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Mark Schlabach, ESPN Senior Writer
ATHENS, Ga. – If then-Georgia coach Scott Stricklin hadn’t gotten a call from a friend in October 2020, Bulldogs star Charlie Condon might have played quarterback at a Division III school instead of making one of the most memorable seasons in college baseball history.
Before his senior season at Walker School in Marietta, Georgia, the only schools recruiting Condon were Division III Rhodes College in Memphis and Southern University in Sewanee, Tennessee, which expressed interest in he plays baseball and soccer.
Tennessee’s favorite place to play baseball didn’t work out, so Condon prepared to play two sports at a smaller school.
But then Stricklin’s friend convinced the Georgia coach to give a chance to a skinny 6-foot-5 player who was constantly developing and had somehow been overlooked by most college baseball programs in the past. water bypassed.
Four years later, the prospect that most people missed seems impossible to miss. Condon leads NCAA hitters in batting average (.483), home runs (26), slugging percentage (1.119), total bases (169), hits (73) and home runs per game (0.67).
Entering Tuesday’s game against No. 5 Clemson at Foley Field (7 p.m. ET, ESPNU) in Athens, Condon is just two home runs away from breaking Georgia’s career HR record — just in two seasons – and threatening a 39-year-old streak – the old NCAA Record for Missing Rate.
Let’s do it 𝟓𝟏!#GoDawgs | @CharlieCondon14 pic.twitter.com/sD7z6g3A6v
— Georgia Baseball (@BaseballUGA) April 20, 2024
Now a 6-6, 216-pound sophomore who has played first base, third base and all three outfield positions for the Bulldogs, Condon has the potential to be the No. 1 pick in the division Major League Baseball draft on July 14.
“No one saw this coming,” Stricklin said.
How did a once-overlooked high school prospect become the hottest commodity in the MLB draft? Described by one scout as a “unicorn” for his height, long arms and rare infield handling ability, Condon is considered a can’t-miss prospect who won’t need too much time in the field. juvenile team.
“That’s the question I ask myself to this day,” Condon said. “It’s hard to say it surprised me because I know how hard I worked to get to this position. But at the same time, if I lift my head and look back at the last three years, and where I was in high school and my freshman year when I was just competing to hang on and stay on my roster, I don’t I can’t imagine being here again.”
Stricklin, who coached at Georgia from 2014 to 2023, said Condon was more a victim of unfortunate timing than anything else. His recruiting window dropped at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. College coaches could not scout prospects in person that spring, and then the NCAA changed its rules. its rules to give college athletes an extra year of eligibility. There are even fewer scholarships available after MLB shortened the 2021 draft from 40 rounds to 20, leaving more players to stay in college.
Condon, who didn’t even play on the top team in his travel baseball organization, was in dire straits.
“I think more than anything about Charlie, his story is just that he was really a late bloomer,” his father, Jim Condon, said. “He was a late bloomer and one of the youngest in his class. He wasn’t really ready to be seen. He’ll tell you that he doesn’t regret having anyone leave him.” through me.
“He decided that if he was going to spend a lot of time playing baseball, he would bet on himself and try.”
After his friend’s call, Stricklin and his assistants spoke with Condon and his family. They watched videos of his games. They believed that if Condon put on weight and muscle, he could contribute. Because Condon was an excellent student, he was able to get admitted to Georgia on his own without a scholarship.
“He’s a pure walk-on,” Stricklin said. “When he showed up his freshman year, he was really good. We thought he had a chance. We just sat down and came up with a plan.”
Stricklin’s plan is for Condon to redshirt as a freshman in 2022 and spend most of his time in the weight room trying to build strength.
“I think it was a hard pill to swallow when I first got it because I felt like I had proven myself and proven that I could be a contributor,” Condon said. “To have that opportunity slip away was hard for me to wrap my head around. When I accepted it, I realized that maybe there was a glimmer of hope somewhere along the way. I knew there would be a place for me if I trust the process and get better.”
That summer, Condon played for St. The Cloud Rox were in the Northwoods League, playing 61 games in Minnesota, North Dakota and Wisconsin over three months. Using wooden bats and facing college pitchers from around the country, Condon hit .286 with seven homers and 68 RBIs.
“Seeing the college pitch was amazing,” Condon said. “It takes a lot of mental strength to get through a season like that being away from everything. You’re kind of isolated out there and it’s just you and the game. It really forces you to get comfortable quickly.” with my skin.”
Condon burst onto the scene the following season at Georgia. He led the Bulldogs with a .386 batting average with 25 homers and 67 RBIs. He finished in 52 of 56 games and had a 24-game hitting streak. Condon was named Freshman of the Year and Freshman of the Year by D1Baseball.
