University of Georgia Softball

Tony Baldwin was announced the head coach of Georgia softball on June 21, 2021. He is the third head coach in the history of the program. Baldwin served on s...

Bulldog great Chelsea Wilkinson made her return to Athens, joining Tony Baldwin's staff prior to the 2022 season. The 2025 season will be the fourth with Wilkinson on staff. Wilkinson mentored the trio of Shelby Walters, Madison Kerpics, and Lilli Backes in the 2024 season. In her first season in Athens, Backes made an immediate impact, making 46 appearances, pitching 183 innings and going the distance 10 times. She concluded the season with a 3.68 ERA, 18 victories, and six saves with 134 strikeouts. The 2023 season saw Georgia field All-SEC pitchers Shelby Walters and Madison Kerpics in the circle. The pair became the first Bulldog pitchers to earn all-conference honors in the same season in program history. Under Wilkinson's guidance, Georgia cut its staff ERA by 1.62 points, finishing fifth in the SEC with a 2.43 ERA on the season. The Dogs' sliced their conference ERA to 2.82, a 2.87-point improvement from the previous season. Walters led the staff with a 1.72 ERA and seven saves with 18 wins. Paired with Kerpics' 19 wins and 135 strikeouts, the pair helped guide the Bulldogs to 42 wins and a Super Regional berth. Georgia combined for three no-hitters in 2023, the most in a single season since 2018. Walters pitched a six-inning no-no against Samford on March 4. Later that month, Walters no-hit Mississippi State, Georgia's first SEC no-hitter since 2009. Four Bulldogs combined to no-hit North Carolina Central in the opening game of the NCAA Athens Regional, Georgia's firs

J.T. D’Amico joined Tony Baldwin's staff prior to the 2022 campaign in Athens. The 2025 campaign will be the fourth season with D'Amico heading up defensive coaching efforts for the Bulldogs. Since D'Amico's arrival in Athens, Georgia has raised its fielding percentage from .955 in 2021 to .976 following the 2024 season. Georgia's fielding percentage of .976 in 2024 was the second-best in program history and the best since the Bulldogs fielded .981 in 2009. The mark finished 13th nationally and third in the SEC. Second baseman Sydney Kuma solidified her elite status in her final season, earning the Rawlings Gold Glove Award, bestowed upon the nation's top defensive players. Kuma became the first Georgia Bulldog to earn the award. In her final season in the Red and Black, Kuma fielded a career-best .974. She raised her fielding percentage year-over-year under D'Amico's guidance. Under D'Amico's tutelage, Georgia's defense continued to improve in 2023 as the Bulldogs recorded a .972 fielding percentage, committing six fewer errors from the previous season. It was Georgia's highest fielding clip since 2011 (.972). Kuma put together a tremendous 2023 season, not only at the plate, but also in the field. Kuma, an NFCA Third Team All-American, was recognized as the top second baseman in the SEC, earning a spot on the SEC All-Defensive Team. She recorded a .971 fielding percentage, committing only six errors on the middle infield. In his first season in Athens, Georgia's defense imp

Mike Davenport joined Tony Baldwin's staff as an assistant coach in August 2024. Davenport comes to Athens from North Georgia, where he was the head coach for 24 seasons. He guided the Nighthawks to DII national championships in 2015 and 2023, accumulating over a thousand victories in his tenure at UNG. His head coaching record is an astounding 1,094-280 (.796), and he is a member of the Georgia Dugout Club Softball Hall of Fame (January 2020). He’s coached numerous All-Americans, including two National Players of the Year in Courtney Poole (2015) and Kylee Smith (2018). A 10-time Peach Belt Conference Coach of the Year, Davenport built a culture of championships at North Georgia, winning 17 conference regular season titles, 15 conference tournaments, nine NCAA Southeast Region Championships, and two NCAA DII National Championships. He established UNG as a powerhouse in NCAA Division II softball, taking North Georgia to three consecutive Division II Championship appearances twice from 2009-11 and again in 2021-23. Davenport helped guide the program to two National Championships during his tenure, the first in 2015, as that team would bring the University of North Georgia its first National Championship in school history on May 25, 2015, in Oklahoma City. In 2023, Davenport helped return UNG to the mountain top, giving the program its second 60-win season, breaking the program record for wins in a season with a 64-7 record, as the Nighthawks would win their second National Tit