SEC Baseball

Georgia fires Stricklin after 10 years

Georgia coach Scott Stricklin is shown during an SEC Tournament game against Arkansas on Thursday, May 23, 2019, in Hoover, Ala.

ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia fired baseball coach Scott Stricklin on Friday, ending a decade-long tenure that failed to produce postseason success.

Stricklin was dismissed three days after the Bulldogs were blown out 9-0 by South Carolina in the opening round of the Southeastern Conference tournament.

Stricklin had three years left in his contract, but athletic director Josh Brooks decided a change was needed.

“After much thought and deliberation, we feel it is in the best interest of our baseball program to move in a different direction,” Brooks said in a statement. “We will begin immediately the process of a national search to identify the next leader of our baseball team.”

Georgia went 29-27 this season, including an 11-19 mark in the SEC.

Stricklin completed his Georgia tenure with a record of 299-236-1 overall and 121-146-1 in the conference.

The Bulldogs earned three NCAA invitations but never advanced past the regional stage under Stricklin, including 2018 and 2019 when they were a host. They also were eliminated in the regionals last season.

Stricklin came to Georgia after a highly successful tenure at Kent State, where he won four Mid-American Conference titles and made five NCAA Tournament appearances in nine seasons — including a trip to the College World Series in 2012.

He never approached that level of success in the highly competitive SEC.