University of Georgia Athletics
Davis Thrives On Building Relationships
February 12, 2025 | Softball, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
Lyndi Rae Davis wants to get into the family business when the Georgia softball graduate is done playing for the Bulldogs. And that business is football. Many of the men in her extended family have played and coached football, and Davis, the first woman in her family to be a Division I athlete, wants to get involved with college football on the operations side.
Once Georgia's season's over, Davis, who is working on a master's degree in Kinesiology after graduating with a degree in Sport Management, will do an internship with the Georgia football team that will last through next fall.
"I like recruiting, maybe operations, so somewhere in that realm," she said her long-term hopes for a job in college football. "I would like to stay in college football, but I know softball is always a door that I can open."
Baseball was her father Michael's sport, however. He was an All-American pitcher for West Georgia in 1987-88 and spent time in the Cleveland Guardians' organization. Of course, he's currently the head football coach at Rabun County High School. Michael Davis has his own connection to Georgia football: he was the offensive coordinator at Rabun County during Bulldogs quarterback Gunner Stockton's senior season.
Davis' mother, Lynn, is also in sports and education. After playing college tennis at McConnell University and West Georgia, she's now the head tennis coach at Calhoun High School.
Growing up, Davis wanted to get into the medical field. But she eventually pivoted in a different direction — one she may have wound up following all along.
"Just growing up in the family I've grown up in, football has always been a passion," she said.
But before she turns her attention to football, there is her final softball season to be played. Georgia opened its season last weekend with five wins (four of them shutouts) at the Black & Gold Classic in Orlando, and the No. 10-ranked Bulldogs open their home schedule Thursday against Michigan at Jack Turner Stadium.
During the Bulldogs' opening weekend, Davis split time between catcher and designated hitter and hit .417 with five hits, five runs batted in and four walks. She got on base 56.3% of the time she came to the plate. Davis has started 150 games in her career, with a .311 career batting average, 95 RBIs and 84 walks.
"I think certainly the experience and the number of at-bats over the years are irreplaceable," Georgia head coach Tony Baldwin said of Davis. "I think she's in a good place physically. I think she finished the fall swinging the bat as well as I can remember.
"I really see her starting to round into shape with her swing and feeling confident. And certainly, it's no secret, we're going to need her to play a big role in the middle of our lineup in terms of she's had a knack for driving in runs."
Davis led Georgia with 42 walks last season, 12 more than anyone else, and even battled leadoff some because of her ability to get on base.
"I feel like I've always had a really good eye," she said. "I think being a catcher and being behind the plate, that helps me in the sense of reading balls and strikes. I would say I never really go up to the plate looking for a walk, but I do feel like I am more selective than a lot of other hitters, just because I know umpire strike zones, and I understand that they've (opposing pitchers) got to hit their spots — and a lot of times they don't hit their spots."
Ranked as the No. 17 catcher in the country in D1Softball's positional rankings, Davis has improved behind the plate every year. Like being a good coach, being a good catcher means building good relationships.
"We have some new pitchers and girls that haven't had as much experience, so, for me, it's building that relationship behind the plate with them, and building that trust factor," Davis said. "We talk about it a lot as a team: you have to have a high level of trust in your teammates. And I feel like as a catcher, our pitchers have to have a high level of trust in me — and I have to have a high level of trust in them.
"I feel like being able to create those relationships has been a big thing since I've gotten here to Georgia, because every year you're going in and out of different pitchers and transfers and all the things, so every year, you're building those relationships so that they trust me on the field."
Georgia lost 10 seniors from last season's squad, many of them longtime leaders on the field and in the locker room. Players like Davis and senior outfielder Dallis Goodnight will be counted on even more this season to lead the way. But it won't be just the seniors and veterans, Goodnight said.
"I feel like this team is just very, very put together," said Goodnight, who has seven hits in 13 at-bats so far this season. "You know, we're very close, so it makes it easy for all of us to hold each other accountable. It's not just coming from me or Lyndi, it's coming from everyone.
"We've kind of created a culture and environment where leadership can happen whether you're a freshman, or whether you're a senior. That's kind of how we want it to be."
