The 2025 GHSA State Playoffs kicked off last week. Playoff baseball in Georgia is some of the best baseball in the entire country and we are lucky enough to get to cover it. We have covered the state of Georgia from as south as Lowndes to as north as Gordon Lee and everything in between. Our staff has watched over 200 baseball games this year and can’t wait to cover playoff baseball.

To kick off the season we highlighted over 80 teams in our “Team Preview” articles if you want to check out any of those before the playoffs they can be found HERE.

If you missed anything from the season we have you covered with our weekly scout blogs with hundreds of players mentioned with notes and video that can be found HERE.

We also highlight players weekly in our Diamond Notes articles that can be found HERE. Top players in our Diamond Notes piece are announced at Player Of the Week, and they can be found HERE.

We are going to keep the sweet 16 rolling with a 5A GHSA State Playoff Preview. Coverage for the 5A division sweet 16 begins on April 29th with double headers at the higher seeds field. All match ups in the 5A division can be found HERE

Lastly we just released our Round 1 Playoff Performers where we highlight over 100 players. If you missed that you can check it out HERE.

River Ridge @ Dunwoody

River Ridge Knights

Playoffs- Def. Gainesville, 2 Games (1st RD.)

Key Players
KJ Hart, OF/RHP, 2025
Adam Lipcsey, OF, 2025
Gavin Hamrick, 3B, 2025
Austin Karwoski, C, 2026
Josh Malucci, MIF, 2026
Jared Mathis, 3B/C, 2026
Connor Johnson, RHP, 2026
Hunter Hollier, SS, 2027
Eason Runion, OF, 2027
Luke Donaldson, 1B, 2027
Will Schmidt, RHP, 2025

How they win the series:

A steady lineup 1-9 with depth across the board, the Knights have the pieces to compete with strong opposition on the mound. KJ Hart is a vital piece to the club as he powers River Ridge on both sides of the ball. They will need other names outside of Hart to produce quality innings on the mound to move past a strong Dunwoody squad.

Dunwoody Wildcats

Playoffs- Def. Lovejoy, 2 Games (1st RD.)

Key Players
Spencer Leftoff, OF, 2027
Matthew Pearch, RHP/3B, 2025
Alec Koehly, OF/RHP, 2026
Michael Gregozeski, C, 2026
John Kosobud, 1B, 2025
Ryan Davies, RHP, 2025
Zach Paulling, MIF, 2025

How they win the series:

This is a team that remained hot across the entirety of the season and finished with a 29-3 record. They are led by a potent 1-2 punch on the mound with Matthew Pearch and Ryan Davies. After putting up a staggering 23 runs in the 2-game series in RD.1, the upperclass heavy lineup of Dunwoody looks to ride the momentum they have been carrying all season long.

Lassiter @ Newnan

Lassiter Trojans

Playoffs - Def. Roswell, 3 games (1st RD.)

Key Players
Darrell McDowell, RHP, 2025
Sean Wilson, 2B, 2025
Connor Lee, SS, 2026
Kyle Montgomery, 3B/C, 2027
Caden Lenzi, 1B/LHP, 2026
Keegan Loadwick, RHP, 2028

How they win the series:

Impressive pitching depth showed up in a hard-fought round-one win and will be needed to stifle this quality Cougar lineup. It starts with Darrell McDowell, but expect freshman RHP Keegan Loadwick to play a factor after a big game 3 outing to clinch the series. Two big factors at the plate will be sophomore Kyle Montgomery and junior Caden Lenzi.

Newnan Cougars

Playoffs - Def. Decatur, 2 games (1st RD.)

Key Players
Hayes Maginnis, RHP/SS, 2027
Dax Kilby, SS, 2025
Cole Gilmore, OF, 2025
Jaden Hill, RHP, 2025
Brodie Campbell, CIF, 2027
Ben Edge, OF, 2025 PBR

How they win the series:

Limiting baserunners early. Lassiter's lineup has impressive bat-to-ball throughout, so will be key to limiting the big innings. The duo of senior Jaden Hill and sophomore Hayes Maginnis have paced this rotation all spring and will be looking to repeat their quality starts in the first round. Expect Clemson commit Dex Kilby to continue to swing it well and play a big factor as well.

Hashersham Central @ South Paulding

South Paulding Spartans

Key Players
Carson Adomnik, RHP, 2025
Ryder Porter, LHP, 2025
Braden Goolsby, SS, 2025
Talyn Spencer, 1B, 2025

How they win the series: 
The Spartans will need their usual start from Clemson commit Carson Adomnik in game 1 to kick the series off. They are going to rely on their senior leadership the rest of the way. They face a scrappy Habersham Central line up so will need a solid start from senior Ryder Porter as well.

Habersham Central Raiders

Key Players
Maverick Chitwood
Spencer Frady
Hudson Gailey
Micah Huff
Callum Spivey
Ethan Wheeler
Mason Witt
Tyler Rothell

How they win the series:
It is going to be a full team effort in this series, but the key is going to be beating Adomnik on the mound for South Paulding. They match up pretty well from a line up perspective. They will need Wheeler to step up and have another big start on the mound. Tyler Rothell will be another guy they need to step up on the mound and at the dish.

Brunswick @ Houston County

Brunswick Pirates

Playoffs - Def. Villa Rica, 2 games (1st RD.)

Key Players
Jordan Lodise, SS, 2025
Brett Hickson, 2B, 2026
Trenton Robinson, RHP, 2026
Avery Jefferson, C, 2026
Dawson Parke, OF, 2025

How they win the series:

Carrying momentum after a big road upset, the Pirates need to bring the same mentality on the road once again. The trio of senior Jordan Lodise, and juniors Brett Hickson, Trenton Robinson have done everything for Brunswick this spring and will need to be in top-tier form this week for another upset.

