Charlie Condon off board early in 2024 MLB Draft, selected by Colorado Rockies
It’s draft day in the MLB, and Georgia Baseball’s Charlie Condon has come off the board. With the third overall pick of the 2024 MLB Draft, the Colorado Rockies selected Condon as their next star prospect.
Condon, who started all 60 games for Georgia this spring including games at first base, third base and all three outfield positions, swept national honors in 2024 as he won The Golden Spikes Award, the Dick Howser Trophy and the Bobby Bragan National Collegiate Slugger Award, among other national honors. The Marietta, Ga. native and product of The Walker School led the NCAA in batting average (.443), home runs (a BBCOR-era record 37), slugging percentage (1.009), and OPS (1.565) plus ranked second in total bases (233) and third in on base percentage (.556). He was named 2024 SEC Player of the Year by the league’s coaches and helped Georgia make its deepest run in the NCAA Tournament since 2008, finishing just one game shy of an appearance in the College World Series.
“I’ve said this, you won’t ever find another Charlie Condon, at least in my time, in my coaching career,” Georgia head coach Wes Johnson said after UGA’s season-ending loss earlier this week. “There will be another one come along probably after I’m dead and gone. But you’re lucky if you coach Charlie Condons once every 10 years. You’re extremely lucky.”
“It’s hard to put into words, what a great person Charlie is, he’s got great parents, and he’s a tremendously hard worker,” Johnson added in a statement after his announcement as the Golden Spieks Award winner. “What he did for our program this year, he elevated our program and elevated the game that he plays. He moved around positions in the fall and that ultimately helped him as a baseball player. And now to see the result, it’s impressive. For him to win the Golden Spikes Award, he will have that for the rest of his life, and it’s something for Georgia that we can talk about and recruit with that no other team can this year. It’s like winning the national title. There’s only one national champion, there’s only one Golden Spikes winner, and I’m proud it’s Charlie Condon.”
Condon and Johnson spent just one season together, but that wasn’t the only special campaign he put together in Athens. In 2023, Condon won SEC Freshman of the Year as he won Georgia’s Triple Crown with a .386 batting average, 25 home runs and 67 RBI. Named the National Freshman of the Year and an All-American, the strong 2023 season played a part in Condon setting the career home run record at Georgia in just two seasons. He redshirted as a true freshman in 2022, coming to campus as a preferred walk-on before earning a spot not only on the roster, but also in the Bulldog record books.
Going third overall, Condon becomes the highest drafted player in Georgia program history. Previous first round picks from Georgia since 1975 have included the following: Emerson Hancock (2020, Seattle Mariners, No. 6), Robert Tyler (2016, Colorado Rockies, No. 38), Zach Cone (2011, Texas Rangers, No. 37), Gordon Beckham (2008, Chicago White Sox, No. 8), Brooks Brown (2006, Arizona Diamondbacks, No. 34), Kendall Rhine (1992, Houston Astros, No. 37), Derek Liliquist (1987, Atlanta Braves, No. 6), Cris Carpenter (1987, St. Louis Cardinals, No. 14), Ron Wenrich (1986, Cincinnati Reds, No. 18), Jim Hunter (1985, Montreal Expos, No. 9), Jeff Pyburn (1980, San Diego Padres, No. 5), Larry Littleton (1976, Pittsburgh Pirates, No. 6) and John henderson (1975, Chicago Cubs, No. 4).
The MLB Draft continues on ESPN (first round) and MLB Network through the first two rounds tonight. Tomorrow brings about day two (Round 3-10) with day three (Rounds 11-20) on Tuesday. Coverage can be seen beginning at 2:00 p.m. ET each day on MLB.com with several more Georgia players are expected to hear their names called before the conclusion of the event.
