Josh Brooks reveals what led Georgia to Wes Johnson during coaching search

Georgia baseball has a new leader, and his name is Wes Johnson. On Tuesday, the program announced the LSU pitching coach would be taking over as head coach for the Bulldogs.

The announcement comes after Georgia fired head coach Scott Stricklin three days after the Bulldogs were blown out 9-0 by South Carolina in the first round of the SEC tournament. Stricklin was the head coach at Georgia for 10 years, leaving the program with a 299-236-1 overall record and 121-146-1 record in the conference.

Georgia athletic director Josh Brooks discussed how the Bulldogs decided on hiring Johnson at a press conference June 13.

“There were some fundamental things we were looking for. Someone who could help with player development, someone who had a history of success, and what I really like about Coach Wes, is success at many levels,” Brooks said. “Someone who could recruit at a high level, someone who is a leader of young men, overall a great person.”

By all accounts, Johnson is the man for the job. Johnson was the first pitching coach in MLB history to go directly from the college ranks to the professionals when he was hired by the Minnesota Twins in November 2018.

After a successful stint with the Twins, Johnson opted to join LSU in June 2022. His work is still being seen today. After sweeping Kentucky in the Baton Rouge Super Regional, the Tigers will be one of eight team to compete in the College World Series.

LSU also boasts the SEC Pitcher of the Year, Paul Skenes. MLB.com ranked the 6-foot-6 pitcher second on its MLB Draft Board. Johnson has also coached at Mississippi State and Arkansas. In total, Johnson has produced 30 MLB pitchers out of college.

Brooks hopes Johnson can bring the same prosperity to the Bulldogs.

“You speak to other coaches or you speak to administrators and they keep bringing the same name up, and you can’t find anyone who has a single bad word to say about [Johnson],” Brooks said. “They describe him as a coach’s coach, as a player’s coach. Someone who will push players, but someone who our players will love.”

Johnson has a lot of work to do. Georgia went 11-19 last season in conference playing, finishing second from last in the SEC East Standings. Johnson is expected to begin at Georgia as soon as LSU’s season concludes.