The Georgia State baseball team made great strides last season. The Panthers took their lumps against one of the toughest nonconference schedules in the country, but won six of their last eight Sun Belt games, made the conference tournament and won a playoff game.
Those seemingly baby steps taken during the 18-37 season have the program poised to contend in one of the nation’s more competitive conferences, with coach Brad Stromdahl setting high expectations for his third season.
The Panthers begin the season at 3 p.m. Friday with a four-game weekend series against Purdue-Fort Wayne at the GSU Baseball Complex in Decatur.
“I’m excited to see the progression the guys who have been here for two years with us have made,” Stromdahl said. “And I’m excited to see what the new guys and the incoming freshmen can do because we have a lot of pieces that are really good baseball players.”
The schedule isn’t as intense as last season – GSU played 20 games against Power Five opponents and 16 against nationally ranked teams. There are still games against Florida, Georgia Tech, Georgia, Clemson, Villanova, Big South-champion Presbyterian, Kennesaw State and Mercer. There are 11 games against teams that went to the NCAAs last season.
“I'm excited to see the progression the guys who have been here for two years with us have made. And I'm excited to see what the new guys and the incoming freshmen can do because we have a lot of pieces that are really good baseball players."
“Ultimately if you want to be the best, you must play the best,” Stromdahl said.
The GSU offense is paced by fourth-year junior Josh Smith, who led the team in batting average (.325), home runs (10) and RBIs (35). He was named second-team all-conference and this spring was selected to the preseason all-conference team by the Sun Belt coaches and named to the third team of the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association’s All-American team.
“Last year was a breakout year for him,” Stromdahl said. “I think it’s going to be nothing but continued upward progression from here on out. He’s one of those kids you hope that he peaks in college, but he might peak after a couple years in pro ball when his body finally gets to where it is at full maturity.”
Cameron Jones is a two-way player, a left-handed pitcher and first baseman, who also was chosen to the preseason all-conference team. The sophomore hit .275 with 10 RBIs and went 1-8 with a 5.54 ERA in 14 appearances, 13 of them as a starter. He will be used less as a starter and more as a late-innings reliever.
“We’re going to put him in a different role and see if that’s going to be better served for his arm, for us,” Stromdahl said. “Everything we do is tailored toward how do we win at the end of the season. He’s the link that combines everything on our team.”
The No. 1 starter is Ryan Watson, a right-hander who went 4-4 with a 6.64 ERA and was the winning pitcher against No. 2 Vanderbilt, the highest-ranked team Georgia State has defeated in program history. Watson, who is battling through some injury issues, is expected to begin the season in the bullpen and work his way back toward the top of the rotation.
“He’s definitely the No. 1 starter as we go into conference,” Stromdahl said. “We want to make sure everybody is healthy when we go into those games.”
Stromdahl likes Watson’s maturity, as well as his ability to hit 96 mph. “He throws the ball harder than a lot of people in the world,” he said. “And he’s got a good head on his shoulders. He’s dealt with the draft, with COVID, going from 40 rounds to 20 rounds really well. He’s very mature.”
Smith, Watson, third baseman Will Mize (.290, 25 RBIs), and pitchers Dylan Matela (0-6, 5.48 ERA) and left-hander Dawson Sweatt (2-2, 4.58) were all named on the list of top draft prospects compiled by Perfect Game.
Other regulars expected to play a large role are shortstop Griffin Cheney (.266, 12 doubles, five homers, 19 RBIs) and outfielders Dalton Pearson (.264, 16 RBIs) and Kyle Riesselmann (.235, 12 RBIs). First baseman Luke Boynton is a hard-hitting Marietta native who signed with Nebraska and spent last season at Northwest Florida College.
The starting rotation for the weekend series begins with left-hander Brandon Kaminer in the opener. Kaminer is a grad transfer from LSU, where he was 3-1 over two seasons. Chandler Dawson (3-2, 4.80) and Trey Horton (0-2, 4.15) will start the Saturday doubleheader, and Matela will open Sunday’s finale.
Stromdahl is eager to see how it all comes together.
“It’s just kind of the culmination of all the work and the effort that you’ve put in,” he said. “Now let’s see if you can actually put into practice, put into play what you’ve been practicing and how we can take this to the next level.”
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