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By Olivia Sayer
Georgia redshirt sophomore Charlie Condon (24) hits a home run during the first game of the NCAA Athens Regional between Army and Georgia at Foley Field in Athens, Georgia, on Friday, May 31, 2024. Georgia won 8-7. (Photo/Mady Mertens; MadyMertensPhotography)
The accolades keep on coming for Georgia baseball’s Charlie Condon. The Marietta-native was named one of three finalists for the Golden Spikes Award, along with Hagen Smith of Arkansas and Travis Bazzana of Oregon State. The honor is annually presented to the nation’s top amateur baseball player.
Entering Georgia’s Super Regional, Condon leads the country with a .445 batting average and 36 home runs. He is slugging 1.036 and is four home runs away from setting the SEC’s single-season mark of 40.
Prior in the year, Condon broke former Bulldog Gordon Beckham’s records for career and single season homers at Georgia. Despite his personal statistics, Condon credits his teammates for his success.
“It might be an individual award, but there’s a lot of people that have supported me and allowed me to be the best version of myself,” Condon said. “Without the guys behind me, and the guys in the locker room and what we have going on here, I’m nothing special. I owe a lot of credit to them, and they are going to continue to be the heartbeat of this team, and I’m happy to be a part of it.”
The Bulldogs are thriving in their first season under head coach Wes Johnson. As a team, Georgia has a .305 batting average and a 1.029 OPS. The Bulldogs’ 145 home runs rank third in the nation, while hitting a school-record 12 grand slams this season.
Condon bats second in the powerful Georgia lineup. Despite the team’s success, its opponents put an emphasis on not allowing Condon to beat them. This season, teams have intentionally walked the SEC Player of the Year 27 times.
“I don’t think there’s really any way to get him out,” former South Carolina head coach Mark Kingston said prior in the season. “Throw the ball to the backstop, and hope he doesn’t steal second base.”
Despite Condon’s national recognition, he remains humble.
“I’ve never seen anybody handle it off the field as gracefully as he has this year,” Johnson said. “What he’s done is just unbelievable. He just understands it’s a team game.”
Condon is the fifth Bulldog to become a Golden Spikes Award finalist and first since Beckham did so in 2008. Last season, Condon was a semifinalist but did not advance to the final round. This season’s recipient will be announced on June 22 prior to game one of the College World Series Finals.