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.

Here we are going to do a quick of round 1 with some in depth breakdowns of games our scouts were in attendance for. 

6A

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This was highlighted by Lowndes vs Cherokee where it came down to the wire in a winner take all game 3 where the Vikings edged out the Warriors in a 2-1 game to head to the sweet 16. Game 1 was also a 2-1 contest in favor of the Vikings, it was expected for Reid Worley to perform with it all on the line, but sophomore Brinson Rountree went toe to toe with the top arm in the start and tossed 7 innings of 1 run ball with 3 strikeouts. Worley still pitched a heck of a game, striking out 9 over 5 innings. Westlake edged out Mill Creek in game 1 5-4, but they would bounce back with 2 big wins to punch their ticket to the sweet 16. We knew coming in that the Brookwood vs Denmark series was going to be one of the more exciting of the bracket and game 3 did not disappoint. Jack Powell kicked things off for the Danes in game 1 with 7 innings of 1 run ball and 8 strikeouts to get the W. Game 2 got called as complete in the 6th innings due to lightning, in favor of the Broncos. Joe Soto tossed a gem in a must win game running the fastball up to 90. Game 3 was a back and forth contest until the end. The Broncos would get the go ahead run in the 7th by Shia Brown to give them the lead 7-6. Max Rogozinski came in and shut the door in the 6th and 7th to send them to the next round. Grayson would take care of Campbell in 2 games with scores of 1-0 and 3-1. Check out a quick game recap from the DH:

One of the highly anticipated matchups in this 6A bracket. Awesome action from both starting pitchers 2026 RHP/1B Jack Powell came out with a dominating 3-pitch mix that had hitters guessing all afternoon in Game 1, he tossed a complete game while collecting 8k’s and only surrendering the lone run. 2026 RHP/SS Marshall Jackson started for Brookwood and flashed the strong 2-pitch, FB/CV mix that shows good projection and confidence, he also tossed a complete game, unfortunately just gave up some big hits from a strong Denmark lineup. 2026 INF Jason Williams and 2027 1B/LHP Thatcher Dumford went back-to-back with a pair of doubles that got the Danes on the board first, 2028 SS/2B Conner Adams and 2027 C Daniel Biondo then came through with another pair of back-to-back doubles that scored runs. Brookwood had a last-stitch effort in the top of the seventh when 2027 RHP/SS Max Rogozinski came through with a 10-pitch AB that resulted in a 380+ foot solo bomb over the left-center field wall, although it just wasn’t enough as the Danes won Game 1, 5-1.

The start of Game 2 was more of a pitchers duel early as Brookwood’s 2026 LHP Joe Soto was lights out to start, running it up to 90 on the mound with the FB/CV combinations keeping the Danes hitters confused, he ended up going 6.2 IP with 7-plus K’s and only gave up 2-runs. Denmark’s 2026 LHP Kurtis Maher was also working the FB/CV 2-pitch mix that kept the Broncos lineup at-bay until the sixth inning, when the 2025 C/3B Boomer Rogozinski (Stetson commit) came through with a sharp ground ball that skipped by the third basemen to score both runs while he advanced to second on the throw to home. After he steals third on the next pitch, with 2-outs, 2025 OF Mason Archie found himself in a two-strike count where he put the ball in play and the Danes’ fielder slipped on the throw causing Archie to be safe at 1st and to score the run putting Brookwood out-front 3-2.

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All of the higher seeds took care of business in this section of the bracket. Mountain View took one from Carrollton with their ace Andrew Brech on the mound. Gunner Fokken stepped up in game 3 and pitched a great game to send them to the sweet 16. Richmond Hill gave the number 1 team in the state a scare in game 1 forcing them into extra innings where Tennessee commit Trevor Condon would hit a walk-off to win it. The Eagles would take game 2, 7-2 for the sweep. The Parkview vs North Atlanta lived up to the hype with Eli Pitts playing his old school for the 1st time. Malachi Washington would lead the way for Parkview with 3 home runs of his own. Eli Pitts would match him with 1 home run game 2 where North Atlanta took the win, led by freshman Cal Williamson on the mound. The Panthers would bounce back with a huge performance on the mound by freshman Daelan-Jones Teasley to secure the sweet 16 berth. In the final game of the bracket Hillgrove took the sweep. Junior Aiden Moore pitched a gem on the mound and they will now take on Parkview in round 2.

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There was more of the same in this bracket with the higher seeds taking care of business. Harrison took the sweep over Archer 5-2 and 9-8. This Harrison squad is experienced and could be a team to keep an eye as a final four sleeper. The red hot West Forsyth team took care of Peachtree Ridge with scores of 8-0 and 4-2. They match up well with Harrison, both teams have an experienced line up and pitchers that will fill up the zone. The Walton Raider offense exploded in their double header with scores of 11-2 and 14-3. In the final game of the bracket, Dacula would take East Coweta 3 games. Jared Glenn pitched a gem on the mound to get the series even and Reiston Durham led the team at the dish with a multi home run game. East Coweta ended up taking game 3 and will now take on Walton in the sweet 16.