Houston County Bears

Playoffs - Def. Apalachee, 2 games (1st RD.)

Key Players
Kendall Jackson, OF, 2025
Vick Gann, OF, 2025
Will Allen, RHP, 2025
Isaiah Galason, 2B, 2026
Ethan Buffone, SS, 2025
Max Willhide, RHP, 2025
Tyson Ganas, UTL, 2027

How they win the series:

Continue to show the well-rounded machine they’ve been so far this spring. The outfield of Kendall Jackson, Vick Gann and Noah Odom come off huge first round performances and will be looked upon once again. Will Allen and Willhide have premium experience at the top of the rotation and coming off of a pair of shutout starts to open the playoffs.

Northgate @ Pope

Northgate Vikings

Playoffs - Def. Lakeside, 3 games (1st RD.)

Key Players

Sam Lowe, RHP/MIF, 2027
Hunter Holmstrom, LHP, 2028
Bryson Rambus, C, 2027
Max Threlkeld, SS, 2027
Reese Cluff, OF, 2026
Sam Marvin, 1B/RHP, 2026

How they win the series:

The youth and “house money” Northgate brings into this series need to be an asset to have a chance against the Greyhounds. Sam Lowe has been huge in a two-way role and the Vikings will need production from the entire staff to slow down one of the most potent lineups in the class. Look for sophomore C Bryson Rambus to be an x-factor for Northgate with the stick.

Pope Greyhounds

Playoffs - Def. Seckinger, 2 games (1st RD.)

Key Players
John Stuetzer, SS, 2025
Tanner Morneau, OF, 2025
Ethan Garrett, RHP, 2025
Kayden Campbell, MIF, 2026
Drew Abney, C, 2026
Luke Winbush, 3B, 2027
Nick Bobrowski, LHP, 2026
Matt Levinson, RHP/1B, 2025
Ben Hill, OF/LHP, 2026

How they win the series:

The experience that the Greyhounds bring into this series against a young team can be invaluable. There is real depth across the diamond that has played in big games in May, and that’s something you can’t teach. Nick Bobrowski and Ethan Garrett have been stellar as starters with some real shutdown arms in the bullpen. This is a team built for the late spring.

Creekview @ Woodward

Woodward War Eagles

Playoffs - Def. McIntosh, 3 games (1st RD.)

Key Players

Khalon Davis, SS/OF, 2026
Spencer Norman, OF, 2028
Myles Tate, SS, 2028
Chance Dixon, SS, 2026
Carson Ray, SS, 2026
Graham Reker, C, 2028
Harrison Lord, CIF, 2026
Dominic Veneri, RHP, 2025

How they win the series:

Woodward wins this series by doing what they have been doing all year, hitting and runnings the bases well. They will face quality arms whether it’s 2 or 3 game series, but have experienced bats like Khalon Davis, Chance Dixon and Carson Ray. If the Creekview arms give them trouble then they will need their arms to step up and limit the Grizzlies on offense.

Creekview Grizzlies

Playoffs - Def. Johns Creek, 2 games (1st RD.)

Key Players

Jackson Stanley, SS, 2025
Brodie Carter, INF, 2025
PJ Fitzpatrick, RHP, 2025
Neil Stam, RHP, 2025
Luke Nitkowski, RHP, 2026
Garrett Ray, RHP/OF, 2026
Clay Herring, RHP, 2026
Jackson Shirley, OF, 2026
Alex Penrod, C, 2026
Austin Penrod, 3B, 2026
Hudson Stanley, INF, 2028

How they win the series:
The Grizzlies are going to need their arms to keep doing what they have been doing. They will lean on Nitkowski, Ray, Fitzpatrick, and Herring to get the job done. The biggest thing for Creekview is going to be limiting errors and scoring some runs. They need the bottom half of the order to get on base so Brodie Carter and Jackson Stanley to drive him some runs.

Greenbrier @ Loganville

Loganville Red Devils

Playoffs - Def. Veterans, 2 games (1st RD.)

Key Players
Jake Boland, RHP, 2026
Jordan Johnson, RHP, 2026
Aiden Gorvett, OF, 2026
Kaiden Howell, SS, 2026
Tripp Sapp, SS, 2028
Matt Berardinelli, INF, 2026
Tripp Braswell, INF, 2025
Ace Kenny, LHP, 2025
Caden Palmer, C, 2027

How they win the series:

Loganville just needs to stick to their usual game plan to keep things rolling in the sweet 16. Quality starts from Boland and Johnson will set the tone for them. They will always produce runs with Gorvett setting the tone at the top of the order. Keep an eye out for freshman Tripp Sapp to play a pivotal roll on the mound if it goes 3 games.

Greenbrier Wolfpack

Playoffs - Def. Kennesaw Mountain, 2 games (1st RD.)

Key Players
Jackson Farlow, LHP, 2025
Bryson Bell, OF, 2025
Taylor Maciaszek, C, 2025
Harris Bechelder, 1B, 2025
Trip Fowler, RHP/SS, 2027
Connor Bridges, 1B, 2027
Tyson Knutson, INF, 2027

How they win the series:

Greenbrier is going to need another strong start from Trip Fowler on the mound. Their line up match’s up pretty well, but will need a few arms to step up to shut down the Loganville offense. If they can minimize mistakes and get a game 1 win they can compete if the series goes 3 games.

UPCOMING EVENTS