2021 Georgia Southern Eagles baseball team

The 2021 Georgia Southern Eagles baseball team represented Georgia Southern Eagles during the 2021 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Eagles played their home games at J. I. Clements Stadium and were led by twenty-first year head coach Rodney Hennon. They were members of the Sun Belt Conference.

2021 Georgia Southern Eagles baseball
SBC Tournament Pool B champions
Conference	Sun Belt Conference
Division	East Division
Record	34–23 (14–10 SBC)
Head coach	Rodney Hennon (21st season)
Assistant coaches	B. J. Green Alan Beck
Home stadium	J. I. Clements Stadium
Seasons ← 2020 2022 →

2021 Sun Belt Conference baseball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
East Division
South Alabama  ^x‍‍‡‍^y	15	–	9		.625			36	–	22		.621
Georgia Southern  ‍‍‍	14	–	10		.583			34	–	23		.596
Troy  ‍‍‍	13	–	11		.542			27	–	26		.509
Appalachian State  ‍‍‍	11	–	10		.524			21	–	31		.404
Georgia State  ‍‍‍	12	–	12		.500			18	–	37		.327
Coastal Carolina  ‍‍‍	9	–	12		.429			27	–	24		.529
West Division
Louisiana  ^x‍‍‍	13	–	11		.542			32	–	23		.582
UT Arlington  ‍‍‍	13	–	11		.542			27	–	30		.474
Louisiana–Monroe  ‍‍‍	11	–	13		.458			26	–	26		.500
Little Rock  ‍‍‍	11	–	13		.458			21	–	30		.412
Arkansas State  ‍‍‍	10	–	14		.417			19	–	30		.388
Texas State  ‍‍‍	9	–	15		.375			21	–	36		.368
x – Division champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 7, 2021^[1] Rankings from D1Baseball

Preseason

Signing Day Recruits

^[2]

Player	Hometown	Previous Team
Pitchers
Brayden Collett	Evans, Georgia	Greenbrier HS
Rem Maxwell	Winder, Georgia	Jefferson County HS
Will Robbins	Cumming, Georgia	Forsyth Central HS
Brett Zerbel	Augusta, Georgia	Augusta Christian
Pax Briley III	Suwanee, Georgia	North Gwinnett HS
Declan Dun	Peachtree City, Georgia	Starr's Mill HS
Hitters
Blake Chapman	Simsbury, Connecticut	Elev8 Sports Institute
Garrett Carter	McDonough, Georgia	Ola HS
Preston Gunnell	Canton, Georgia	Woodstock HS
Sean White	Peachtree City, Georgia	Starr's Mill HS
JB Bell	Buford, Georgia	Flowery Branch HS
Carson Mynatt	Canton, Georgia	Cherokee HS

Sun Belt Conference Coaches Poll

The Sun Belt Conference Coaches Poll was released on February 15, 2021 and the Eagles were picked to finish third in the East Division with 51 votes.^[3]

Coaches poll (East)
Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Coastal Carolina	69 (10)
2	South Alabama	51 (1)
3	Georgia Southern	51 (1)
4	Troy	44
5	Appalachian State	21
6	Georgia State	16

Preseason All-Sun Belt Team & Honors

• Aaron Funk (LR, Pitcher)
• Jordan Jackson (GASO, Pitcher)
• Conor Angel (LA, Pitcher)
• Wyatt Divis (UTA, Pitcher)
• Lance Johnson (TROY, Pitcher)
• Caleb Bartolero (TROY, Catcher)
• William Sullivan (TROY, 1st Base)
• Luke Drumheller (APP, 2nd Base)
• Drew Frederic (TROY, Shortstop)
• Cooper Weiss (CCU, 3rd Base)
• Ethan Wilson (USA, Outfielder)
• Parker Chavers (CCU, Outfielder)
• Rigsby Mosley (TROY, Outfielder)
• Eilan Merejo (GSU, Designated Hitter)
• Andrew Beesly (ULM, Utility)

Personnel

Roster

^[4]

