A new No. 1 Jaden Woods seizes top spot in Georgia’s rotation

Owen Warden

At the top of the fifth inning, Jaden Woods returned to the mound once again. Coming off a disastrous opening day, Georgia’s new No. 1 had already broken his career high in strikeouts.

And yet, the junior left-hander carried himself as he always had; calm, collected and focused on the task at hand.

Woods struck out the final two batters he faced, stretching his total to 11. Despite the accomplishment, Woods remained humble.

“It means a lot,” Woods said after defeating Princeton in his second appearance of the season. “But, we have a long way to go in the season so I kind of really thought about it as just the beginning.”

And just the beginning it was, as exactly three weeks later, he did it again. He allowed a few runs against South Carolina and Georgia ultimately lost, but still, another excellent pitching performance and exactly what Georgia needed.

“I thought Jaden was outstanding and deserved to win,” head coach Scott Stricklin said. “He was right there… He was on line for the win, and just, unfortunately, we didn’t get it done together.”

Woods had to step up for a Bulldogs team that has lost eight pitchers since 2020. Four left after Wood’s sophomore season in 2022, including last year’s ace, Jonathan Cannon.

Despite the task as the new leader in the bullpen, Woods has only been playing baseball for a short time. Originally falling in love with lacrosse in Alpharetta, Georgia there were no teams to play on after he moved back to Warner Robins, Georgia.

As a lefty, he was finally convinced to play baseball in 8th grade. Woods was originally a righty until a burn as a ninemonth-old forced him to switch dominant hands. Woods utilized this coincidence to full effect and dove right into baseball getting better and more confident each year.

“Jaden is just a natural competitor,” Shonto Woods, Jaden Woods’ mom said. “He’s a busy person. He doesn’t like to sit. I could never imagine him having a job sitting at a desk ever. He’s just a busy competitive spirit in anything and he excels at almost anything he does athletically.”

In preparation for the role, Woods spent his summer working with Team USA, making him the ninth Bulldog to do so. The value of getting to work with such talent was not lost on Woods.

“It was definitely life-changing,” Woods said. “I mean, just being around just some of the best guys in the nation… Just being able to be with them, see how they move, you know? And I guess, feeling like I belong there.”

When the team reconvened in the fall, it was clear to his coaches and teammates Woods had taken a step up.

“Jaden is absolutely electric,” redshirt freshman Charlie

Condon said before the season. “I mean his stuff, it’s unlike anything I’ve really seen. The life of his fastball and the breaking pitch he’s developed. He’s gonna be an absolute weapon this year.”

That celebratory energy is instead fed to supporting his teammates. There is no better example of this than his relationship with fellow starter Liam Sullivan. Sullivan, in the game after Woods set his career high, also had an 11-strikeout, bounce-back performance and a no-hitter through seven innings.

“It just made me want to have a better day,” Sullivan said regarding watching Woods’ performance in the game the day prior. “I actually told Jaden before the game … ‘I’m gonna go five innings with 12 strikeouts today,’ I was just kind of messing with him.”

Woods’ calm demeanor is a staple of his game, something that his mom said has been a constant since he was a baby. “He doesn’t believe in celebrating,” Shonto Woods said. “He’s never. There’s one clip and talking about it always brings tears to my eyes. Because he’s so excited. One time, and I love it. It touches my heart because that’s not my child every day. So it’s good. It’s not sad. It’s good.”

Brothers on the back nine Maxwell and David Ford’s sibling connection

Cooper Burke

Brothers Maxwell and David Ford are rising up the ranks of collegiate golf, one putt at a time, despite the fact that they attend schools over 300 miles apart. They are twothirds of a set of triplets — their sister, Abigail, is a sophomore at the University of Georgia — a competitive connection that fueled them in their youth and still propels them today.

“It’s a huge reason I am successful,” David Ford said. “I grew up being compared [to him], competed all the time, and developed a competitive side, he was better than me for the longest time. I hated losing to him, and I still do.”

