Previewing Georgia State baseball for 2021

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Published Feb 2, 2021

Georgia State baseball preview

Chris Lee • TheDoreReport

Publisher

@chrislee70

Here's a preview of Georgia State, one of Vanderbilt's early weekend opponents.

2020 record / RPI: 9-7 / 223

2019 record / RPI: 15-41 (6-24 Sun Belt) / 232

Coach: Brad Stromdahl (1 year at GSU, 9-7)

Rank in preseason polls: Not ranked in any polls

Rank in Sun Belt East forecasts: 6th (D1 Baseball)

Last NCAA tournament appearance: 2009 (4th in Atlanta Regional)

2020 recap/2021 outlook

Coach Brad Stromdahl, 43, did excellent work in the pandemic-shortened season of 2020 at a place where winning hasn't come easily. Stromdahl came to Georgia State from the NAIA's Georgia Gwinnett College, which went 328-104 in his time there as he produced nine MLB draft picks and three NAIA College World Series appearances.

As for Georgia State, the Panthers have made the NCAA tournament just once (2009) and lost both their games in the Atlanta Regional. The program started in 1966 but had three spells (1968-69, 1973-78 and 1987-91) where it didn't play.

GSU last posted a winning record over a full season in 2016, when it went 30-27.

The Panthers are picked near the bottom of a good league, but there's plenty of optimism for the future given how Stromdahl followed up last season with what's believed to be the best recruiting class in school history.

Certainly, GSU has an ambitious schedule that also includes weekend series at Tennessee and Kentucky, as well as home-and-home matches with Georgia, Georgia Tech and West Virginia. It includes 13 games against preseason ranked teams and 19 contests against Power 5 teams.

Georgia State lineup and key substitutes

Pos	Player, Cl. (B/T)

C	Tanner Gallman, Jr. (R/R) .306/.405/.306, 0 HR, 5 RBI 27 career starts at GSU
1B	Ryan Glass, Jr. (R/R) .244/.382/.422, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 1-1 SB 88 games, 74 starts, 11 HR; was National POTW in May 2018
2B	Kalen Puckett, Jr. (R/R) .370/.508/.413, 0 HR, 8 RBI, 3-3 SB 25 career starts
3B	Griffin Cheney, Jr. (R/R) .302/.486/.358, 0 HR, 5 RBI, 9-13 SB Has started at short and third.
SS	Will Mize, Fr. (R/R) .373/.448/.508, 1 HR, 17 RBI, 1-3 SB Probably the Panthers' second-best player after Marejo.
LF	Elian Merejo, Sr. (R/R) .407/.527/.763, 5 HR, 13 RBI, 5-5 SB Hit .267/.335/.424, 7 HR, 35 RBI in 2019. Former JUCO transfer and fifth-year senior has 12 HR at GSU.
CF	Laviosier Fisher, So.(L/R) .298/.468/.439, 2 HR, 8 RBI in JUCO in '20 Speedy outfielder was Pirates' 37th-round pick in 2018.
RF	Josh Smith, So. (R/R) .288/.389/.338, 0 HR, 10 RBI, 3-5 SB 54 career starts, some coming at 1B
DH	Ryan Allen, So. (L/R) Hit .327 with 17 RBI at Redlands CC .273/.401/.429 with 5 HR, 34 RBI at Redlands CC in 2019
Res	Dalton Pearson, Fr. (R/R) Fast, athletic outfielder who's a pro prospect.
Res	Kyle Hilton, Fr. (R/R) Backup catcher who could see time on the mound.
Res	Ashby Smith, So. (R/R) Hit .276 with 13 2B, 5 HR at Presbyterian in 2019 Good hitter, transfers from Gulf Coast State.

The Panthers return players who accounted for all but 68 of last year's 528 at bats, and nine of the team's 10 home runs.

Those same returnees also had 23 of Georgia State's 26 doubles, as well as all 23 steals. That's essentially what the Panthers should be: A team that hits the gaps and tries to make things happen on the bases. GSU's 14 sacrifice hits last year also says something about how the team will play.

Outfielder Elian Merejo is Georgia State's best player, and was named the Sun Belt Breakout Player of the Year in 2020.

Shortstop Will Mize is probably the Panthers' second-best hitter, and their best draft prospect among the lineup. D1 Baseball named him the league's fifth-best draft prospect for 2022.

Georgia State rotation and key bullpen arms

Role	Player, Cl. (B/T)

SP1	Ryan Watson, So. (R/R) 2-1, 5.95 ERA, 19.2 IP, 18 K, 7 BB 6-5, 40.2 IP, 18 K, 15 BB in '19. Made four starts last season.
SP2	Tyler Koch, Sr. (L/L) 0-1, 2.70 ERA, 10 IP, 16 K, 6 BB 0-5, 7.08 ERA, 55 IP, 50 K, 35 BB in '19 Lefty with good breaking ball; strike-thrower; it's pronounced "Cook."
SP3	Chad Treadway, Fr. (L/R) 0-1, 2.20 ERA, 16.1 IP, 23 K, 8 BB Freshman All-American by Collegiate Baseball in 2019 after fanning 23 in 16.1 IP.
CL	Joseph Brandon, So. (R/R) 2-0, 1 SV, 3.38 ERA, 7.1 IP, 12 K, 2 BB 1-5, 1 SV, 9.53 ERA, 34 IP, 34 K, 21 BB in '19 Two-time HS All-American by Collegiate Baseball
RP	Dawson Sweatt, So. (L/L) 3-1, 16 K, 15 IP at MacLennan JC last year Fourth-ranked JUCO lefty in America last year; was originally at Auburn
RP	Cameron Jones, Fr. (R/L) 2-1, 1 SV, 1.00 ERA, 9 IP, 12 K, 4 BB May also play in the outfield.
RP	Brandon Haston, Fr. (L/L) 1-1, 3.38 ERA, 10.2 IP, 11 K, 7 BB Opponents hit .167 off the lefty.
RP	Duncan Lutz, Fr. (R/R) 1-0, 3.38 ERA, 8 IP, 9 K, 8 BB Teams hit .185 against him last year.
RP	Jacob Riordan, So. (R/R) 15 appearances at two JUCO stops. 6-foot-3, 220-lb. right-hander with good stuff

Georgia State threw a lot of freshmen last year. This year's staff is expected to be significantly deeper than ones in its recent past, as the Panthers have a number of arms who can throw into the 90s.

Ryan Watson is considered the league's' 10th-best draft prospect for 2021, according to D1. He was the team's Saturday starter after winning six games as a freshman.

Third starter Chad Treadway could be one to watch, as he came on strong in the fall.

Dylan Matela, who transferred from Furman after it discontinued baseball, is considered a draft prospect and could be a factor.