Staff Writer
Lyndi Rae Davis wants to get into the family business when the Georgia softball graduate is done playing for the Bulldogs. And that business is football. Many of the men in her extended family have played and coached football, and Davis, the first woman in her family to be a Division I athlete, wants to get involved with college football on the operations side.
Once Georgia's season's over, Davis, who is working on a master's degree in Kinesiology after graduating with a degree in Sport Management, will do an internship with the Georgia football team that will last through next fall.
"I like recruiting, maybe operations, so somewhere in that realm," she said her long-term hopes for a job in college football. "I would like to stay in college football, but I know softball is always a door that I can open."
Baseball was her father Michael's sport, however. He was an All-American pitcher for West Georgia in 1987-88 and spent time in the Cleveland Guardians' organization. Of course, he's currently the head football coach at Rabun County High School. Michael Davis has his own connection to Georgia football: he was the offensive coordinator at Rabun County during Bulldogs quarterback Gunner Stockton's senior season.
Davis' mother, Lynn, is also in sports and education. After playing college tennis at McConnell University and West Georgia, she's now the head tennis coach at Calhoun High School.
Growing up, Davis wanted to get into the medical field. But she eventually pivoted in a different direction — one she may have wound up following all along.
"Just growing up in the family I've grown up in, football has always been a passion," she said.
But before she turns her attention to football, there is her final softball season to be played. Georgia opened its season last weekend with five wins (four of them shutouts) at the Black & Gold Classic in Orlando, and the No. 10-ranked Bulldogs open their home schedule Thursday against Michigan at Jack Turner Stadium.
During the Bulldogs' opening weekend, Davis split time between catcher and designated hitter and hit .417 with five hits, five runs batted in and four walks. She got on base 56.3% of the time she came to the plate. Davis has started 150 games in her career, with a .311 career batting average, 95 RBIs and 84 walks.
"I think certainly the experience and the number of at-bats over the years are irreplaceable," Georgia head coach Tony Baldwin said of Davis. "I think she's in a good place physically. I think she finished the fall swinging the bat as well as I can remember.
"I really see her starting to round into shape with her swing and feeling confident. And certainly, it's no secret, we're going to need her to play a big role in the middle of our lineup in terms of she's had a knack for driving in runs."
Davis led Georgia with 42 walks last season, 12 more than anyone else, and even battled leadoff some because of her ability to get on base.
"I feel like I've always had a really good eye," she said. "I think being a catcher and being behind the plate, that helps me in the sense of reading balls and strikes. I would say I never really go up to the plate looking for a walk, but I do feel like I am more selective than a lot of other hitters, just because I know umpire strike zones, and I understand that they've (opposing pitchers) got to hit their spots — and a lot of times they don't hit their spots."
Ranked as the No. 17 catcher in the country in D1Softball's positional rankings, Davis has improved behind the plate every year. Like being a good coach, being a good catcher means building good relationships.
"We have some new pitchers and girls that haven't had as much experience, so, for me, it's building that relationship behind the plate with them, and building that trust factor," Davis said. "We talk about it a lot as a team: you have to have a high level of trust in your teammates. And I feel like as a catcher, our pitchers have to have a high level of trust in me — and I have to have a high level of trust in them.
"I feel like being able to create those relationships has been a big thing since I've gotten here to Georgia, because every year you're going in and out of different pitchers and transfers and all the things, so every year, you're building those relationships so that they trust me on the field."
Georgia lost 10 seniors from last season's squad, many of them longtime leaders on the field and in the locker room. Players like Davis and senior outfielder Dallis Goodnight will be counted on even more this season to lead the way. But it won't be just the seniors and veterans, Goodnight said.
"I feel like this team is just very, very put together," said Goodnight, who has seven hits in 13 at-bats so far this season. "You know, we're very close, so it makes it easy for all of us to hold each other accountable. It's not just coming from me or Lyndi, it's coming from everyone.
"We've kind of created a culture and environment where leadership can happen whether you're a freshman, or whether you're a senior. That's kind of how we want it to be."
Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files.
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