Georgia earns commitment from Utah outfielder Jet Gilliam
A day after landing Florida State catcher Hunter Carns, Georgia keeps on rolling in the transfer portal with the commitment of Utah junior outfielder Jet Gilliam on Saturday.
The addition marks the seventh transfer portal pickup for Georgia, which is looking to reload the 2026 roster that reached the College World Series semifinals.
This will be Gilliam’s fourth team in four years this upcoming season. This past year, he played in Salt Lake City for Utah, where he was one of the Utes’ most underrated bats in the lineup.
Gilliam started in 50 of 51 games played, hit .362 in 188 at-bats, with 68 hits, eight doubles, six home runs, 36 RBIs, 10 stolen bases and a 41-to-27 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
The Henderson, Nevada native only earned honorable mention All-Big 12 nod despite being third in the league in batting average (.393), 7th in OBP (.455), and 5th in hits (46).
Prior to Utah, Gilliam spent his sophomore campaign at NC State, appearing in 35 games, batting .276 with eight hits, three doubles, one home run, four RBIs, six walks, and as many strikeouts in 29 at-bats.
Defensively, Gilliam might just be the perfect outfielder for a UGA club that could be needing to replace all three starters — Kenny Ishikawa, Rylan Lujo and Ryan Black.
In back-to-back seasons, Gilliam has posted a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage in 163 total chances. In Utah, Gilliam served as the primary centerfielder and made 144 putouts in as many chances.
Since Wes Johnson arrived in 2024, Georgia has shown a liking for finding older, more experienced players from the transfer portal. And with the newest 5-for-5 NCAA rule that was passed earlier this week, Gilliam could have at least two more seasons in Athens.
“I think you’ve still got to be old in this league to make a push to win,” Johnson said in an interview with Dawgnation on June 23. “And then you can sprinkle in or mix in freshmen and win.”