The Georgia State Panthers’ baseball team is having one of its best seasons since joining the Sun Belt back in 2014.
Since being introduced as the Panthers’ head coach back in 2019, Brad Stromdahl has the Panthers sitting third in the Sun Belt Conference, which has been as competitive as ever, with eight teams having an above .500 record.
However, this season the Panthers would not be where it’s at if it wasn’t for outfielder Max Ryerson and infielder Griffin Cheney.
Cheney and Ryerson are not just two of the best players in the Sunbelt but also have two of the best players in all of Division I baseball.
Currently, Cheney is leading the Sun Belt in batting average with a monstrous .384, which puts him top 60 in all of division one baseball, and Ryerson is not far behind as he is batting an impressive .347.
In the slug category, both have percentages of over .700, which puts them top 50 in the country.
Outside of being some of the best pure hitters in the country, the two are also some of the best home run hitters in the country, with both being in the top 30 for homers.
They are both on pace to break the Georgia State single-season home run record.
The record currently stands at 18, with the record set by Nic Wilson in 2015.
Ryerson leads the way in home runs with 13 and has hit two or more in four games this season.
Cheney is not that far behind as he has hit 12 homers, this season with three coming against Clemson back in March.
Since arriving at Georgia State in 2018, Cheney has seen the baseball program’s ups and downs and now is part of a Panthers team that has flourished all year.
After starting his collegiate career at Charleston Southern, Ryerson has found a home in Atlanta and has made a definitive impact on the Georgia State baseball program.
Outside of Ryerson and Cheney, the team has been menacing in the Sunbelt.
Cameron Jones is tied for second on the team in hits with 43, and pitcher Chad Treadway has a 4-0 record while allowing only 15 hits with 26 strikeouts.
The team has been struggling as of late.
After winning eight in a row, the team has since lost three straight in a series against in-state rival and 25th ranked Georgia Southern Eagles.
In the next two weeks, the Panthers have an opportunity to change their misfortunes as they play Kennesaw State, Louisiana, Georgia and Troy.
Right now, the Panthers are 23-13 and have been playing some of the best baseball Panthers fans have seen since the 2015 season when the team went 30-27.
This season can be the beginning of something special for the Georgia State baseball program as it has an opportunity to lay the foundation of Panther baseball for years to come.
The team hasn’t won the regular-season conference championship since 1998 and hasn’t won the conference championship since 2009 when the team made its only NCAA tournament appearance in the school’s history.
In three years, coach Stromdahl has made this program a well-oiled machine.
