Alcovy’s baseball program entered a new chapter this offseason with the hire of first-year head coach Brandon Thomas.
Thomas was named as the Tigers’ new skipper over the offseason following the departure of former head coach Kareem Hayes, who led Alcovy to the playoffs in both of his two seasons as head coach.
The first-year coach is no stranger to the area.
Thomas played at Heritage High School before going on to play two seasons of junior college ball at Georgia Perimeter College.
– photo by Contributed Photo
After that, