Joseph Stuckey
Byron Buxton Coming Home To Atlanta Braves?
By: Joseph Stuckey
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Former Appling County Pirate Byron Buxton has really been making a splash with the Minnesota Twins in recent years.
This season, as of 6/23, he has a .275 batting average and is 3rd in home runs with 25. He is making a strong case to represent the Twins and the American League in the All-Star Game in Philadelphia on July 14th.
The Baxley native was drafted by the Twins as the 2nd overall pick in the 2012 MLB draft and made his MLB debut for them on June 14th, 2015.
He has played his entire career for Minnesota and has established himself as one of the best players in baseball. He is arguably a top-5 outfielder who not only has a .300+ on-base percentage but should also eclipse the 200 home run mark before the end of the 2026 season.
Many locals consider him one of the top players ever to come out of South Georgia, alongside players like Buster Posey and Adam Wainwright.
He has also won a Gold Glove Award (2017) and a Silver Slugger Award (2025). If he were to make the All-Star Game this July in Philadelphia, it would be his 3rd appearance (2022 and 2025).
Buxton truly has become the face of the franchise for the Minnesota Twins; however, there are a lot of news articles and speculation that he could be headed back home to Georgia shortly.
Buxton is 32 years old, and it is highly unlikely the Minnesota Twins will make a World Series run anytime soon, so if Buxton has his eyes set on the World Series trophy, it may have to happen in another uniform.
Even though the Twins could go on a spending spree to build around Buxton, that is also highly unlikely. The big key to this is for Buxton to waive his no-trade clause; many baseball insiders have speculated for years that the team he may be willing to do this for is in his home state of Georgia.
The Atlanta Braves are considered to be a title contender this year and would love to upgrade their outfield before the postseason push. Even though the Braves should get injury-prone superstar Ronald Acuna Jr. back shortly, Buxton would make a fine addition to the Braves’ star-studded lineup.
The Braves have built a comfortable lead on the Phillies in the NL East and have the second-best record in baseball, only trailing the Los Angeles Dodgers.
In most people’s minds, things would have to go really badly for the Braves to lose the National League East division title, let alone miss the playoffs.
Meanwhile, the Minnesota Twins have a sub-.500 record and can only hope to squeak into the playoffs with a Wild-Card berth at this point.
So, as I mentioned above, if the Baxley native has his eyes set on the World Series trophy, he may not want to look too far from home.
GIAA Powers
By: Joseph Stuckey
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
With the high-school football season right around the corner, I thought it would be a good time to examine the state of GIAA teams across the area.
GIAA stands for Georgia Independent Athletic Association, otherwise known as the private school league here in Georgia.
I follow GIAA sports very closely as I am the play-by-play broadcaster for the Bulloch Academy Gators football team.
One thing I became aware of last year, with the Gators making several trips up Interstate 16, is that there is a belief among football fans in that area that you have to beat out the Middle Georgia teams to win a GIAA state title.
What I mean by this is that you can always count on a Middle Georgia area team making a push into the Final Four and State Championship game of the GIAA playoff brackets.
Last year, 3 of the 4 state titles went home to Middle Georgia teams. Brentwood Academy in Sandersville brought home the AA title for the second straight season. John Milledge Academy added another trophy to its very large trophy case. And finally, Stratford Academy won the big prize of the AAAA state title, even though they did lose to John Milledge handily in the regular season, 51-13.
Another powerhouse in the Macon area is First Presbyterian Day, which reached the final four in 2025 and lost to Bulloch Academy in the State Championship in 2024.
Also, there is Strong Rock Christian, which is in Locust Grove, that made the elite eight the past 2 seasons.
So, as you can see, there is some backing to the claim of having to beat out Middle Georgia teams to win a GIAA state title.
Southeast Georgia was able to claim 1 of the 4 titles this past season, with Robert Toombs in Lyons winning the A State Championship.
Robert Toombs beat Edmund Burke Academy in the rematch of the 2024 State Championship, which Edmund Burke won.
Right down the road, there is Pinewood Christian Academy in Bellville, which made the elite eight in 2025.
Then, finally, there is the premier GIAA region in Southeast Georgia, which consists of Frederica Academy, Bulloch Academy, St. Andrews, and the newest addition from GHSA, Savannah Country Day.
Pinewood has been in this region in years past, but they are moving down to an A/AA region starting this season. This region consists of AAA/AAAA teams, and the last 3 champions have been Frederica Academy (2025), Bulloch Academy (2024), and Bulloch (2023).
Not only did Frederica win the region last year, but they also reached the Final Four in the AAA playoffs before losing to John Milledge.
Bulloch Academy is celebrating 3 straight seasons of reaching the Elite Eight or beyond (2023-Final 4, 2024-State Championship, 2025-Elite 8) and has its sights set on another State Championship run in AAAA with a loaded senior class.
The unknown in this region is Savannah Country Day, which is coming from GHSA after going 4-7 last season.
Anytime a GIAA school plays a GHSA school, most would think it would be a tough victory. However, GIAA schools have been holding their own; Frederica beat Savannah High School last season 34-7, and Bulloch Academy has gone 4-0 against GHSA schools over the last 2 seasons.
So, with all of that being said, this should be a very exciting year of GIAA High School Football!
Mercer Mega Camp
By: Joseph Stuckey
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The unofficial kickoff to football prospect camping season can be signified by 3 simple words: Mercer Mega Camps.
For football prospects across the southeastern United States, these camps give them an opportunity to show their skills in front of dozens of college coaches from across the country.
For the most part, the college football recruiting cycle consists of 3 parts before the start of the college football season, which is around Labor Day.
Once the new year rolls around, Junior Days will start happening, allowing rising seniors to visit college campuses.
Then, as we get closer to June, college coaches will be on the road visiting high schools and watching spring practice.
Then, basically, once June hits, college prospect camps will mix with official visits, allowing prospects to visit campuses across the country.
These prospect camps and official visits will run until the dead period hits around the 20th of June.
These camps usually take place on college campuses and are coached by various college coaching staff. Performing well at these camps and making an impression on coaches can really jumpstart a kid’s recruiting process and set them up for future success.
As the calendar flips to June, usually during the first few days of the month, Mercer Football will host their total exposure mega camps in Macon, Georgia.
The camps are hosted at Five-Star Stadium on the campus of Mercer University. There are numerous sessions each day with position groups broken up.
Normally, quarterbacks throw to wide receivers who are defended by defensive backs. Offensive and Defensive linemen compete against each other. And finally, running backs and linebackers compete together.
For under-recruited kids or underclassmen looking for exposure, this is a great opportunity to get on a college’s radar. These camps attract student-athletes from all over the Southeast, but the majority of the kids come from the state of Georgia.
Macon is basically the central point in Georgia and a short drive for most prospects. Given Georgia’s status as a recruiting hotbed, it’s no surprise that so many college coaches flock to the state during this time to attend these camps.
The energy at Five-Star Stadium during these camps is electric and provides a true opportunity for high-school athletes to be evaluated by college coaches across all levels. Coaches from power-4 schools all the way down to Division 3 schools are in attendance.
The camp is run by the Mercer Football staff, but the big draw for prospects is the dozens of other college coaches who will be in attendance.
This year, there were numerous power-4 teams advertised to be there, including: Oregon, Texas, Minnesota, Kentucky, North Carolina, and LSU. There were also many Group of 6 schools in attendance, including: Arkansas State, Georgia Southern, Toledo, Eastern Michigan, and Appalachian State. There were also several service academies in attendance, including Army-West Point, the Naval Academy, and the Air Force Academy.
With so many schools in attendance, each athlete can be truly evaluated by coaches based on their skill level and experience. These conversations with coaches at the camps are critical and can lead to scholarship offers and campus invites.
So, with these camps basically kicking off the football prospect recruiting season, at least for a few days in June, Macon becomes the epicenter of the college football universe.
Sam Hubbard Stays Home
By: Joseph Stuckey
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Statesboro is buzzing over the recent hometown commitment of left-handed pitcher Sam Hubbard.
The Georgia Southern Eagles recently received a verbal commitment from the Bulloch Academy standout pitcher in the class of 2027.
Of course, both Bulloch Academy and Georgia Southern are located in Statesboro, Georgia, with the campuses less than 5 minutes apart from each other.
The rising senior is listed at 5 feet 10 inches and 178 pounds, which is an ideal frame for a developing pitcher. Anytime there is a GSU Eagle from Bulloch County or one of the surrounding counties, it really gets the fanbase excited in Statesboro.
An added bonus for GSU, being the hometown team, the Eagles are considered a baseball factory and have produced numerous MLB draft picks over the years.
The Eagles compete in the Sun Belt Conference, which is quickly becoming a power conference in college baseball, with GSU alongside teams like Southern Miss and Coastal Carolina.
The program has a strong reputation for developing players and consistently fields competitive teams in the Sun Belt Conference. Just a few years ago, the Eagles were a top 16 seed in the College World Series and hosted a regional in Statesboro. I say all of that to reiterate my point of how Hubbard staying home may turn out to be one of the best decisions he could make to continue his baseball career.
Hubbard is a multi-sport athlete who plays football in the fall and baseball in the springtime. He was the quarterback who helped lead Bulloch Academy football to its 2024 GIAA 4-A State Championship, which coincidentally was held under the lights at GSU’s Paulson Stadium.
Under his tenure as quarterback, the team claimed a Region Championship (2024), hosted an Elite-8 appearance at the swamp in Statesboro (2025), and, of course, the aforementioned State Championship (2024).
Hubbard can throw the deep ball to the Gators’ arsenal of receivers, but his true weapon on the football field is his ability to scramble when needed.
The Gators have really relied on him to get tough yards, and he has shown he truly has ice in his veins at times. The Bulloch Academy fanbase is really excited about this upcoming football season with Hubbard at Quarterback, along with a loaded Senior class of standout athletes.
He has also had great success on the baseball diamond. In the 2026 baseball season, he set the new single-season program record with 100 strikeouts. He also had some impressive outings this season, including the final outing of his junior year, where he recorded 14 strikeouts and allowed only walked 1 batter.
In his first 2 outings of the season, he pitched only 6 innings but struck out 15 batters. It also came out this week that Sam was selected to the District 2 All-Region team as well as the GIAA 4-A All-State team.
Hubbard has also participated in the New Balance Future Stars series, Perfect Game Georgia, and Perfect Game Florida, where his fastball has been clocked at 86-89 miles per hour.
He has also been featured on Prep Baseball Georgia during his time in high school.
With these high strikeout rates, Sam really has the potential to be a front-of-the-rotation starter in college.
With his decision to stay local and play for Georgia Southern, Sam is poised to become a hometown hero and a role model for future generations of Statesboro athletes.
As the baseball community in Statesboro looks ahead, I see Sam as a dominant force in the Sun Belt Conference over the next few years.