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To kick things off in the final side of the bracket, McEachern took the sweep over Newton with scores of 7-0 and 4-2. Forsyth Central battled with North Gwinnett early in game 1, but would end up getting swept with scores of 11-1 and 4-1. In one of the more anticipated match ups in the entire bracket North Paulding and Tift County went the expected 3 games with Wold Pack edging them out in game 3. John Davis pitched a gem in game 1 for the Blue Devils, but Yenli Nolasco would answer in game 2 to get the series even. We should be in for a treat with Buford vs North Paulding in round 2 after Buford took care of Chapel Hill with 2 shutouts, 12-0 and 9-0.

5A

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Coming into the week, this bracket looked as wide open as you’ll find in the classification, and that remains true after the first round. The top seed in the quad, Dunwoody took care of business in a sweep over Lovejoy behind a big pitching performance in game one from senior Ryan Davies (7.0 IP, 0 ER, 10 K) and stellar all-around offense in game two. River Ridge would sweep Gainesville in their series as well behind great showings on the mound from seniors Will Schmidt and KJ Hart (4.0 IP, 0 ER, 10 K). Another one seed in the quad, Effingham County took the 2-0 series over East Paulding, highlighted by a bug offensive showing in game two. The most competitive series of the week was Coffee @ Winder-Barrow, going three games and the Doggs coming out on top behind big weeks from senior Cam Hodge, junior Landon DuBose, among others. The Dunwoody/River Ridge series in the sweet 16 could have some high-level pitching from both sides and Winder-Barrow brings a ton of confidence into their matchup with Effingham County making for two intriguing series with elite eight bids on the line.

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This quad had it all with the two top seeds winning in convincing sweeps alongside two highly-competitive three game series. Newnan took care of business against Decatur, 14-4, 4-0 backed by an impressive start from sophomore Hayes Maginnis (7.0 IP, 1 H, 12 K) and timely hitting. South Paulding had a dangerous squad in town in Glynn Academy and showed grit with a tight victory in game one into a rule-rule in game two for the sweep. Habersham Central earned an impressive upset over Lee County after falling down 1-0 behind an outstanding all-around performance from junior Maverick Chitwood, who added 6 hits on the week and a complete game win in game two to steal momentum. The Lassiter/Roswell matchup was fairly even on paper with comparable talent on both rosters and it showed on the field. Competitive in all three games with Lassiter pulling it out in the end behind a high-pressure showing from freshman Keegan Loadwick with the season on the line. I expect more competitive baseball in both matchups next round with South Paulding/Habersham Central both riding big highs, and the Newnan/Lassiter series is setting up for some highly-intriguing pitching matchups.

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This quad features two teams that could have as good of a chance of hoisting that trophy in late May as any you’ll find in 5A, and they led the way with two very convincing sweeps. Pope continued their winning streak that dates back to February over Seckinger behind quality starts from junior LHP Nick Bobrowski and senior Ethan Garrett alongside one of best built lineups in the state. Houston County handled Apalachee convincingly with two shutout victories behind complete games from seniors Will Allen and Max Willhide, while Kendall Jackson and Vick Gann would add HR in both games as well. In a matchup between two young teams in Lakeside (Dekalb) and Northgate, it would take all three games to find a victor and sophomore Sam Lowe came for Northgate in the deciding game going 6.0 with 0 ER and 8 K while adding 3 RBI. Brunswick would pull the biggest upset in the quad with a big-time sweep over Villa Rica, with senior Jordan Lodise doing a little bit of everything and junior Trenton Robinson adding a massive complete game shutout over a very hitterish lineup. Northgate and Brunswick have highly difficult series on tap now with Pope and Houston County respectively but will be ready for the challenge and could add some intrigue to the bracket.

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The final quad of 5A is highlighted by the most inevitable team in the classification in the Loganville Red Devils, who look for their 4th straight state championship and open 2025 with a sweep over Veterans. Setting up what should be an electric matchup in the sweet 16, Greenbrier also picked up a big time sweep over Kennesaw Mountain in two highly-contested games and now lines up Loganville/Greenbrier this upcoming week. One of the teams we mentioned as a sleeper coming into the week was Creekview, and the Grizzlies picked up some massive early momentum with a sweep over one seed John’s Creek. Big-time pitching from junior Luke Nitkowski and very timing hitting from the entire lineup set the tone. Rounding out the first round in 5A was a fun three game series between two evenly matched teams in McIntosh and Woodward Academy that went a full three games and showed Woodward pulling out a big victory behind junior Carson Ray who hit HR in back-to-back games after falling down 0-1 in the series.

