Georgia baseball coach Wes Johnson on staying in Athens and transfer portal additions

Life is pretty good these days for Georgia baseball coach Wes Johnson.

Fresh off the Bulldogs first trip to the NCAA Super Regional since 2008, Johnson got a boost in pay of nearly $300,000 and a one-year contract extension through 2030.

His star player from this past season, Charlie Condon, is projected as one of the top picks in the MLB draft on July 14.

He likes his revamped 2025 roster, which isn’t complete yet even after transfer additions in the double digits.

That includes Texas-Arlington second baseman Ryan Black and Wofford catcher Daniel Jackson, ranked Nos. 9 and 25, respectively, in the Baseball America transfer rankings. Johnson said he couldn’t talk about most of the transfer class because paperwork still needs to be completed.

“We’re sitting at 12 young men out of the portal that we committed,” Johnson said. “We feel really good with them. You can never replace a Charlie Condon, you never will replace him. You don’t even go to try to find one. It’s not out there. With that, we’ve taken that Moneyball approach in the sense that we hit 151 homers. We might not have a guy that hits 37 or 36 or 30 or even high 20s, but can we find enough guys that we think can hit 20? We feel on the offensive side of things we were able to do that.”

Others may be kicking back around the Fourth of July holiday, but there’s still much on Johnson’s plate.

“Vacation doesn’t happen for a while,” he said Tuesday afternoon.

Construction has returned to at Foley Field as part of $45 million worth of stadium improvements. That means camps this summer are being held at Athens Academy.

“There’s two cranes on the field … a cement truck,” he said.

Johnson plans to be there for the new-look Foley to open in the 2025 season.

His name showed up on some candidate lists for openings at Texas and Texas A&M but he said he wasn’t involved in either vacancy.

“Nobody called me but if they would have, I’m really happy at Georgia,” Johnson said.

Johnson will be paid $1 million per year, a new deal he said he started having conversations with athletic director Josh Brooks about around the end of the regular season.

Georgia lost in the Super Regionals to N.C. State in three games to finish 43-17.

“We were probably one arm short of going to Omaha,” Johnson said. “We’ve increased our depth. We’re not done on the mound in the portal. We can still go get as many as three. It’s got to be the right three.”

He said he hopes to add a pitcher that can be a “ground ball guy,” something that the team was lacking this season.

Georgia baseball transfer portal additions

Alabama left-handed pitcher Alton Davis is on the Team USA roster this summer, along with Georgia infielder Tre Phelps and pitcher Kolten Smith.

Davis went 4-2 and 5.67 ERA and 4 saves last season.

“He’s thrown in our league in some of the biggest leverage situations you can throw in at this level,” Johnson said. “I think we’re going to be able to start him and really excited to see what the potential for him is.”

Ryland Zaborowski, a 6-foot-5 third baseman from Miami of Ohio, hit 30 homers with 97 RBI the last two seasons.

“He has Charlie Condon power and can play anywhere,” Johnson said. “Loves the game, fired up, wants to win, wants to play in the SEC.”

Black hit .278 with 5 homers and a team-best 41 RBI last season as a sophomore, hitting 21 doubles in a home ballpark considered pitcher-friendly.

Jackson, a Sandy Spring product, could step in behind the plate. He hit .357 with 12 homers and 69 RBI last season.

Infielder Christian Adams led Florida Atlantic last season with a .343 average with 8 homers and 31 RBI.

Georgia also is adding outfielders Robbie Burnett (UNC-Asheville) and JoJo Jackson (Georgia State); first baseman/catcher Brennan Hudson (Georgia State); and hard-throwing pitchers Brian Curley (VCU), Eric Hammond (Southern Cal), Davis Chastain (Georgia State) and Bradley Stewart (Eastern Kentucky).

How could Georgia baseball be affected by the MLB Draft in 2024?

Georgia had five top 85-rated prospects by 64analytics on June 22, which was the most in the top 100 nationally.

Condon is getting the headlines but three other Georgia players with eligibility remaining and five signees are ranked in Baseball America’s top 500 draft prospects.

The Bulldogs are likely to lose second baseman Slate Alford and pitcher Chandler Marsh but could get back shotstop Kolby Branch.

From the high school recruiting class, infielder Erik Parker, third baseman Cade Brown, outfielder Michael Mullinax, shortstop/outfielder Bryce Calvon and pitcher Nate Taylor could have decisions to make.

“I feel good but the draft is an imperfect science,” Johnson said. “All of those young men could get drafted. … They all have certain numbers they’re looking to get from a team. If they get it, they’re going to sign and I don’t blame them. ... We won’t lose them all. I feel extremely confident half of those young men will show up. What half I don’t know yet.”