Wes Johnson compares SEC baseball strength to basketball: 'You can't push the panic button'

As SEC men’s basketball teams converge on Nashville for the league tournament, baseball is entering conference play. The men’s basketball side became known for its strength this year, and Georgia baseball coach Wes Johnson sees similarities in baseball.

The SEC had the top four teams in the latest D1Baseball Top 25 rankings this week and five programs in the Top 10. Last year’s College World Series final also included two teams from the league as Tennessee took down Texas A&M in Omaha.

While previewing conference play this season, Johnson said he mentioned how basketball approached the 2024-25 campaign. The SEC is currently looking at 12-13 teams in the NCAA tournament. It felt like any team could go down any given night, but bounce back with a big win next time out – and Johnson said it’s the same way on the baseball field.

“Winning in our league is very hard,” Johnson said on SiriusXM College Sports Radio. “You brought up basketball because we talked with our basketball administrators and our athletic director, Josh Brooks. They brought up basketball, they’re like, ‘Wow.’ Basketball is just now. This year, it feel like baseball where any weekend, a team can get beat or can win, just like in our league you can be No. 1 in the country and get swept, and the next weekend you sweep.

“I think what you have to do is you have to stay steady. You can’t push the panic button in our league because if you do and you do start panicking, it can spiral on you fast. I think understanding there’s going to be so many ebbs and flows to our league and to our year. Being ready for that, being prepared for that. Understanding when you do lose, did you lose or did they beat you? I think those are two big things that we look at lot at, at least, at Georgia. We try to determine that because there are going to be days where you just get beat.”

Wes Johnson details how to ‘survive’ in the SEC

Georgia put together a strong non-conference showing, entering league play at 19-1. The lone loss came to UNC Wilmington in February. The Bulldogs still are one of the top five teams in the country, according to D1Baseball, checking in at No. 4 this week.

But, Wes Johnson said, there are going to be games where UGA looks the part, and there are going to be other games that could turn into surprising losses. He pointed to his time at LSU when Paul Skenes dominated the SEC and teams knew they could just “get beat” those days.

But there are other times teams are rolling, but make mistakes and lose as a result. That’s where coaches have to help stay the course and bounce back.

“You brought up LSU and my time there,” Johnson said. “When Paul Skenes would take the mound at times, you’re just going to get beat. Where there’s other times you’re playing well, and you make mistakes and you lose. So determining and building and trying to get better off of those situations, I think, is how you survive in this league. But our league is filled with so many good coaches. Nick Mingione and I coached together in 2016 and won the SEC outright when we were at Mississippi State. … We all know each other. But some of these guys, I’ve coached with and been on staffs with. So you know that they’re good baseball coaches and you know they’re going to be prepared.

“You’ve just got to go out, give your guys the confidence and the mindset that, we need to go play a good, clean game. There’s going to be ups and downs in the middle of the gam.e There’s going to be big momentum swings. And it’s the teams who can stay consistent, not get too emotional and just play their game that are going to survive.”