The Gilmer Bobcats have history on their minds.
GHS enters the 2026 baseball season with consecutive trips to the state playoffs, and they are looking to make it three in a row. Head coach Jeff Thurman is ready for the Cats to expand their playoff aspirations with a roster that graduated some experienced players who made an impact at the plate and in the field.
“I don’t know that Gilmer baseball had ever gone two years in a row in the kind of the modern-day GHSA playoff system (of the top four teams from region qualifying for state),” said Thurman. “So we kind of made history doing that last year, and we have talked to the guys about making that a three-peat and how special that would be.
“And then, also, a goal of ours is not just getting there, but we want to get out of round one. Two years ago, we felt like we did a really good job in round one, but last year we felt like we underachieved in round one with what we were capable of doing. So not only do we want to get back, we want to have a good showing in round one this year.”
Official practices got underway Jan. 20 and there are 26 players in the program. They graduated all-region players Hayden Berry at catcher, shortstop Eli Cooper, pitcher C.J. Hatchett and right fielder Noah Gutillo. All four were instrumental parts of the Cats’ success the past two seasons.
“We do have some shoes to fill at different positions. They were good players that we had to replace and not to mention some pitching that graduated and moved on,” Thurman said. “That’s always to be expected and that’s kind of what we hope that every year we have enough seniors that graduate, but we just bring in the next group. I feel like we’ve kind of done that for this year.
“We are maybe a little less experienced at a few positions compared to what we’ve been in the last couple of years, but we feel like we do have some guys that are ready to step up and take on those positions and those roles. We’re looking forward to seeing what they’re going to be able to do.”
Gilmer returns five players who were recognized at the conclusion of last season. Junior outfielder Peyton Chancey was a first-team all-region selection and will serve as the designated hitter as he recovers from a previous injury.
He had a team-best .368 batting average. His OPS stood at .960, and he recorded 24 RBIs, 10 stolen bases, six doubles and a home run.
Second-team performer Mel Mosley is back for his senior season at second base. He scored 20 runs, stole 11 bases and knocked in nine runs. He also hit three doubles, a home run and had a .253 batting average.
Receiving an honorable mention was the senior trio of third baseman Blake Grizzle and pitchers Cooper Cochran and Landen McClure.
Grizzle scored 20 runs, drove in 14 and stole 10 bases. He was hit by 13 pitches to lead the team and added three doubles, a home run and a .250 average.
Cochran posted a 4-1 record with a 3.53 ERA. He struck out 24 and walked 15 over 33 2/3 innings. McClure tossed 41 1/3 innings, struck out 32 and walked 26. He was 4-3 on the season with a 4.06 ERA.
Cochran will play first when not pitching, and juniors Jase McCollum and Slade Holt will also play first and pitch. Junior Jayden Grizzle and sophomores Peyton Ocobock and Brandon Harrell will also take the mound.
McClure will be the starting shortstop while not pitching. He will be backed up by Harrell and Ocobock. Junior Zander Shute will suit up behind the plate.
Senior Rob Mosley will start in left, and sophomore Ryan Rellinger will fill in for Chancey in center until he starts playing defensively. Both Jayden Grizzle and Ocobock will be in the mix in right field.
“Their attitude at practice and coming in ready to put forth their best effort,” was Thurman’s response when asked what he likes about the team as a whole.
“It hasn’t been hard to motivate these guys. They come in ready to play each and every day and have gotten better every single day. From the winter conditioning all the way up to this point, we had great participation in our winter conditioning, and that just transitioned into the regular season.”
Hits and runs have been tough to come by in Gilmer’s three games, which include a 2-0 win and losses of 10-6 and 1-0.
“I’m hoping that the bats start heating up sooner than later,” Thurman said.
“We’ve had some pretty good approaches at the plate, but we’ve had a lot of swings and misses. They’re not bad swings. We’re not swinging at a ton of bad pitches, and we’re not looking like we’re overmatched, but our productivity at the plate is a little down right now. This time of the year, the bats tend to do that, but I do want to see us put the ball in play a little bit more than what we have been so far, and that’s going to come.”
A recap of Gilmer’s Monday evening game versus Pickens will appear in next week’s Times-Courier. GHS hosted Lumpkin County at press deadline and welcomes Union County to town Thursday for a 6:30 p.m. game.