Tough League! Georgia Fires Baseball Coach: Bulldogs 1 Of Only 4 In SEC Not Expected In NCAA Postseason

One of the few bad elements of a national championship - depending on your perspective - is that suddenly the powers that be start looking at other programs on a college campus and wonder, "Why not you, too?"

The Georgia football team has won back-to-back national championships.

The Georgia baseball team has not been close to a national championship since it reached the national championship series in 2008 before losing to Fresno State. It has not been back to Omaha, Nebraska, for the College World Series since that season.

Georgia fired baseball coach Scott Stricklin Friday after 10 seasons and only three NCAA Regional appearances over that span - in 2018, '19 and '22. Stricklin was 5-6 in the NCAA postseason. The Bulldogs finished 2023 at 29-27 and 11-19 in the SEC for 11th place overall. Stricklin, 51, finished below .500 in the toughest college baseball league in the nation six times.

Georgia fired coach Scott Stricklin on Friday after a disappointing season. (Photo by Rich von Biberstein via Getty Images)

Scott Stricklin 'Came Up Short' In 2023

"When you look at it on paper, we had a bad year,” Stricklin said last week. "This program has a lot of expectations and has a lot of pride. I didn't feel like we performed up to our expectations. That’s on me as the head coach. That's my responsibility and I take a lot of pride in trying to uphold that expectation here at Georgia and this year we came up short."  

Stricklin replaced Dave Perno following the 2013 season when Perno fell to 21-32 and 7-20 for his second straight losing SEC season. Perno had taken Georgia to within one win of a national title in 2008. Georgia won its only national title in baseball in 1990 under coach Steve Webber, who died last year.

Georgia Baseball Could Not Keep Up In SEC

Meanwhile, 10 SEC teams are expected to receive bids to the NCAA postseason on Monday (Noon, ESPN2). And that is regardless of what happens in the SEC Super Conference Tournament going on in Hoover, Alabama, through Sunday.

Only Missouri (30-24, 10-20), Mississippi State (27-26, 9-21) and Ole Miss (25-29, 6-24) and Georgia will not be continuing to play.

State coach Chris Lemonis could be next on the firing line after his second straight 9-21 season in the SEC, but he did win the national championship in 2021. Missouri coach Steve Bieser is also not in great shape as his Tigers just suffered their sixth straight losing season in the SEC since his arrival before the 2017 season.

Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco had his worst season in 23 years as the Rebels coach at 25-29 and 6-24, but he did win the national championship just last year. Had he not reached the NCAA postseason as the last team in, though, he may have been fired last year.