First pitch is almost here, so it is time to take a little deep dive into a few early season storylines for county-area baseball teams.

Baseball is one of my favorite sports to cover and last season provided a lot of memorable moments that have made this upcoming season one I have been waiting for.

We have tough regions across the board for each team, but I feel we could see all four in the postseason by season’s end.

Alcovy Tigers

The 2025 season will be a lot of ‘new’ for the Tigers.

New players are common, but Alcovy will be entering this season under new head coach Brandon Thomas.

Thomas is a first-year head coach with long-term baseball experience and knowledge.

The Tigers’ new skipper is local to the area and has been familiar with many of its players since he has hosted his own private baseball workouts for years.

Outside of a new head coach, the Tigers will have many new faces due to some serious roster turnover.

In particular, Alcovy will need to rely on a whole new set of arms this season.

The pitchers with the most innings from last season, Cooper Duncan and Kris Ross, are no longer with the program while former seniors Reece Payne and Luke Rosser graduated.

Every team will be in a new region in 2025, and Tigers reside in a tough one when it comes to the diamond. 

Look no further than Loganville, who won a state championship just a year ago. Outside of the Red Devils, the region holds other strong baseball programs such as Habersham Central and Apalachee.

With a lot of ‘new’ surrounding the Tigers this season, I think Thomas is a type of coach that can get the most out of his young team.

Eastside Eagles

For Eastside, it seems like the team is working towards taking that ‘next step’, which is something they definitely worked toward last season.

While the team’s win total was slightly less from 2023 to 2024, the Eagles had a better finish in region play and had an impressive showing in the Class AAAAA playoffs.

Eastside ended last year’s campaign with a tough series loss against a region champion — Villa Rica. The Eagles opened the series with a win and battled the Wildcats all the way to a close game three defeat.

The biggest loss for the Eagles over the offseason was that of former senior Blake Hughes, who led Eastside in most categories (batting and pitching) a year ago. Head coach Cody Walker will have to replace Hughes’ impact as a two-way player.

Additionally, the team will be without players such as Brayson Osborn, Colton Fincher, Dawson Petree and brothers Clayton and Landon Black, who also graduated.

Even with the departures, Eastside still brings back players with experience.

I am talking about ballplayers such as Brandon Ellis, Chase Jordan, Isaiah Biggers and Peyton Shaw to name a few.

Eastside left a region with the aforementioned Red Devils, but joined one with tough opponents such as North Oconee and Walnut Grove.

Newton Rams

If last year did anything for Newton’s baseball program, it was to build confidence.

Under first-year head coach Delvin Jordan, the Rams stormed to a 14-18 record and a fourth place finish in region play — all improvements from the year prior.

Despite a first-round exit in the Class AAAAAAA playoffs to Lowndes, Newton entered the offseason with a lot of optimism.

With the season just ahead, it seems like the Rams are ready to take advantage.

Newton did lose a few key guys, such as Lucas Ballard, Jordan Nolley and Arin Chevers. However, what is returning for Jordan is just as strong, and they added a few key pieces along the way.

Among the biggest returning names is Caden Brown, a two-way player and Southern signee who had a breakout year at the plate for the Rams and arguably one of the best offensive seasons in the area.

Returning with Brown are players such as Jerome Mays, Josh Brown and Kendall Turner.

Over the offseason, former Alcovy Tigers Chris Guillory, Kris Ross, Brandon and Cam Scott joined the Rams’ program.

Guillory, a right-handed pitcher committed to Kennesaw State, will join both Josh and Caden in what looks to be a strong rotation.

Ross can pitch, too, but his bat is a strong addition to Newton’s lineup.

With another offseason of Jordan coaching the Rams, I am eager to see the results in year two as this program continues to scale.

Social Circle Redskins

Similar to some of these other teams, the Redskins enter this season in a good spot despite a few key losses from a year ago.

Former seniors Luke Smith, Landon Harpe and Landon Davis are some of the key departures for the Redskins and head coach Kevin Dawkins. 

Social Circle does bring back multiple key producers such as Caden Richardson, Lucas Langley, Luke Cross and Brayden Allen.

This is a balanced team that can win without one singular player controlling the game, which makes this a tough team to defeat.

One addition for Dawkins this offseason is former Alcovy Tiger Cooper Duncan, who will seemingly fill the void left by Smith on the rotation.

Duncan was a region Pitcher of the Year last season and posted a 2.06 earned run average, but still held his own at the plate with a .446 on-base percentage.

With Duncan taking the mound alongside other Redskins’ arms such as Richardson and Gehrig Knapp, I am very intrigued about the potential of this Social Circle team.