like that.”

Even with the loss of Condon, scoring runs should not be a problem.

Many consider sophomore Tre Phelps the Bulldogs “next big thing” and a potential first-round draft pick after batting .353 with 12 home runs and 40 RBI. He’s back, along with fellow returnees Kolby Branch (.267-17-58) and Slate Alford (.300-17-69).

But there’s a lot more than that.

The Bulldogs added Miami-Ohio first baseman/third baseman Ryland Zabrowski, a 6-foot-5, 236-pounder who two years ago led the MAC in home runs with 20. He was a career .300 hitter with the Red Hawks.

Second baseman Ryan Black (.336 his freshman season at UT-Arlington), first baseman/outfielder Charlie Jones (.344-13-54 at Air Force), catcher Daniel Jackson (.357-12-69 at Wofford), the versatile Brennan Hudson (.326-12-31 at Georgia State), infielder Christian Adams (.3468-31 at FAU), outfielder Robbie Burnett (.323-17-45 at UNC-Asheville), and outfielder Nolan McCarthy (.288-8-41 at Kentucky) are other transfers expected to play key roles.

McCarthy has already been voted a team captain.

“When you look up the word winner in the dictionary, if Nolan's not right there in there, he should be,” Johnson said. “We talk about and we see talented players, right? You talk about talented players who, Charlie Condon, Paul Skenes … You go, ‘OK, man, I may never coach another guy like that for ten years.’ Well, then some guys have leadership skills, and who just will themselves to be good players. Those guys, you can make some of those same comments.”

More help is on the way.

Former Duke outfielder Devin Obee who played in all 60 games for the ACC Blue Devils last year, batting .309 with 16 home runs and 50 RBI will join the Bulldogs once preseason drills get underway.

A team captain for the Blue Devils, Obee helped lead Duke to the ACC title, earning ACC Tournament MVP honors after hitting three home runs with eight RBI. He was also named a National Strength and Conditioning Association All-American for his accomplishments and dedication to strength and conditioning.

Obee is also a former member of Team USA’s Collegiate Team and played in the Little League World Series.

Keep an eye on Georgia’s freshman class.

Bryce Clavon, shortstop Erik Parker, third baseman Cade Brown, infielder Alexander Sifford and outfielder Michael Mullinax also shone during fall scrimmage games and could contribute in different ways.

“The depth of this team, I mean, I look at it, you talk about being able to swap guys in and out and play with righty, lefty, and it seems like it's even more so than maybe it was last year,” Johnson said. “We don't have Charlie Condon or Corey Collins, right? But when you look at our overall depth of a lineup, and then the depth that we're gonna have on the bench to match up right versus left, meaning if they bring in a tough righty or a tough lefty into the game, and what we could do off the bench, we're ahead of where we were last year. Obviously, we're well ahead of that on the mound.”

NOTE: The Georgia Bulldog Club has announced the launch of the 2025 Georgia Baseball Fund (GBF) campaign as well as a full reseating of Foley Field ahead of the 2025 baseball season.

As part of Phase II of construction at Foley Field, the seating configuration will be changing significantly, most notably with the addition of new sections along the third baseline that will stretch down to field level, as well as the loss of some seats in the 200 level along the first base line. Additionally, we will be switching the home and away dugouts so that the home dugout is closer to the new training facility, which changes our SEC-mandated ticket locations across Foley Field.

You can access the full release here.