Baseball
- Title:
- Ike Cousins Head Baseball Coach
- Email:
- sstricklin@sports.uga.edu
- Phone:
- 706-542-7971
The 2023 season marked Georgia's Ike Cousins Head Baseball Coach Scott Stricklin's 10th with the program and 19th overall as a head coach. Georgia tallied a 29-27 record including 11-19 in the SEC. Georgia went 10-10 over its final 20 league games to overcome a 1-9 start and advance to the SEC Tournament. During this stretch, Georgia posted series wins over then No. 4 Arkansas, No. 10 Kentucky and No. 18 Tennessee. The Bulldogs featured the SEC Freshman of the Year in Charlie Condon and for the second conecutive year, the SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year, in graduate Ben Anderson. The team posted a school record .981 fielding percentage, eclipsing the mark of .980 set by the 2019 squad. Four Bulldogs earned a degree to go with six graduates already on the roster.
The 2022 season was his ninth year with the program. The Bulldogs posted a 36-23 record and finished second in the SEC Eastern Division with a 15-15 league mark while overcoming injuries to their starting pitching staff during the year. Georgia spent the entire regular season ranked among the top 25 teams. The Bulldogs garnered a No. 2 seed to the NCAA Chapel Hill (N.C.) Regional and went 1-2. Pitchers Jonathan Cannon and Jack Gowen were named All-Americans while outfielder Ben Anderson earned SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors. Four Bulldogs graduated and another five were on track to finish by the end of the summer. Twenty Bulldogs earned a spot on either the SEC Spring Academic Honor Roll or the SEC First-Year Honor Roll.
The 2021 team spent 11 weeks in the nation's top 25 rankings and reached as high as No. 5 before a slew of injuries eventually took its toll on the club. The Bulldogs lost four of their top five pitchers during the year with freshmen accounting for 52 percent of the starts and 44 percent of the innings pitched. Still, Georgia went 8-14 against top 10 ranked teams including a winning a road series over No. 1 Vanderbilt, which marked the Commodores only home series loss. At the SEC Tournament, Georgia went 1-2 with a win over LSU and ended the season with a 31-25 record. Outfielder Connor Tate earned ABCA/Rawlings All-South Region second team honors while catcher/designated hitter Corey Collins and pitcher Jaden Woods were named Freshman All-SEC by the league coaches. Woods earned second team Freshman All-America honors by Perfect Game/Rawlings. Also of note, nine Bulldogs on the 2021 club earned their degree, and a school record 27 Bulldogs made either the Spring SEC Academic Honor Roll or the SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll, eclipsing the mark of 26 set in 2020. In April of 2021, it was announced that he had agreed to a contract extension through 2026.
The Bulldogs have had 38 players drafted in the Stricklin era including 16 in the top 10 rounds. Pitchers Emerson Hancock (2020) and Robert Tyler (2016) were first round draft picks. Also of note, first baseman Jared Walsh, who was a 39th round pick in 2015 by the Los Angeles Angels, was named to the 2021 MLB All-Star Team.
Georgia finished the 2020 campaign ranked as high as No. 2 nationally (USA Today Sports Top 25) when the COVID-19 pandemic halted the season after 18 games. Georgia had jumped out to a 7-0 start, swept rival Georgia Tech for the third time in the past four years and tallied a 14-4 mark. The Bulldogs were one of just two programs to have earned a top eight National Seed for the NCAA Championships in both 2018 and 2019. Georgia was a No. 8 seed in 2018 and a No. 4 seed in 2019, which marked the best in school history. In the 2020 MLB Draft (shortened to just five rounds), Hancock and pitcher Cole Wilcox went in the first and third rounds with Hancock the sixth overall selection.
During his UGA tenure, Stricklin created an atmosphere of excitement around the program, starting with the current student-athletes, extending to former lettermen and to Georgia baseball fans around the state. He organized numerous lettermen functions to help reunite former players and steered the $12 million Foley Field Revival project that was completed prior to the 2015 season. He engaged the fan base with the annual First Pitch banquets featuring Hall of Famers John Smoltz, Phil Niekro and Chipper Jones, former Atlanta Braves standout Jeff Francoeur along with Bulldog legends who reached the Major Leaguers in Gordon Beckham, Kyle Farmer and Clint Sammons. A total of more than 83,000 fans packed Foley Field during the 2019 campaign, the most since 2009 when a modern era record of more than 93,000 cheered on the Bulldogs. In 2020, for the first time in school history, Georgia sold out its season tickets. The Bulldogs were on pace for an attendance record as 31,158 fans had come to Foley Field for the first 13 home games in 2020.
Georgia's recruiting classes were nationally ranked under Stricklin. In fact, the class that made its debut in 2017 was ranked No. 3 by Perfect Game USA. Additionally, the Bulldogs excelled in the classroom including posting a 3.14 GPA for the spring semester of 2020 and 26 Bulldogs landed on the SEC Academic Honor Roll or First-Year Academic Honor Roll, both records at the time for the baseball program.