“It’s almost like the old school football coaches redshirting a kid and seeing what happens,” Stricklin said. “He gained 15 or 20 pounds and it all just came on at once.”
At the end of the 2023 season, Stricklin asked Condon if he ever imagined the success he was having.
“He was just a very humble kid,” Stricklin said. “He just chuckled to himself. He’s obviously very talented, but he has an extremely high work ethic and an extremely high character. You put all of that together with a 6-foot-6 frame and weighs 220 pounds, you have a chance to be special.
“I think what made him so great was because he faced adversity. He encountered obstacles and never complained. He accepted everything.”
Another setback came after the Bulldogs finished 29-27 and missed the NCAA tournament in 2023. Stricklin was fired after compiling a 299-236-1 record in 10 seasons. Georgia reached the NCAA tournament three times during his tenure but never advanced past regionals.
Georgia hired LSU pitching coach Wes Johnson, and Johnson’s first recruiting call was to Condon to make sure he wouldn’t leave through the transfer portal.
“I never had the ability to really want to get in the gate and go anywhere else,” Condon said. “Whether it was this coaching staff or not, the university was the only place that gave me the opportunity to graduate from high school. It was the university that gave me all the time, resources and invested heavily in my development.” I can’t turn my back on that.”
Condon was even better in his second season with the No. 20 Bulldogs. He had as many homers (26) as he did strikeouts (29) and there was little doubt about his long balls. he. He hit a 457-foot homer against Missouri, a 454-footer against Stetson and a 445-footer against Northern Colorado. His exit velocity against homers is typically around 100 mph and as high as 118.
Condon hit 51 homers in 95 games, second in school history. Former major leaguer Gordon Beckham scored 53 goals against Georgia in 197 games from 2006 to 2008. Beckham also owns the single-season record with 28 goals in 2008. Condon is also on track to set a record UGA career record with a .427 average; Joe Stewart hit .394 from 1977 to ’79.
Condon’s slugging percentage (1,119) is just shy of NCAA home run king Pete Incaviglia’s single-season record of 1,140, set at Oklahoma State in 1985. Augusta’s Keith Hammonds set The NCAA record for home runs per game is 0.74 (26 in 35 games) in 1987. Condon, at 0.67, is also within striking distance of that record.
“In an industry full of exceptional people, he is like a true unicorn,” said one MLB scout who watched Condon play at Georgia. “When you start comparing him, we start comparing to Hall of Fame players and legendary figures. There are very few right-handed hitters with long arms who can get in the infield and handle the speed at which he can .
“It’s unbelievable when you look at his numbers. Now, they’re a smaller sample size, but when you look at his numbers when pitching above 95 mph or when Against breaking balls especially, his numbers are actually better is a generational college player.”
The Cleveland Defender has the No. 1 pick in the draft, and Condon, Oregon State second baseman Travis Bazzana, Wake Forest first baseman Nick Kurtz and Florida first baseman Jac Caglianone are considered the top prospects currently Have.
Even if Condon doesn’t go No. 1 in the draft, the MLB scout who spoke to ESPN said he could still top the former pitcher’s record $9.2 million signing bonus. LSU pitching Paul Skenes received from Pittsburgh Pirates last year. The Cincinnati Reds There is a second option, followed by Colorado RockiesOakland A and Chicago White Sox.
Entering the season, scouts believed a good MLB comparison for Condon was longtime outfielder Jayson Werth. Now, he wasn’t so sure it wasn’t New York Yankees team outsider Judge Aaron or Giancarlo Stanton.
“Those are super long arms and super fast sticks,” the scout said. “You look at him and his swing, you think you’re going to beat him to the other half, and then he just destroys the ball. Because of the length of the lever, his power is seamless and effortless. He just needs to toss the ball 450 feet. People who do that are just very thin air.”
Johnson coached Skenes for one season at LSU. Like Condon, Skenes was lightly recruited out of high school. He spent two seasons at the Air Force Academy before joining the Tigers in 2023. Last season, Skenes was the SEC Pitcher of the Year and the Dick Howser Trophy winner as a starter. the best in the country. He went 13-2 with a 1.69 ERA while helping LSU win the national championship.
“Nobody wanted Charlie to graduate high school,” Johnson said. “I think that’s what makes the story. We can all look at great people who faced similar adversity earlier in their careers, right? Michael Jordan didn’t make the team University. Sometimes it motivates them. Paul Skenes is very similar. You feel satisfied when they face adversity.”
For now at least, Condon is focused on finishing his final season at Georgia. He wants to lead the Bulldogs back to the Men’s College World Championship, where they haven’t been since 2008.
“Right now, we’re focused on getting this team back to Omaha and in the postseason, where Georgia State belongs every year because of the talent here,” Condon said.