2021 Georgia Southern Eagles roster
	Pitchers 8 Griffin Davis – Redshirt Junior 9 Chase Dollander – Freshman 16 Braden Hays – Junior 17 Tyler Owens – Senior 19 Sean Adams – Sophomore 21 Jonathan Edwards – Junior 25 Nick Jones – Senior 26 Jay Thompson – Junior 27 Rhett Gay – Senior 29 Tyler Jones – Senior 32 Jared Szabo – Redshirt Freshman 33 Jordan Jackson – Senior 34 Austin Kleinlein – Redshirt Junior 35 Hayden Harris – Senior 36 Anthony Dimola – Freshman 37 David Johnson – Senior 40 Jacob Parker – Redshirt Senior 43 Connor Bruce – Sophomore 45 Ben Johnson – Freshman 46 Jeremy Gay – Freshman 47 Jake Martin – Sophomore 48 Jackson Dyer – Freshman		Catchers 3 Chandler Davis – Junior 5 Matt Anderson – Senior 13 JP Tighe – Junior 99 Hayden Duffield – Freshman Infielders 00 Jarrett Jenkins – Freshman 2 Jason Swan – Senior 7 Jack Eichler – Sophomore 22 Austin Thompson – Senior 23 Blake Evans – Junior 28 Noah Ledford – Junior 30 Steven Curry – Senior 31 Mitchell Golden – Redshirt Senior 38 Sam Blancato – Sophomore 42 Jaylen Paden – Freshman 44 Jarrett Brown – Sophomore		Outfielders 4 Mason McWhorter – Senior 6 Noah Searcy – Senior 11 Cody Shook – Redshirt Junior 12 Parker Biederer – Senior 41 Christian Avant – Senior 49 J. C. Peacher – Freshman

Coaching staff

2021 Georgia Southern Eagles coaching staff
Rodney Hennon – Head Coach – 21st year B. J. Green – Assistant Head Coach/Pitching Coach – 11th year Alan Beck – Assistant Head Coach/Hitting Coach – 6th year Seth Lancaster – Volunteer Assistant Coach – 1st year

Schedule and results

Legend
	Georgia Southern win
	Georgia Southern loss
	Postponement/Cancelation/Suspensions
Bold	Georgia Southern team member