The Bulldogs posted one of their best regular seasons in school history in 2019, going 42-14 including a school record 21-9 in the Southeastern Conference. Then, Georgia advanced to the semifinals of the SEC Tournament and played host to another NCAA Regional as a top eight National Seed. This was the first time in school history that Georgia served as an NCAA host site as a National Seed in back-to-back seasons. Also, it was only the third time for the program to make back-to-back NCAA Regional appearances. Georgia finished the 2019 season with a 46-17 record, and the win total was the fourth most in school history while the 42 victories during the regular season was the second most. For the second straight year, the Bulldogs established a school record for Fielding Percentage (.980). Junior third baseman/closer Aaron Schunk was named the John Olerud Award recipient as the nation's top two-way player by the College Baseball Foundation while junior Cam Shepherd received a Gold Glove for his play at shortstop from ABCA/Rawlings. Schunk and pitcher Emerson Hancock were consensus All-America selections to highlight the Bulldog individual honors from 2019. A total of eight Bulldogs were selected in the 2019 Major League Baseball Draft with six opting to turn professional and another signing a free agent contract. Georgia continued to excel in the classroom with 19 earning a spot on the SEC Academic Honor Roll and pitcher Tim Elliott making the Academic All-District team from Google Cloud/CoSIDA. Also of note, Hancock and Wilcox garnered USA Collegiate National Team summer invitations.
The 2018 campaign saw Georgia return to prominence as a regular in the Top 25 rankings, earning a top eight national seed and playing host to an NCAA Regional for the first time in a decade. After being picked to finish fifth in the Eastern Division, Georgia posted an overall record of 39-21 and its 18-12 SEC mark tied for the second best in the league. The Bulldogs would reach the finals of the NCAA Athens Regional and set four school records (.979 fielding percentage, holding opponents to a .236 batting average, 532 strikeouts by the pitching staff and seven grand slams by the offense). Three Bulldogs earned All-America honors, four made the All-SEC squad, 23 made the SEC Academic Honor Roll and three were selected in the 2018 MLB Draft.
In 2017, the Bulldogs advanced to the SEC Tournament after an impressive finish to the regular season, going 8-3 over the final 11 games. During this stretch, the Bulldogs claimed a road series over then No. 4 Kentucky, captured a series over No. 6 Miss. State and then won another road series over No. 30 South Carolina. It marked the first time since 2001 that Georgia tallied three consecutive SEC series wins over ranked teams. Georgia started as many as six freshmen during the year and 10 newcomers saw action on the mound as the Bulldog ended the year with a 25-32 record.
Stricklin helped organize the first game open to the public at SunTrust Park to benefit Children's Healthcare of Atlanta as the Bulldogs faced Missouri on April 8. The crowd of 33,025 at SunTrust was the second biggest in college baseball history. A month later, Georgia returned to SunTrust for the 15th annual Spring Baseball Classic For Kids and defeated Georgia Tech in front of nearly 24,000 to sweep the season series for the first time since 1984.
In 2016, Georgia endured a school-record 22-game stretch against ranked opponents, going 8-14 as it concluded the regular season with the nation's toughest rated schedule. Overall, Georgia went 27-30 and advanced to the SEC Tournament. They posted key series wins over then No. 2 South Carolina, marking the highest series victory for Georgia since 2001, and over rival Georgia Tech. Georgia had six players selected in the MLB draft including first round lottery selection Robert Tyler by Colorado. He became the 10th Bulldog in school history to be a first round selection. A total of 15 Bulldogs made the SEC Academic Honor Roll.
In year two of the Stricklin era at Georgia, the Bulldogs showed flashes of potential. Georgia posted its first SEC road sweep since 2009 when it won three straight over Tennessee and then followed that up by claiming its first league series at No. 7 South Carolina since 1994. In non-conference action, Georgia won a series over No. 11 Florida State and swept a two-game set from Clemson for the first time since 2009. In May, Georgia combined on a one-hit shutout of Georgia Tech at Turner Field in front of the largest crowd to see a college baseball regular season game as 18,792 attended the 13th annual Spring Baseball Classic For Kids.
Georgia battled through the 2015 season while missing two members of its starting rotation and two bullpen arms for a significant stretch as injuries hit the pitching staff for the second straight year. Still, the Bulldog staff posted a sub 4.00 ERA for only the second time since 1977, ending the year at 3.96. When at full strength, the bullpen was a formidable group, allowing just one earned run over the final 29.2 innings of 2015. Offensively from 2014 to 2015, the Bulldogs improved their batting average 11 points and increased their home run total from 13 to 40. Georgia had seven players selected in the 2015 MLB draft, which marked the most since 2011.
The 2014 season marked Stricklin's first year at Georgia, and he led the Bulldogs back to the SEC Tournament for the first time since 2012. The Bulldogs increased their overall and SEC win total from 2013 while playing a league-high 29 games against ranked teams in the regular season and did so without their projected No. 1 and No. 3 starters in the rotation and cleanup hitter for much of the year due to injuries. Georgia compiled an 11-game wining streak during the season, which was the longest since 2009, and it captured a series over No. 7 South Carolina, the first over a top 10 team since 2011. Three Bulldogs signed professional contracts after being drafted.
