Miller County High School baseball standout Kolby Yates is ITG Next’s April 2025 Georgia Male Athlete of the Month.
Yates has just wrapped up his senior season as a member of the Miller County Pirates baseball team. He played shortstop, catcher, and pitcher this season and throughout his career at Miller County.
Yates was nominated for the Athlete of the Month because of his outstanding season and final month of the 2025 season. Yates batted third in the Pirates’ batting order, finishing the season with a .419 batting average, .514 on-base percentage, 36 hits, 25 RBIs, and 16 walks.
Over his three-year career with the Pirates, Yates had a .375 batting average, .504 OBP, 71 hits, 55 RBIs, and 44 walks.
He was named to the All-Region team each of his three seasons playing for Miller County, and he was selected as the 2025 Region 1 Offensive Player of the Year for Class 1A-Division II.
In addition to his stellar hitting, Yates was also effective on the mound this year when called upon to pitch for Miller County. He had 42 strikeouts in 20 innings pitched with a 2.45 ERA.
Yates helped lead the Miller County baseball’s team to a second-place finish in the region this year and a 21-8 overall record. The Pirates advanced to the second round of the state playoffs, where they fell to Lake Oconee Academy.
In addition to starring for his high school team, Yates also played travel ball with Prime 9 under head coach Jason Hurst.
Although Yates’ high school baseball career has come to an end, he is far from done playing baseball. He has signed to play college baseball at Gordon State University and will be joining the Highlanders this fall, according to his father, W.C. Yates.
W.C. Yates has also worked with his son since he started playing baseball at an early age.
“Kolby started playing T-ball at 4 years old and baseball when he was 7, then moved on to travel ball when he was 9,” W.C. Yates said. “Kolby and I have worked on his craft from a very young age, and I have tried to teach him that being consistent was more important than being perfect.”
Kolby Yates said that he was honored to have been chosen as ITG Next’s Athlete of the Month for April.
“It (being selected) shows the support I have at home and in the community for me to have won by receiving the most votes,” he said.
He attributed his achievements to being pushed to succeed by his parents and his sister, Ryleigh Yates, who plays softball and will also be playing at the collegiate level after signing with the University of Montevallo.
Congratulations to Miller County baseball player Kolby Yates, ITG Next’s April 2025 Georgia Male Athlete of the Month.
