‘Draft is the most unpredictable thing in sports’

ATHENS — Scott Stricklin wasn’t fired last week. That’s not something that will send someone into dancing a jig, but Georgia’s fourth-year baseball coach was genuinely feeling good about things when interviewed after a long day of player meetings.

Stricklin is 104-119-1 overall and 43-75-1 in the SEC in four seasons as the Bulldogs’ skipper.

With six freshmen among the regular starters, Georgia won each of the last three SEC series it played, including three-game sets against league leaders Mississippi State and Kentucky. Q: Is it true that you have dismissed pitching coach Fred Corral?

A: Coach Corrall will not be returning next year. I appreciate what he’s done for the last four years, but we just made the decision that we need to move in another direction. Q: Will there be any other staff changes?

A: No, that’s the only changes. The volunteer coach position is always in flux, but that’s it. Q: Why is it you believe you will still be able to execute a turnaround?

A: The thing about our team this year was how young and how talented we were. Next year we’re going to be young, talented and experienced. We’re still going to be relatively young, but six freshmen had 100-plus at-bats. That experience level is going to be unbelievable for these guys moving forward. Q: What kind of effect do you think the major league baseball draft will have on your roster?

A: You don’t know. We’ve certainly got some juniors that have a chance to go in the draft . ... The draft is the most unpredictable thing in sports. Q: Will you try to persuade juniors to stay?

A: All those guys love Georgia. They all love the direction this program is going. But they all want to play pro ball, too. So we’ll just have to wait to see what happens June 12-14 with the draft.

UGA baseball coach Scott Stricklin