Tift County High School Pitcher John Davis Named ITG Next Georgia Male Athlete of the Month for May 2024
Congratulations to Tift County High School baseball player John Davis, the May 2024 ITG Next Georgia Male Athlete of the Month, presented by Georgia Farm Bureau Insurance.
Davis, a junior, is a left-handed pitcher and outfielder for the Tift County Blue Devils, as well as a member of the Aces National travel team, and will be continuing his stellar baseball career at Georgia Southern University.
In addition to his prowess as a southpaw on the mound, Davis is a tough out at the plate as a left-handed batter.
He is considered a five-tool player with the ability to hit for power and average, has great foot speed on the bases and in the outfield, and has a great outfield arm in addition to his strong arm pitching.
Tift County head baseball coach Greg Williams said that he had heard about Davis prior to taking the job at Tift County in 2021.
“John was a freshman the year I got the job, which was the 2021-2022 season, and I remember hearing a lot of great things about him before I got here,” Williams said. “So coming in here to Tift, I was excited to see him play. Obviously, I was not disappointed.”
Davis definitely made a strong first impression on not just his coach, but on opposing coaches in the region. He was voted Freshman of the Year for Region 1-7A and First Team All-Region as a pitcher and outfielder.
As good as that first year was, Williams said the best was yet to come from the talented Davis.
“His sophomore year was as outstanding as I have ever seen in my 23-year coaching career,” Williams said. “At the conclusion of his sophomore season, Davis was named Region 1-6A Player of the Year, as well as repeating as All-Region pitcher and outfielder.”
This past season, Williams said everyone knew about Davis and his abilities, and teams started to adjust the way they pitched him at the plate. Although his batting average dropped a little, Davis just kept making teams pay with his outstanding pitching.
“John was being attacked at the plate differently,” Williams said. “Opposing pitchers started throwing much more offspeed pitches, especially on fastball counts.”
Davis was named the Region 1-6A Player of the Year for the second year in a row and was again a First Team All-Region pitcher and OF.
Davis finished with a 5-0 win-loss record on the mound and with a 0.23 ERA against region opponents.
Williams said Davis is as good off the field as he is between the lines.
“John is a great teammate and a leader in the clubhouse,” Williams said. “He is a positive influence to the younger players in our program. He sets a great example of how they are supposed to practice. One of the coolest things to see is how the little kids really look up to him. If I didn’t know any better, I would have thought John was already a big leaguer by the way the kids in our rec program wait on him to sign autographs after the game on rec night.”
