2026 High School Team Preview: Houston County Bears

The 2026 high school baseball season is quickly approaching and as usual, excitement abounds throughout the state. Players and coaches have been working in preparation for the upcoming season and, as is the case each year, there are some very talented players and teams across Georgia.

Teams across the state have goals and aspirations to finish their seasons in the GHSA or GIAA state playoffs, but there is plenty of work to be done before that becomes reality. We hope to familiarize our readers with many of the teams across the state as we preview individual teams across Georgia. We will take you right up to first pitch this season with these team previews and by continuing our scheduled podcasts and releasing our preseason top-10 rankings in each GHSA classification and Power 25.

Please keep checking back throughout the season as we will be your one-stop shop for everything related to high school baseball across the state.

Each week we will be releasing our Players of the Week, updating the top-10 ranks in each GHSA classification, as well updating our Power 25 overall rankings. One thing, especially, you don’t want to miss are our scheduled podcasts with guests from across the state, as well as the recaps and previews of the big games we’re covering.

*Please note the information has been gathered from head coaches across the state, based on their replies to the questionnaire we distributed over this offseason.

High School: Houston County Bears
Head Coach: Matt Hopkins
Classification: GHSA Class 5A
Region: 2-5A
2024 Record (Finish): 33-7, State Runner Up
No. of Returning Positional Starters: 5
Team Strengths: Returning key leaders and performers, quality depth throughout the roster

TOP RETURNING PLAYERS 

TOP UNDERCLASSMEN

TEAM OUTLOOK

The Bears have been among the elite in 5A in recent years with a laundry list of accomplishments including multiple rings, 5 of the last 7 region titles, and come into 2026 with added motivation after finishing as the state runner-up last spring. Despite losing an uber-talented senior class, Coach Hopkins knows how to maximize talent and returns quality upperclass performers alongside some key transfer additions who will be vital to making another run. It begins with one of the best hit tools in the state, senior SS Isaiah Galason who lives for the moment and the Georgia Tech commit will be looking to build off a massive junior season that included 21 XBH, 34 SB while hitting .471. Three senior starters return alongside Galason in starting with uncommitted OF Noah Odom, who looks to have real strength this off-season and can be a massive power/speed threat in the top half of this lineup. C/RHP Raymond Byrd and DH/RHP Ethan Kenney will hold big two-way roles for the Bears this spring, as both will likely be locks for both the rotation and starting lineup while bringing key experiences that will be huge for both region play and the wave of underclassmen on the way up. An x-factor for HoCo will be junior RHP/2B Tyson Ganas, who holds SP1 upside coming into the spring while holding down a premium position in the dirt as well. The growth for Ganas over the last year has been huge paired with some high-leverage situations that should have the uncommitted two-way ready for the moment. A pair of uncommitted junior transfers in OF Davian Hammonds (Stratford Academy) and 1B Nick Hardee (Peach County) bring quality experience and tools that can bring instant value to this lineup while also providing pull-and-play gloves that will raise the floor defensively. Junior C/IF/RHP Peyton Nauss has made strides across the board and could be a swiss-army knife type piece for Coach Hopkins with a chance to contribute across the field. Freshman MIF Kaiden Harvey leads the underclass wave this spring with a chance to get on the field early this spring and holds significant upside that we are just seeing the beginning stages of. Another freshman to watch is C George Bassett V, who was a recent standout at the Macon Preseason ID and will provide quality depth both behind the dish and at the plate. More depth includes names like uncommitted junior OF Nathan Worsham, who's been a steady performer for us in many settings and sophomore OF/QB1 Ryan Maxwell, who will be in the mix in the outfield. The pieces are in place for 5A to run through Houston County once again, and will be exciting to see type of year this group has.

Find more information on the 2026 Houston County program below:

+ Follow them on X: @hocobaseball
+ Visit the Prep Baseball Georgia, 2026 Team Previews

FOLLOW PREP BASEBALL GEORGIA THROUGHOUT THE SPRING

+ Prep Baseball Georgia on X
+ Prep Baseball Georgia on Instagram
+ Prep Baseball Georgia on Facebook
+ Podcast: Peach Fuzz on YouTube

UPCOMING EVENTS