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Charlie Condon has Georgia enjoying role reversal ahead of series with Florida, Jac Caglianone
By Andrew Olson
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Georgia and Florida have long been rivals on the diamond and annual foes in the SEC East. The Bulldogs and Gators will face off Thursday-Saturday to wrap up the 2024 regular season. This year, however, the series has a completely different feel.
Kevin O’Sullivan took over as Florida’s coach in 2008. Through the 2023 season, UF had the most wins (277) and highest winning percentage (.617) among all SEC teams since O’Sullivan entered the league.
The Bulldogs were not spared in O’Sullivan’s dominance of the SEC over the past 16 seasons. Under O’Sullivan, Florida has posted a 30-17 record against Georgia in 15 series and 2 SEC Tournament meetings.
David Perno was Georgia’s skipper when O’Sullivan began his tenure. Scott Stricklin succeeded Perno as the Georgia coach from 2014-23. The Bulldogs are in their first year playing for head coach Wes Johnson, and they’ll enter the series as heavy favorites.
The Dawgs are currently the hottest team in the SEC. UGA is on an 8-game winning streak, with back-to-back weekend sweeps of Vanderbilt and South Carolina in Athens and Columbia.
With a 38-12 overall record and 16-11 mark in SEC play, the Bulldogs are up to No. 2 in the nation in RPI. It’s an incredible first season for Johnson, who was hired to get the Bulldogs back to the NCAA Tournament. Now, UGA won’t just be a tournament team but is projected to host an NCAA Regional on campus.
In a role reversal of seasons past, Florida is the team fighting to make the field of 64. Through 26 SEC contests, the Gators are 11-15 in SEC play and 26-24 overall, with the No. 26 RPI.
Florida would feel comfortable about making the NCAA Tournament if it finishes above. 500 and with 13 SEC wins. Otherwise, the pressure will be on in Hoover to make some noise in the SEC Tournament.
Johnson may be in his first season as a head coach, but he undoubtedly has the coaching wisdom to keep the Dawgs focused on themselves in the annual rivalry series. There’s no denying, however, that keeping UF out of the NCAA Tournament would make a series even sweeter for UGA.
Condon, Caglianone add to intrigue highly anticipated series
There will be interest in the upcoming series outside of the Bulldogs’ NCAA Tournament seed and the Gators’ hopes of earning a bid. Two of the sport’s most talked about players will be in action, and even face off directly.
Charlie Condon has rewritten the record books in 2024. In April, Condon hit his 29th home run. He not only broke Georgia’s single-season record, but it was No. 54 as a Bulldog, giving him the UGA career lead.
The Georgia record wasn’t enough for Condon. He has since added 5 more home runs, breaking the NCAA’s BBCOR-era single-season record of 33 homers set by Florida’s Jac Caglianone last season.
On his campaign to Caglianone’s season mark of 33, Condon was also in pursuit of another Caglianone record. Caglianone homered in 9 straight games this season, tying an NCAA record set in 2021. Condon homered in 8 consecutive games before his streak was snapped.
On the season, Condon is slashing .454 AVG/.567 OBP/1.082 SLG with 34 home runs and 72 RBI. The Georgia outfielder is projected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the upcoming 2024 MLB Draft.
Caglianone, also considered a top-5 prospect, entered Sunday slashing .417/.527/.870, with 28 home runs and 55 RBI. Baseball fans everywhere are looking forward to Caglianone pitching to Condon.
Caglianone is in his second season as a pitcher. He plays first base in midweek action and the first two games of the weekend series before taking the mound as the starter in the series finale.
On the mound, Caglianone entered Sunday’s game with a 4.39 ERA over 53.1 IP, posting a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 63-37 and a record of 5-1.
With postseason implications and two of college baseball’s top stars, the rivalry series will have it all.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
