Wes Johnson has emotional reaction after leading Georgia to College World Series
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Georgia’s last appearance in the College World Series was in 2008, when it finished as runners-up to Fresno State. Its only national title, to date, was in 1990.
The Bulldogs will be hoping for a repeat of that season. They finished off Mississippi State on Sunday in a two-game sweep of the Athens Super Regional, booking a first trip to Omaha in 16 years.
Beating Mississippi State, though, was far from easy. Georgia trailed 7-0 in Game 1 before eventually winning 13-12. On Sunday, it blew an 8-4 lead and trailed 9-8 in the eighth, but tied things up in the ninth and pulled ahead for good in the top of the 10th behind a Daniel Jackson two-run home run.
Johnson could barely hold back his emotions during a postgame press conference at Foley Field, pausing several times to collect himself before taking questions from the media.
“I’d like to thank my Lord and Savior Jesus (and) my wife,” Johnson said while getting choked up. “I think about Charlie Condon, who stuck with me, coulda left, didn’t, helped us build this thing.”
Johnson helped LSU to its eighth College World Series championship as the Tigers’ pitching coach in 2023. Now, as Georgia’s head coach, he’ll look to lead the Dawgs to just their second CWS title.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
