Noah Gutillo was the power surge in Gilmer High’s baseball lineup, and he will look to be more of the same at the collegiate level.
Gutillo, a 2025 honor graduate, helped the program to back-to-back trips to the state playoffs, and he is set to enroll and play baseball at Emmanuel University. He chose the Lions over Toccoa Falls College and Tennessee’s Bryan College and Sewanee College.
“Emmanuel has a good kinesiology program, and that’s what I want to major in,” Gutillo said. “My sophomore year, I tore my labrum and had to do a lot of physical therapy. I really liked the people who were there, and I liked everything about that environment.
“And with Emmanuel being in Georgia, I also get the HOPE scholarship. They showed me around campus and the baseball facility on my visit, but I didn’t get to meet any players because they were all in class. The campus is really nice.”
Gutillo noted that playing in college has been on his mind since his freshman season. He began playing the sport in the local rec league, and like most aspiring college athletes, he started to travel to play more games against better competition. He was 14 when he took the field with his first travel team, and he currently plays for Chattanooga’s Landshark Nationals.
He typically played 30 travel games each summer and fall, and most of their games were played at East Cobb Baseball.
“Travel ball has helped me a lot and gotten me a lot of exposure to colleges,” Gutillo said. “That’s how Emmanuel saw me. It’s pretty good competition that helps better you as a player. It’s good because you get to see more pitchers and get more reps.”
Gutillo played either center field or right field with Landshark, and the latter was his position at GHS. He is slated to play in the outfield for Emmanuel as well.
Gutillo was Gilmer’s best hitter the past two seasons to help the Cats earn its consecutive state tournament appearances. Gilmer snapped a seven-year playoff drought when it qualified for state in 2024. GHS entered the tournament as a No. 4 seed and played the best-of-three series at No. 1 seeded Ringgold. Gutillo came up big for the Cats in game one.
His two-run home run to left field in the top of the seventh inning moved GHS ahead 4-2, and the Cats did not relinquish the lead. The victory marked Gilmer’s first state playoff win in school history.
“It was awesome,” he said of the home run. “He gave me an outside pitch, and I took it backside.”
Gilmer posted a 16-15 record, which was the program’s first winning season since 2013. The Cats scored 193 runs with the next closest total being 155 in both 2012 and 2013.
Gutillo was rewarded with a first-team all-region selection and was Gilmer’s No. 1 offensive weapon. He led GHS in batting average (.398), on-base plus slugging percentage (1.150), RBIs (30), home runs (four) and doubles (14). His 22 stolen bases tied him for most on the team, and he ranked second with 39 hits.
Heading into the 2025 season, Gutillo was named to the Georgia Dugout Club’s preseason all-state team for Class 3A.
Gilmer went on to secure an at-large bid this past season for its first-ever consecutive trips to the state playoffs. GHS was 15-16 on the season, and Gutillo was voted to the all-region first team once again.
Gutillo finished his senior campaign with 90 at-bats and had a .367 batting average. He led the Cats in OPS (.1236) home runs (seven), doubles (10), runs batted in (29) and triples (three).
“It was great, and I really enjoyed being a leader on the field,” Gutillo said of his time at GHS. “It was fun going to state and playing in high-pressure games and winning the first-ever playoff game. You just have to relax in those situations and do what you’ve been doing all season.”
Emmanuel will experience a lot of turnover with its roster, and the Lions are bringing in a large recruiting class. Gutillo discussed his future and who helped him reach this point in his baseball maturation.
“I’m looking forward to putting in a lot of work over the offseason to try and earn a spot,” he said. “My grandpa (Thomas Spasoff) has done a lot of batting practice with me over the years and has always helped me practice. He’s the one who got me into baseball.”
Emmanuel competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s Division II as members of the Conference Carolinas.