2025 Georgia Preview: Houston County Bears

The 2025 high school baseball season is quickly approaching and as usual, excitement abounds throughout the state. Players and coaches have been working in preparation for the upcoming season and, as is the case each year, there are some very talented players and teams across Georgia.

Teams across the state have goals and aspirations to finish their seasons in the GHSA or GIAA state playoffs, but there is plenty of work to be done before that becomes reality. We hope to familiarize our readers with many of the teams across the state as we preview individual teams across Georgia. We will take you right up to first pitch this season with these team previews and by continuing our scheduled podcasts and releasing our preseason top-10 rankings in each GHSA classification and Power 25.

Please keep checking back throughout the season as we will be your one-stop shop for everything related to high school baseball across the state.

Each week we will be releasing our Players of the Week, updating the top-10 ranks in each GHSA classification, as well updating our Power 25 overall rankings. One thing, especially, you don’t want to miss are our scheduled podcasts with guests from across the state, as well as the recaps and previews of the big games we’re covering.

*Please note the information has been gathered from head coaches across the state, based on their replies to the questionnaire we distributed over this offseason.

High School: Houston County Bears
Head Coach: Matt Hopkins
Classification: GHSA Class 5A
Region: 2-5A
2024 Record (Finish): 29-9, Final Four
No. of Returning Positional Starters: 6
Team Strengths: The core of this team has a lot of experience. Besides the talent, this group has worked as hard as any of our teams in recent memory. Strong leadership and commitment

TOP RETURNING PLAYERS 

TOP UNDERCLASSMEN

TEAM OUTLOOK

Matt Hopkins and the Bears have been a staple in the state of Georgia for a while now, and 2025 is going to be no different. The feel of this team is a bit different. They do not have the high profile names like Drew Burress and Andrew Dunford, but they have some of the more complete ball players in the state. Coach Hopkins is excited about the work ethic of this time because at times throughout the season a coach can’t always rely on talent. Guys like Vick Gann and Ethan Buffone have been 2 of the more steady performers in the entire state over the last few years. Gann, a Georgia Gwinnett commit, is a 6.5 runner and left handed bat that has some of the best bat to ball skills in the state. Buffone, a Mercer commit, is one of the most polished short stops in the state and has come into some power over the last year and could have a breakout year at the plate from a slugging perspective. Senior Kendall Jackson will round out the senior core in the line up as one of the toughest outs in the state and 6.5 speed that will wreak havoc on the bases. Staying on the topic of the outfield, Coach Hopkins could have the fastest outfield in the state. All 3 are 6.5 runners, so pitching to contact is going to play in the Bears favor in 2025. Junior Noah Odom will be that 3rd outfielder, and he just had a really strong showing at Preseason All-State, showing off some serious off season gains. On the mound the Bears will be led by South Florida commit, Will Allen. He had a breakout summer a year or so back and will look to bounce back after missing some time last season due to injury. Rounded out the rotation on the mound will be Tucker Hale and Max Willhide. These 2 have put him some serious work the last year or so and it has really paid off. They are going to be consistent time in and time out, which will allow the Bears line up to do its thing. To pair with this strong upperclass core, the Bears have one of the top sophomores in the state in Isaiah Galason. He will stick over at 2B for one more season and then transfer over to SS. He also has a shot to be the closer on the mound with an electric upper 80’s fastball. The final piece to the Bears puzzle in 2025 is going to be right handed pitcher, Tyson Ganas. Ganas is coming back from TJ a year ago and is the type of pitcher that could give a 7 inning start, a couple innings out of the pen or even save a starter that gets into trouble early. He is a mid to upper 80’s strike thrower that forces contact. 2025 is going to come down to region standings for playoff seeding. The Bears stack up in a strong region, but will be ready to compete no matter who they face.

Find more information on the 2025 Houston County program below:

+ Follow them on X: @hocobaseball
+ Visit the Prep Baseball Georgia, 2025 HS Team Previews

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