Cooper Walls details commitment to Georgia: ‘It was the right fit for me’

Georgia landed its third transfer portal pickup this week with the addition of former Hawaii and Florida sophomore right-handed pitcher Cooper Walls, as he confirmed to Dawgnation on Friday.

“They’re obvious World Series contenders and that’s my ultimate goal, to go win a Natty somewhere,” Walls said to Dawgnation on Friday, referring to the College World Series national championship. “So that’s kind of what brought me to go there.”

In 2026, Walls made 17 appearances, including 10 starts for the Gators, where he posted a 7.17 ERA in 37.2 IP. He also had a 37-to-12 strikeout-to-walk ratio with a 1.73 WHIP and a .329 batting average against.

Georgia playing in the College World Series right now is certainly a good selling point for Walls, who is looking to get back to his first-year form at Hawaii, where he won the 2025 Big West Freshman Pitcher of the Year.

For the Rainbow Warriors, Walls started in 13 of the 15 games he appeared in, posted a 3-3 record with a 3.73 ERA and a 45-to-15 strikeout-to-walk ratio across 60.1 innings pitched.

UGA has now landed the last two winners of the award after the commitment of Long Beach State transfer Luke Howe on Wednesday.

The 6-foot-5 San Diego native then transferred to University of Florida, hoping to serve as a primary starter for the Gators, but was never able to establish himself.

Walls began the 2026 campaign as the Sunday starting pitcher, but some inconsistencies and the rise of fellow pitcher Russell Sandefer forced him to the bullpen during Florida’s sweep of Arkansas back in late March.

From there on, things just never quite panned out for him. Walls went from starting on the weekends to an every-other-week midweek starter and an occasional bullpen option that struggled mightily down the stretch.

“Going into the year, I was starting, which was amazing, you know, to be in the weekend rotation. Had a couple good ones, had a couple bad ones, and obviously toward the back of the year wasn’t great,” Walls said of his time at UF. “I’m just grateful for the opportunity and the experience.”

After entering the transfer portal on June 5, Walls started hearing from schools all over the country, including UGA coach Wes Johnson, who Walls said could help him develop and be a useful piece to the 2027 pitching staff.

“(Johnson) has such a good track record with guys, and he showed me what he could help me with, and I can help their team,” Walls said. “They have the materials and resources, and the track record you know, could help me out as a pitcher, become a better person and player, and just all the above; I thought it was the right fit for me, for sure.”

Johnson has a solid record of bringing in transfers who may not have had the best success at their previous destination and turning them into contributing pieces for the Bulldogs.

The UGA coach said during a College World Series media availability on Thursday that if players are the right fit for “our ballpark and what we think fits our style of coaching, we don’t care where they play so much.”

Walls noted prior to committing he did not have any conversations with former UGA players who have been under Johnson. He was impressed with what Georgia was selling to him and called it a “good fit for both sides.”

While no official 2027 schedule is available, Georgia will likely visit Gainesville, next season since the Gators came up to Athens this time around.

Walls said he is ready for an “awesome” environment at Condron Family Ballpark, but is looking forward to playing in front of everyone at Foley Field.