Stricklin, who led his alma mater Kent State to five NCAA Regionals and the 2012 College World Series, was named head baseball coach at the University of Georgia on June 3, 2013.
During a nine-year stint with the Golden Flashes, he posted a 350-188 record, winning five Mid-American Conference regular season crowns and five MAC Tournament titles. Known for developing student-athletes on and off the field, 30 KSU players were selected in the Major League Baseball draft during his tenure, and from 2010-12, the team registered a perfect 1,000 score in the NCAA's Academic Performance Rate (APR) report. KSU was one of only 16 schools in the country to reach this academic accomplishment and the only public institution on the list. Also, the Golden Flashes were honored in Omaha in 2012 for having the highest team Grade Point Average (GPA) of all the eight participants at the College World Series (CWS), owning a 3.09 GPA. For the spring semester of 2013, the KSU baseball team registered a 3.06 GPA.
Stricklin earned his first head coaching job in July of 2004 when he returned to Kent State following three seasons as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Georgia Tech under former KSU head coach Danny Hall. Stricklin began his coaching career in 1998 as a volunteer coach for the Yellow Jackets and then spent two years as the pitching coach at Vanderbilt from 2000-01. While at Tech, he landed the consensus No. 1 ranked recruiting class in 2002 as they advanced to the College World Series that year, and they made it to an NCAA Super Regional in 2004 before falling to Georgia in Atlanta. His final recruiting class at Vanderbilt was ranked seventh best by Baseball America. In 2011, he served as an assistant coach for the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team.
Stricklin directed Kent State to its finest season in school history in 2012 as the Golden Flashes posted a record 47 victories including a 21-game winning streak and their first trip to the CWS. KSU's post season run featured its fourth consecutive MAC Tournament title to go with its first NCAA Regional and Super Regional championships. The Golden Flashes went on the road and won the NCAA Gary (Ind.) Regional and then upset No. 5 national seed Oregon in a Super Regional in Eugene. At the CWS, they eliminated top-ranked Florida and finished tied for fifth. KSU wound up with a final national ranking of No. 5, the highest ranking in team history. For the second year in a row, Stricklin was honored as the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA)/Rawlings NCAA Mideast Coach of the Year and the MAC Coach of the Year.
Stricklin, a two-time All-Mid-American Conference catcher, handled pitching staffs that were ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the nation in earned run average during his final two playing seasons at KSU. A 23rd round draft pick of the Minnesota Twins in 1993, he played five seasons of professional baseball and reached the Triple-A level with the Twins.
Stricklin graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor's degree in marketing from Kent State in 1995. He and his wife Cheri have three children: daughters Sydney (20) and Keaton (15), and a son, Cale (18).
Scott Stricklin As A Head Coach
Year: Overall Record, (Conference), NCAA Finish
2005: 33-20 (9-10), n/a
2006: 38-19 (17-5), n/a
2007: 33-26 (19-8), NCAA Columbia (Mo.) Regional
2008: 36-21 (16-8), n/a
2009: 43-17 (17-9), NCAA Tempe (Ariz.) Regional
2010: 39-25 (18-9), NCAA Los Angeles (Calif.) Regional
2011: 45-17 (21-5), NCAA Austin (Texas) Regional Finalist
2012: 47-20 (24-3), College World Series (T5th)
2013: 36-23 (20-7), n/a
2014: 26-29-1 (11-18-1), n/a
2015: 26-28 (10-19), n/a
2016: 27-30 (11-19), n/a
2017: 25-32 (11-19), n/a
2018: 39-21 (18-12), NCAA Athens (Ga.) Regional Finalist
2019: 46-17 (21-9), NCAA Athens (Ga.) Regional Finalist
2020: 14-4 {Rest of season canceled due to COVID-19 Pandemic}
2021: 31-25 (13-17), n/a
2022: 36-23 (15-15), NCAA Chapel Hill (N.C.) Regional
2023: 29-27 (11-19), n/a
Total: 649-424-1 (Overall); 299-236-1 (UGA); 161-64 (MAC), 121-146-1 (SEC)
Stricklin Coaching Career
1998-99: Volunteer Coach, Georgia Tech
2000-01: Asst. Coach/Pitching, Vanderbilt
2002-04: Asst. Coach/Hitters/Catchers/Recruiting Coordinator, Georgia Tech
2005-13: Head Coach, Kent State
2013-23: Ike Cousins Head Baseball Coach, University of Georgia
Playing Career
Kent State: 1991-93, Two-time All-Conference catcher, 23rd Round Draft Pick of Minnesota Twins in 1993
Minor Leagues: Minnesota Twins (1993-95), Atlanta Braves (1996), Tampa Bay (1997, Major League Spring Training in 1998)
Personal
Born: Feb. 17, 1972 in Athens, Ohio
College: Kent State, B.A. in Marketing, 1995
Family: Wife: Cheri; Children: Sydney (20), Cale (18), Keaton (15)
