Georgia Bulldogs news: Baseball’s hot start, Men’s and women’s hoops fall, Hines Ward logical fit as WR coach

Georgia baseball didn’t just begin its 2024 campaign over the weekend, it also began a new era. After last season’s 29-27 record, Scott Stricklin was fired after missing NCAA regionals in two of his final three years in Athens.

Stricklin was replaced by LSU pitching coach Wes Johnson, who began his tenure as the head coach of the Bulldogs at home against UNC Asheville on Friday with an 11-2 win. Infielder Slate Alford led the way with three RBI and starting pitcher Charlie Goldstein pitched four innings of one-run ball and got the win. 

Georgia swept the three-game series outscoring the other Bulldogs 38-7. Alford hit three home runs across the series while Dylan Goldstein hit two and posted a 2.011 OPS in eight at-bats. 

Georgia Men’s and Women’s basketball both lose in SEC play

The Georgia men hosted No. 24 Florida on Saturday and fell 88-82 in a fast-paced affair. Noah Thomasson led the way with 26 points for the Bulldogs, but after leading 46-40 at halftime, Georgia was outscored 48-36 in the second half. 

Mike White’s team is 14-11 on the season and 4-8 in conference play. The Bulldogs are 11th in the SEC and will face LSU in Baton Rouge on Tuesday night. 

The Georgia women had an even tougher task on Sunday, facing No. 1 South Carolina in Columbia. The Georgia women also led at halftime, by a score of 35-28, but the undefeated Gamecocks relied on a balanced scoring attack to pull away for a 70-56 win, their 26th of the year. 

That loss drops the Bulldogs to 11-5 on the season and 2-10 in conference play. The last place Georgia women play next on Thursday at Ole Miss. 

Hines Ward is a logical fit for Georgia’s vacant spot on the coaching staff

The Georgia alum and Pittsburgh Steelers legend has been in coaching since 2017 as an offensive intern on Mike Tomlin’s staff. Since then, he’s spent two seasons on the New York Jets staff, one as the wide receivers coach at Florida Atlantic under former Owls head coach Willie Taggart in 2021, and one year as the head coach of the San Antonio Brahmas of the XFL in 2023. 

Ward has an interesting coaching resume so far but could find a home in Athens on Kirby Smart’s staff after the departure of Bryan McClendon to the NFL. 

More college sports news

The Pac-12 parted ways with commissioner George Kliavkoff who served the conference since 2021 and oversaw the conference's demise last year. Kaliavkoff’s replacement is the league’s deputy commissioner Teresa Gould, who on Monday became the first female commissioner of a Power Five conference.