Wilcox County High School baseball player Johnny Nutt is ITG Next’s May 2025 Georgia Male Athlete of the Month.
Nutt has just graduated from Wilcox County, but his baseball career is far from over. He is now set to attend Georgia Southwestern State College, where he will become a part of the Hurricanes’ pitching staff.
Nutt leaves behind quite a trail of success during his high school career with the Wilcox County baseball program.
As a senior, Nutt helped lead his team to a 27-10 overall record in 2025, including an undefeated finish in region play, where the Patriots went 12-0 in Region 4 in Class 1A-Division II.
Nutt was a major factor in Wilcox County’s run through the state playoffs and into the best-of-three, state championship series against the Lanier County Bulldogs. Although the Patriots lost Game 2 and Game 3 to the eventual state champion Bulldogs, Nutt certainly did his part in the series. He pitched in Game 1, leading Wilcox County to a victory while giving up just one earned run and striking out 13 Lanier County batters.
Nutt finished his senior season with a 10-1 record with two saves. He only gave up three earned runs the entire season and had 162 strikeouts for the year. That gave him an ERA of .297 and restricted his opponents to a batting average of just .106.
Nutt recently pitched in the Georgia Dugout Club’s 2025 Senior All-State Games at Mercer University, which featured the top high school baseball players from across the state. He pitched two innings, walked two batters, struck out two hitters, and allowed zero runs.
“Johnny has definitely impacted so many lives through baseball, and he certainly impacted the Wilcox County baseball program greatly,” said Stephen McDuffie, Wilcox County head baseball coach. “He has been a huge part of our five region titles in a row, a 66-0 region record over that time, a Sweet 16 appearance, two Elite Eight appearances, and a state runner-up finish this year.”
Over his career at Wilcox County, Nutt posted a .072 ERA with 491 strikeouts, which is second in the state in total strikeouts, according to McDuffie. Nutt finished his career with a 32-4 overall record with three saves.
McDuffie said he’s been following the homegrown Nutt from his early days of just starting to play baseball.
“Johnny grew up here playing baseball at the age of 7 years old, and it was obvious that he had a God-given ability and a great passion for the game of baseball,” McDuffie said. “He possessed all of the intangibles of the game, from the gamesmanship, the sportsmanship, the strategy, and, most of all, the relationships. He has developed relationships across the state. Johnny plays with a total commitment, not to himself, but to the game and his teammates.”
McDuffie summed up how he feels about seeing his star pitcher leaving the program: “To graduate a player like this is tough, but to lose a person like Johnny will be even harder.”
Congratulations to Wilcox County pitcher Johnny Nutt, ITG Next’s May 2025 Georgia Male Athlete of the Month.
