ATHENS — Charlie Condon has a peaceful, easy feeling as he leads Georgia baseball into NCAA regional action.
Condon, the SEC Player of the Year, is widely projected as the No. 1 pick in the MLB Draft in July.
But the 6-foot-6 sophomore from Marietta isn’t looking past the next pitch, something Bulldogs’ coach Wes Johnson believes sets him apart.
“The great ones have a different mind, and that mind will do different things,” Johnson said, asked what characteristic he noted about Condon after taking control of the program last spring.
“The way they think of the field, you usually see it carry over to off the field, in terms of being excellent or having drive, or wanting to win at everything they do, but doing it with a purpose and plan.”
Condon’s plan for the Georgia postseason, which begins with a 1 p.m. game Friday against Army in the Athens Regional at Foley Field, is to maintain his routine.
“It’s knowing I play my best brand of baseball when I’m focused on the pitch that’s coming to me next,” Condon said, asked about not getting caught up in the distractions that can accompany being the nation’s home run and batting average leader.
“It’s knowing that what’s important for me, and I know for the rest of this group right now, is going to Omaha (for the College World Series) and getting back to the national championship.”
Here are 10 things about Condon to know that might not seem so obvious, or in some cases even relevant to baseball:
1. Was planning play football (QB) and baseball at Rhodes College before getting an opportunity to walk-on to play baseball at Georgia after being accepted.
2. SEC honor roll student majoring in finance.
3. Redshirted his first collegiate season in 2022.
4. Spent his first collegiate summer in 2022 playing in the Northwoods League for the St. Cloud (Minn.) Rox, where he made the All-Star team and was MVP of the All-Star game, going 3-for-3 including a home run.
5. The second collegiate summer he played for the 2023 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team.
6. Played the tuba in middle school.
7. At The Walker School, he played football with his older brother who was an offensive lineman while he was the QB; his cousin Owen played OL for Georgia from 2019-21.
8. Took tennis lessons in elementary school.
9. Member of the Spanish Honor Society in high school.
10. Favorite music group is the Eagles, with favorite songs “Hotel California,” and “Peaceful, Easy Feeling.”
