Georgia's Condon homers in first at-bat as No. 1 Draft prospect
Allison Mast
@allisonmast13There¡¯s been a lot of buzz surrounding the University of Georgia¡¯s Charlie Condon this week as the redshirt sophomore found himself atop MLB Pipeline's new 2024 Draft Prospects list. For some, that could bring added pressure, but for Condon, it was more of the same. In his first at-bat as the newly anointed top Draft prospect, Condon hit a home run a projected 445 feet against the nation's top-ranked Texas A&M Aggies.
It was yet another milestone for the former walk-on, who is rewriting the Georgia history books. Although it's just his second season of action, he has already launched himself into sole possession of the No. 2 spot in career home runs for the Bulldogs with 52 -- just one home run behind Gordon Beckham, who is the most recent Georgia position player taken in the first round; Beckham went eighth overall to the White Sox in 2008, a spot in the Draft Condon will almost assuredly clear.
Condon has some more work to do to catch 2023 D1 home run champ and fellow top Draft prospect Jac Caglianone, who went deep 33 times in a sophomore season for the ages for Florida. But the two-way Gators sensation hit that mark in 71 games; the Bulldogs will take the field 12 more times in the regular season (plus SEC Tournament and potential NCAA regionals action), and if Condon continues his torrid pace of .66 home runs per game, he¡¯ll surpass Caglianone's mark.
Beyond that, Condon would have the highest home run rate since 1987 when Augusta University¡¯s Keith Hammond hit 26 in 35 games for a rate of 0.74 per contest.
Although home runs are his calling card, Condon is also leading D1 in batting average (.472). His on-base percentage of .577 is good for third in the country behind teammate Corey Collins and No. 2 Draft prospect Travis Bazzana of Oregon State.
With almost two seasons of sustained success as part of his track record, Condon could very well become the next SEC star to go first overall.