Maxwell and David Ford play for the University of Georgia and University of North Carolina golf teams, respectively. The Ford brothers have taken their upbringing and parlayed it into successful freshman campaigns at their schools. David Ford won the Jones Cup with a long final-round birdie putt, ushering in the new year with a “great feeling.”

This helped him grab the reins of a Chapel Hill golf team in need of respect from their peers. Often having solid teams with players like Davis Love III, yet struggling to establish itself as a contender in the NCAA golf landscape. With Ford at the helm, the Tar Heels finished last season ranked fifth in the NCAA.

For Maxwell Ford, this meant anchoring a pivotal role on the University of Georgia golf team. As a sophomore, Ford filled the shoes of Davis Thompson and followed the likes of Kevin Kisner, Bubba Watson, Hudson Swafford and others. A year of experience playing in the NCAA golf championships at Grayhawk in Scottsdale, Arizona is only going to help Maxwell and the Bulldogs.

“This is the third year that it’s been there,” Maxwell Ford said. “So I played it last year. And then we’ll go out there in a month just to practice out there and play some practice rounds. It’s a beast — hopefully we can all play really well out there.”

The brothers from Peachtree Corners, Georgia, grew up playing against each other. Being close in age and constantly competing against one another can place a strain on any relationship, but the brothers are closer now that there’s a physical dis - tance between them.

“We were not super close because we were compared so much throughout our lives,” David Ford said. “We would just go to the course for four hours, then go to our rooms and just kind of be alone. Having him my whole life to compete against, I don’t know that much of a difference against other people.”

Maxwell Ford shares a similar sentiment.

“I mean, once we’re at the tournament, it’s kind of more like, he’s just another guy in the field,” Maxwell Ford said. “I’ll probably look and see what he’s doing or something like that. But once we’re there, it’s kind of just like, play and see what happens, and it doesn’t really make me any more nervous or anything like that.”

The two said they were much closer now that they do not see each other as much. They like to rely on each other as friends now that they are not playing as often, but that doesn’t mean they take it easy on each other out on the course.

“Sully and I, we talk a lot of ‘stuff’ to each other,” Woods said. “Just the competitiveness, I feel like it makes us better as a group.”

Amidst a rough season for the Bulldogs, Woods is still showing out as he prepares for the MLB draft in July.

“Very proud of him,” Shonto Woods said. “...It’s just such a sweet, interesting moment to be able to sit on the front row. I wouldn’t change a single part.”

“He beat me twice, and I beat him once,” Maxwell Ford said. “He’s had a lot of success. So it’s not necessarily more about him beating me. But it’s good that he’s had a lot of success. And it’s fun to watch him. I’m happy for him.”

David Ford said that the separation for the two has given him a new appreciation for his brother, away from the competitive landscape of the golf course. Maxwell Ford feels that the competition between him and his brother has pushed him to be a better golfer and be more introspective about his game.

“I’ve been in that competitive mindset all my life,” Maxwell Ford said.

This “competitive mindset” seems to have helped Maxwell Ford, as he has recorded several strong rounds, including a 1-under 215 showing at the Southern Collegiate in Las Vegas, a round that helped him usher in a strong start to the spring season after an “okay” fall campaign.

However, the sophomore has realized that continued growth in the game of golf is a special thing, especially when you have the spotlight pointed at you.

“I think anytime you’re on TV is really cool,” Maxwell Ford said. “I like to have the cameras around, I think ‘I need to keep doing what I’m doing.’”

Maxwell Ford certainly hasn’t shied away from the spotlight and neither has David Ford. Both of them have their eyes set on something bigger.

“The only goal I have is winning a national championship,” David Ford said.

David Ford’s dreams aren’t out of reach. The North Carolina team entered the month of April ranked second in the NCAA, according to Golfweek. Georgia, ranked No. 24, will also likely factor into the men’s golf NCAA championships from May 26 through the 31st, so the brothers might get to tee off against each other once again.