Red Terrors Could Break Centuries-Old Mark
Glynn Academy head baseball coach John Welborn is hoping this is the year the Red Terrors finally topple a record that has literally stood the test of time at the country’s fifth oldest high school.
With the 2023 Glynn Academy team nearing the final two weeks of the regular season, Welborn’s team has a pretty good shot at breaking the school’s record for most wins in a season, which stands at 24. The Red Terrors are at 17 wins with 10 games remaining at the time of this writing, and Welborn thinks this year’s team has a chance to break what has to be one of the oldest records in high school baseball anywhere.
“We are on track to set a record for most wins in a season for a school that is 234 years old,” Welborn says. “Now that’s a chance to cement your legacy.”
I’d say so, coach.
It’s not as if Glynn Academy hasn’t come close, because they have. In fact, last year’s team tied the record for most wins. The 2022 Red Terrors finished 24-10, advancing to the second round of the state baseball playoffs in Welborn’s first season as head coach.
The 2017 and 2018 Glynn Academy baseball teams also reached the 24-win mark, but they were eliminated in the early rounds of the state playoffs each season. In Welborn’s last season as an assistant under former Glynn Academy head coach Trent Mongero, the Red Terrors won 21 games and made it to the Elite 8.
Welborn thinks it was then, in Mongero’s final season before the longtime coach retired, that the culture began to change.
“Coach Mongero laid a solid foundation, and now we’re trying to build upon that, and take this team to new heights,” Welborn says.
When he assumed the head role at the start of last season, Welborn asked the players to trust in his process, and the success would follow, even if that included some tough love.
“We let the players know that they needed to be prepared to play hard, and that was non-negotiable,” he says. “Either you will go all out – in practice and in the game – or you aren’t going to play for me.”
But he also wanted the players to not only trust his process, but to trust themselves.
“I understand the game of baseball is hard, so I don’t want our guys to play with hesitation,” Welborn says. “I want them to go out there with the freedom to play hard, and play fast, and if they make a mistake, so be it. I want them to go out there and crash and burn.”
The Red Terrors are a member of Region 2-6A, along with Evans, Brunswick, Grovetown, Lakeside, Effingham, and South Effingham. While trying to eclipse the record for most wins, Welborn and his Red Terrors also are trying to capture another milestone that has been fleeting: a region championship.
Glynn Academy has just two region baseball titles in the past 25 seasons. The last one was in 2017, and before that was 1997.
How about a state championship?
1973. 50 years ago.
This 2023 team has a lot of talent, says Welborn as he breaks down why this team may give Red Terror fans the best chance at their best season in history.
“As far as our pitching, we don’t have a lot of power arms, but what we do have is guys that want the ball and will challenge hitters to swing the bat,” Welborn says. “We play great defense, and our hitters are going to put the ball in play. That’s how we win baseball games.”
The Red Terrors are led by Hank Noonan, who Welborn calls “one of the best players in the state. He leads us in homeruns, bats around .500, and can play anywhere we need him.”
Freshman Wessley Roberson is Glynn Academy’s leadoff hitter and centerfielder.
“He gets on base 50 percent of the time, and knows the strike zone better than most players, Welborn says. “He is very baseball-savvy.”
Welborn says junior rightfielder Greyson Gegg already has several offers to play college baseball.
The Red Terrors infield consists of third baseman Trent Tankersly, second baseman Brandon Kasper, first baseman Ryan Schueneman and shortstop Gus Gandy. The latter two also take the mound as two of the team’s top pitchers.
“Both of those guys want the ball,” Welborn says. “They like the challenge.”
Hugh Edgy is the team’s catcher, and he likely was going to be the team’s top pitcher before arm issues changed that plan.
“Hugh is also a big hitter who can knock the ball out of the park,” Welborn says.
Pitcher Luke Barch is the guy who wants the ball when the game is on the line, while lefty Carson Ritola is a pitcher who Welborn says is drawing comparisons to the most famous Red Terror baseball player to ever play at Glynn Academy.
“People are comparing him to Adam Wainwright,” says Welborn. “He can run it up in the mid-80s, and he is a big guy. He has the most upside of anyone.”
Other contributors Welborn pointed out are junior Eli Newbern and centerfielder Tyler Devlin, who has been injured all season but is expected to rejoin the Red Terrors any day for the stretch run. Devlin also plays quarterback for Rocky Hidalgo’s Red Terror football program.
“Devlin is a two-time All-State selection who will give us a major pop when he returns,” says Welborn.
Be sure to catch our video of a recent Red Terrors game against Savannah Country Day, brought to you by Farah and Farah Personal Injury Attorneys.