2021 Georgia Southern Eagles baseball game log
Regular season (31–22)
February (2–5) Date Opponent Rank Site/stadium Score Win Loss Save TV Attendance Overall record SBC record Feb. 19 No. 19 Tennessee J. I. Clements Stadium • Statesboro, GA L 3–5 Dallas (1–0) Jackson (0–1) Walsh (1) ESPN+ 704 0–1 Feb. 20 No. 19 Tennessee J. I. Clements Stadium • Statesboro, GA L 3–5 Redmond (1–0) Harris (0–1) None ESPN+ 767 0–2 Feb. 21 No. 19 Tennessee J. I. Clements Stadium • Statesboro, GA L 3–7 (12 inns) Hunley (1–0) Paden (0–1) None ESPN+ 709 0–3 Feb. 24 at College of Charleston CofC Baseball Stadium at Patriots Point • Mount Pleasant, SC W 18–7 Thompson (1–0) Cook (0–1) None 442 1–3 Feb. 26 No. 22 East Carolina J. I. Clements Stadium • Statesboro, GA L 4–6 Bridges (1–0) Jackson (0–2) Colmore (1) 701 1–4 Feb. 27 No. 22 East Carolina J. I. Clements Stadium • Statesboro, GA W 10–7 Johnson (1–0) Mayhue (0–1) Johnson (1) 756 2–4 Feb. 28 No. 22 East Carolina J. I. Clements Stadium • Statesboro, GA L 2–9 Whisenhunt (1–0) Hays (0–1) None 762 2–5
March (10–6) Date Opponent Rank Site/stadium Score Win Loss Save TV Attendance Overall record SBC record Mar. 3 at North Florida Harmon Stadium • Jacksonville, FL W 3–1 Jackson (1–2) Santos (0–1) Jones (1) 119 3–5 Mar. 5 Towson J. I. Clements Stadium • Statesboro, GA W 5–1 Johnson (2–0) Seils (1–2) Hays (1) 629 4–5 Mar. 6 Towson J. I. Clements Stadium • Statesboro, GA W 7–5 Dollander (1–0) Ramanjulu (0–2) Jones (2) 647 5–5 Mar. 7 Towson J. I. Clements Stadium • Statesboro, GA W 6–5 Paden (1–1) Santangelo (0–1) Jones (3) 637 6–5 Mar. 9 No. 7 Georgia J. I. Clements Stadium • Statesboro, GA L 2–5 Cannon (1–0) Jackson (1–3) None 850 6–6 Mar. 12 UAB J. I. Clements Stadium • Statesboro, GA W 11–7 Thompson (2–0) Taylor (0–1) Jones (4) 732 7–6 Mar. 13 UAB J. I. Clements Stadium • Statesboro, GA W 15–4 Dollander (2–0) O'Clair (2–2) None 527 8–6 Mar. 14 UAB J. I. Clements Stadium • Statesboro, GA W 9–5 Johnson (1–0) Knight (1–1) Jones (5) 643 9–6 Mar. 17 at No. 12 Georgia Tech Russ Chandler Stadium • Atlanta, GA Game Postponed Mar. 19 at Troy Riddle–Pace Field • Troy, AL W 8–1 Owens (1–0) Ortiz (2–2) None 809 10–6 1–0 Mar. 20 at Troy Riddle–Pace Field • Troy, AL L 8–11 Gainous (3–1) Dollander (2–1) None 1,057 10–7 1–1 Mar. 21 at Troy Riddle–Pace Field • Troy, AL L 4–8 Witcher (3–1) Johnson (1–1) Pettys (1) 831 10–8 1–2 Mar. 23 vs. Clemson SRP Park • North Augusta, SC L 4–6 Clayton (2–0) Parker (0–1) None 1,498 10–9 Mar. 26 Appalachian State J. I. Clements Stadium • Statesboro, GA W 3–1 Owens (2–0) Tuthill (2–3) Jones (6) 779 11–9 2–2 Mar. 27 Appalachian State J. I. Clements Stadium • Statesboro, GA W 10–2 Dollander (3–1) Martinez (3–3) None 735 12–9 3–2 Mar. 28 Appalachian State J. I. Clements Stadium • Statesboro, GA L 1–3 Hall (4–0) Johnson (1–2) Ellington (2) 607 12–10 3–3 Mar. 30 College of Charleston J. I. Clements Stadium • Statesboro, GA L 3–6 Czerwinski (1–0) Paden (1–2) Williams (2) 637 12–11
April (13–5) Date Opponent Rank Site/stadium Score Win Loss Save TV Attendance Overall record SBC record Apr. 1 at Georgia State GSU Baseball Complex • Decatur, GA W 23–1 Owens (3–0) Watson (2–4) None ESPN+ 292 13–11 4–3 Apr. 2 at Georgia State GSU Baseball Complex • Decatur, GA L 6–7 (10 inns) Horton (1–1) Johnson (1–3) None ESPN+ 356 13–12 4–4 Apr. 3 at Georgia State GSU Baseball Complex • Decatur, GA W 2–3 Sweatt (2–1) Jackson (1–4) None ESPN+ 398 13–13 4–5 Apr. 6 at Georgia Foley Field • Athens, GA W 2–1 Hays (1–1) Pasqua (1–1) Jones (7) 664 14–13 Apr. 9 Louisiana–Monroe J. I. Clements Stadium • Statesboro, GA W 4–3 Owens (4–0) Longsworth (0–2) Jones (2) 617 15–13 5–5 Apr. 10 Louisiana–Monroe J. I. Clements Stadium • Statesboro, GA W 4–1 Dollander (4–1) Barlow (3–4) Jones (9) 647 16–13 6–5 Apr. 11 Louisiana–Monroe J. I. Clements Stadium • Statesboro, GA W 7–1 Jackson (2–4) Lien (3–1) None 573 17–13 7–5 Apr. 13 North Florida J. I. Clements Stadium • Statesboro, GA W 8–6 Harris (1–1) Madonna (2–2) Parker (1) 546 18–13 Apr. 14 Mercer J. I. Clements Stadium • Statesboro, GA W 3–2 Jones (1–0) Sutko (2–2) None 607 19–13 Apr. 16 at Coastal Carolina Springs Brooks Stadium • Conway, SC W 8–2 Owens (5–0) Hopwood (4–2) None 1,000 20–13 8–5 Apr. 17 at Coastal Carolina Springs Brooks Stadium • Conway, SC W 8–3 Hays (2–1) Parker (2–3) Jones (10) 1,000 21–13 9–5 Apr. 18 at Coastal Carolina Springs Brooks Stadium • Conway, SC L 6–8 Sharkey (2–1) Jackson (2–5) Kreuzer (1) 1,000 21–14 9–6 Apr. 21 at Kennesaw State Fred Stillwell Stadium • Kennesaw, GA W 11–5 Thompson (3–0) Grogan (3–1) None 120 22–14 Apr. 24 at Oklahoma L. Dale Mitchell Baseball Park • Norman, OK W 4–1 Owens (6–0) Bennett (3–3) Jones (11) 724 23–14 Apr. 24 at Oklahoma L. Dale Mitchell Baseball Park • Norman, OK W 3–2 Johnson (2–3) Taggart (1–5) Thompson (1) 725 24–14 Apr. 25 at Oklahoma L. Dale Mitchell Baseball Park • Norman, OK L 4–14 Ruffcorn (3–1) Jackson (2–6) None 613 24–15 Apr. 27 Jacksonville J. I. Clements Stadium • Statesboro, GA W 4–3 Thompson (4–0) Graham (0–2) Jones (12) 529 25–15 Apr. 30 South Alabama J. I. Clements Stadium • Statesboro, GA L 5–12 Smith (4–0) Harris (1–2) None 769 25–16 9–7
May (6–6) Date Opponent Rank Site/stadium Score Win Loss Save TV Attendance Overall record SBC record May 1 South Alabama J. I. Clements Stadium • Statesboro, GA W 11–2 Thompson (5–0) Boswell (2–2) None 673 26–16 10–7 May 2 South Alabama J. I. Clements Stadium • Statesboro, GA W 7–6 Thompson (6–0) Dalton (4–3) Jones (13) 639 27–16 11–7 May 7 at Arkansas State Tomlinson Stadium–Kell Field • Jonesboro, AR L 1–6 Hudson (4–1) Owens (6–1) None 346 27–17 11–8 May 8 at Arkansas State Tomlinson Stadium–Kell Field • Jonesboro, AR L 0–4 Nash (3–4) Dollander (4–2) Jumper (4) 27–18 11–9 May 8 at Arkansas State Tomlinson Stadium–Kell Field • Jonesboro, AR W 3–2 Jackson (3–6) Holt (3–3) Jones (14) 457 28–18 12–9 May 11 Kennesaw State J. I. Clements Stadium • Statesboro, GA Game cancelled May 13 at Elon Walter C. Latham Park • Elon, NC L 5–8 Edgington (3–3) Owens (6–2) Sprake (5) 65 28–19 May 14 at Elon Walter C. Latham Park • Elon, NC L 4–6 Simon (1–4) Dollander (4–3) Sprake (6) 65 28–20 May 15 at Elon Walter C. Latham Park • Elon, NC W 7–5 Harris (2–2) Evans (0–1) Jones (15) 65 29–20 May 18 at Mercer OrthoGeorgia Park • Macon, GA L 1–5 Jackson (3–3) Davis (0–1) Sutko (12) 478 29–21 May 20 UT Arlington J. I. Clements Stadium • Statesboro, GA L 3–5 Norris (4–3) Thompson (6–1) King (4) 457 29–22 12–10 May 21 UT Arlington J. I. Clements Stadium • Statesboro, GA W 3–2 Jackson (4–6) Bullard (7–4) Jones (16) 487 30–22 13–10 May 22 UT Arlington J. I. Clements Stadium • Statesboro, GA W 6–3 Davis (1–1) Moffat (4–5) Jones (17) 529 31–22 14–10
Post-season (3–1)
SBC Tournament (3–1) Date Opponent Seed/Rank Site/stadium Score Win Loss Save TV Attendance Overall record Tournament record May 26 vs. (5E) Georgia State (2E) Montgomery Riverwalk Stadium • Montgomery, AL W 10–1 Owens (7–2) Jones (1–8) None ESPN+ 32–22 1–0 May 28 vs. (3W) Louisiana–Monroe (2E) Montgomery Riverwalk Stadium • Montgomery, AL W 9–5 Bruce (1–0) Lien (4–3) None ESPN+ 33–22 2–0 May 29 vs. (1W) Louisiana (2E) Montgomery Riverwalk Stadium • Montgomery, AL W 3–2 (11 inns) Thompson (7–1) Arrighetti (8–6) None ESPN+ 34–22 3–0 May 30 vs. (1E) South Alabama (2E) Montgomery Riverwalk Stadium • Montgomery, AL L 4–10 Smith (6–1) Harris (2–3) None ESPN+ 3,162 34–23 3–1