4A

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There were 2 game sweeps all around in this bracket. Flowery Branch took down a strong Jones County team with scores of 7-3 and 7-5. They will now match up with a Wayne County team that took down SW Dekalb by scores of 11-1 and 7-1. Wayne County has a talented group that showed well at the beginning of the season when we saw them at LakePoint, highlighted by uncommitted junior Eli Grantham and Jeb Craven. In the bottom half of this bracket we see Kell get the sweep over Dalton 8-5 and 12-1. For the final game of the bracket we had Central and Maynard Jackson in one of the more exciting series of the 1st round. Check out a quick recap below:

This was a series we had high expectations for and it did not disappoint. Central ended up with the upper hand and advanced to the sweet 16, but not without a 8 innings game one and walk off in game 2. These teams match up really well from a line up perspective, and Maynard Jackson had the advantage in game 1 with Charlie Schrope on the mound. He was near perfect and carried a 3-1 lead into the 7th inning. It was a multi-hit day for freshman Grant Chaffin, he had a barrel in the 1st and then comes up big with 2 outs and a runner on 1st in the 7th with another single in the 4 hole. Joe Turner came up with a big single to lead that innings off. After the Chaffin single Central had runners on 1st and 2nd with senior Blake Culverhouse at the plate. He turned on a fastball on the inner half and drove it down the LF line. Chaffin would end up scoring from 1st base to tie the game at 3-3. Central would come out swinging in the 8th, freshman short-stop Bradley Willingham hit one off of the top of the left field wall to put 2 runners in scoring position. Junior Bryce Knight would come through with a backside double to open things up and make it a 7-3 game. The Jaguars wouldn't go down without a fight and would end up getting the tying run in scoring position, but junior Rhett Nelson gets the strikeout to end game 1.

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In the next section of the bracket we see one of our sleeper picks in East Forsyth get the sweep over Union Grove by scores of 2-1 and 11-1. In game 1 Grant Barden tossed 8 innings of 1 run ball with 17 strikeouts. St. Pius X has put together one of the more impressive seasons in the state and kept things rolling with 2 shut out wins against Perry with scores of 5-0 and 16-0. They are one of the favorites in this classification and will now run into a red hot East Forsyth team. Cartersville took Cambridge in 2 games 5-0 and 3-0. This Canes squad is hungry after a tough loss in the finals last year and are clicking at the right time with big time performances by their senior leader, Andrew Purdy. Starr’s Mill had one of the tougher back end region schedules and they took care of business for the region title. Their offense exploded in 2 games with wins over ML King, 15-0 and 17-1. They will now take on Cartersville for a really exciting sweet 16 match up.

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In this section of the bracket we see 2 of the top teams in 4A in Marist and Blessed Trinity. Northside was in one of the toughest regions in this class and took on Midtown. They took the 2 game sweep with scores of 6-0 and 5-2. Cedartown is a squad with tough arms like Samuel Formby and Jay O’Neill and battled with Blessed Trinity in 2 tight scoring games, but would fall short with scores of 6-4 in both games. Marist was a team that really started clicking toward the back half of the season and the 1st round is no different. They beat Benedictine in 2 games with scores of 14-0 and 11-1. Next we see one of our highlighted match ups in our “4A Preview” between Ola and Walnut Grove. Walnut Grove is another 4A team that stacks up in a tough region. We knew they had the arms to make things interesting as a 4 seed. Braden Pourron tossed a CG shutout in game 1. Walnut Grove would answer in game 2 with a near perfect start by Branson Blalock to force a game 3 where anything can happen. Walnut Grove would end up taking the final game and punching their ticket to the Sweet 16 by a score of 8-4.

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Harris County was a team we were able to see more than once this Spring. They are a well-rounded group that we knew could make some potential noise in 4A. Getting past the first round backed by strong pitching performances from a pair of freshmen JT Pirkle and Cayden Dimitri . They will square off in the second round against a tough opponent in Allatoona. Allatoona made quick work of Westminster in a 2-gamer series behind a big-time pitching performance from Cooper Underwood (7.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 14 K). Ware County, a well-coached group, was a team we were able to see down south a few times. As their offense would power them to 11-3 and 9-4 victories in round one to advance past Druid Hills in a 2-game series. After a Final Four loss to arguably one of the best lineups in the state last year against Starr’s Mill, North Oconee desires a 4 A state title in ‘25. They would make quick work of a strong Locust Grove squad in two matchups (6-5, 10-5) to move forward to the Sweet Sixteen. As they will now square up against Ware County.

UPCOMING EVENTS