Georgia baseball coach responds to cheating allegations

Georgia baseball coach Wes Johnson addressed cheating allegations while speaking with reporters on Thursday.

The Bulldogs came under suspicion after video surfaced of Georgia relief pitcher Christian Mracna appearing to apply a foreign substance to his glove before entering the game against Texas A&M on Sunday.

After entering the game in the 8th inning on Sunday, Mracna got the final 6 outs of the game to secure a 5-4 series-finale win for the Bulldogs. All 6 hitters were retired via strikeout.

On Thursday, Johnson told reporters that he instructs his players to abide by the rules.

“I’m going to make a blanket statement,” Johnson said. “I don’t have time in my day to deal with online, subjective distractions. We teach our players to play by the rules. That’s just where I’m at.”

Here’s video of his remarks, via DawgNation:

UGA Baseball coach Wes Johnson kept it short & sweet when addressing cheating allegations stemming from last weekend’s Texas A&M series #UGA #TexasAM @DawgNation @MikeGriffith32 pic.twitter.com/QD3YyVcBbR

— Cody Chaffins (@CodyChaffins) May 2, 2024

For reference, here’s the video in-question that features Mracna seemingly applying a foreign substance to his glove before entering the game:

Interesting ? pic.twitter.com/eyHaiAZYzs

— Barstool Texas A&M (@BarstoolTexasAM) April 28, 2024

Texas A&M coach Jim Schlossnagle addressed the issue in a statement to the Associated Press earlier this week.

“Certainly appears that way,” Schlossnagle told The Associated Press when asked about Mracna. “It’s part of the game … wish we would’ve caught it.”

Georgia is 30-12 this season, but remains under .500 in SEC play with a 10-11 record. The Bulldogs are currently projected to be a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, according to the latest predictions from D1Baseball and Baseball America.

Spenser Davis

Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.