Schedule Source:^[5]

*Rankings are based on the team's current ranking in the D1Baseball poll.

Postseason

Conference accolades

• Player of the Year: Mason McWhorter – GASO
• Pitcher of the Year: Hayden Arnold – LR
• Freshman of the Year: Garrett Gainous – TROY
• Newcomer of the Year: Drake Osborn – LA
• Coach of the Year: Mark Calvi – USA

All Conference First Team Connor Cooke (LA) Hayden Arnold (LR) Carlos Tavera (UTA) Nick Jones (GASO) Drake Osborn (LA) Robbie Young (APP) Luke Drumheller (APP) Drew Frederic (TROY) Ben Klutts (ARST) Mason McWhorter (GASO) Logan Cerny (TROY) Ethan Wilson (USA) Cameron Jones (GSU) Ben Fitzgerald (LA)

All Conference Second Team JoJo Booker (USA) Tyler Tuthill (APP) Jeremy Lee (USA) Aaron Barkley (LR) BT Riopelle (CCU) Dylan Paul (UTA) Travis Washburn (ULM) Eric Brown (CCU) Grant Schulz (ULM) Tyler Duncan (ARST) Parker Chavers (CCU) Josh Smith (GSU) Andrew Miller (UTA) Noah Ledford (GASO)

References:^[6]

Rankings

Main article: 2021 NCAA Division I baseball rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	Final
Coaches'^[7]	—	—*	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Baseball America^[8]	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Collegiate Baseball^^[9]	RV	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
NCBWA†^[10]	RV	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	RV	RV
D1Baseball^[11]	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

^ Collegiate Baseball ranked 40 teams in their preseason poll, but only ranked 30 teams weekly during the season.
† NCBWA ranks 35 teams in their preseason poll, but only ranks 30 teams weekly during the season.
* A new poll was not released for this week, so for comparison purposes, the previous week's ranking is inserted in this week's slot.

References

1. "Sun Belt Conference baseball standings". D1Baseball.com. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
2. "Georgia Southern – Perfect Game Baseball Player College Commitments". Perfect Game. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
3. Conference, Sun Belt. "Sun Belt Conference Announces 2021 Baseball Preseason Honors". sunbeltsports.org. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
4. "2021 Baseball Roster". Georgia Southern University Athletics. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
5. "Georgia Southern Announces 2021 Baseball Schedule". Georgia Southern University Athletics. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
6. "Sun Belt Announces 2021 Baseball All-Conference Teams & Postseason Awards". sunbeltsports.org. Retrieved January 5, 2022.
7. "Baseball Coaches Poll". Retrieved February 28, 2021.
8. "College Baseball Top 25 Rankings". baseballamerica.com. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
9. "2019 Collegiate Baseball Polls – Collegiate Baseball Newspaper". baseballnews.com. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
10. "NCBWA > News". sportswriters.net. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
11. "College Baseball Rankings News & Analysis". d1baseball.com. Retrieved February 28, 2021.