Georgia baseball made its biggest transfer portal splash this cycle with the commitment of Indiana first baseman Jacob Hanley on Monday. He’s the eighth player to transfer to the Bulldogs this offseason.
Hanley announced Tuesday that he was entering the portal and, upon doing so, quickly became one of the highest-remaining prospects searching for a new team.
Six days later, the No. 2 player available according to 64 Analytics made his decision to join the Bulldogs as they seek to rebuild a team that reached the College World Series this season.
The 2024 Ohio High School Baseball Coaches Association/Max Preps Ohio State Player of the Year started all 56 games his freshman year at first base for the Hoosiers, hitting .333 with 14 home runs and 52 RBIs. He earned Big 10 Freshman of the Year and National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association/Perfect Game first-team Freshman All-American honors.
This season, Hanley started all 54 games for the Hoosiers, becoming the first Indiana player since 2005 to start every game in consecutive seasons. At the plate, Hanley slashed .338/.448/.605 with 71 hits (including 22 multihit games), 14 home runs and 48 RBIs. In conference play, Hanley had a team-best .359 batting average.
At first base, Hanley made just three errors in nearly 400 chances and posted a .992 fielding percentage. Hanley was a second-team All-Big Ten selection.
The addition of Hanley makes him a likely plug-and-play option at first base for UGA next season, given that starter Brennan Hudson is a senior and is likely on to pro ball. Similar to Hudson, the 6-foot-6, 241-pounder is a power-hitting left-handed batter who projects to play well at hitter-friendly Foley Field.
Georgia led the nation in home runs for the third year in a row with 179.
“We just teach our guys, we want you to try to hit the ball hard and elevate the baseball. You look at our ground ball rates and those kind of things, that’s just the way we teach the game,” UGA coach Wes Johnson said June 11. “It doesn’t mean it’s right, wrong or indifferent. It’s just what we do.”
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