Wofford closer transfers to UGA

Georgia baseball coach Scott Stricklin told UGASports and his staff would be paying close attention to the NCAA transfer portal, especially when it came to pitchers capable of helping next year’s team.

Monday night, they found one when Wofford closer Dalton Rhadans announced on Twitter that he would be transferring to Georgia.

A graduate with a degree in Finance, Rhadans has another year of eligibility due to his Covid waiver.

The second-team member of the All-Southern Conference team, Rhadans went 7-4 last year with the Terriers, posting a 3.72 ERA with 10 saves.

In 72.2 innings, Rhadans gave up 75 hits, with just 13 walks and 71 strikeouts. Opponents batted .263 against the sidearmer.

“I’m just grateful to have the opportunity,” Rhadans said in a telephone interview with UGASports. “There’s a lot of people out there (in the portal) just like me. I love the game and I’m going to play for as long as I can.”

At 6-foot-4 and 225 pounds, the hard-throwing right-hander should be welcome addition to a bullpen that struggled with inconsistency for much of the year.

“When I went in the portal, in the back of my mind I always wanted to be a Bulldog,” Rhadans said. “Going through the process, I talked to some different schools, but when Georgia reached out that kind of caught my eye there.”

A recent visit to Athens confirmed the decision for the Acworth native who played his high school ball at North Paulding High.

“I’m ready to wear that G with some pride on my chest,” said Rhadans, who actually pitched for Wofford against the Bulldogs last year.

Georgia won the game in Greenville 7-6, but Rhadans performed well, allowing just one run on four hits in three innings with two walks and three strikeouts.

“They (Georgia coaches) did bring up that outing,” Rhadans said. “They remembered, so that was pretty good.”

Rhadans, who will arrive on campus in August, said his role will be determined at a later date.

“The biggest conversation we had was my ability to throw in back-to-back days without really getting sore or fatigued,” Rhadans said. “They think I’ll be a good addition as a bullpen piece. We didn’t discuss any role or anything like that, but it will be something in the bullpen as another arm.”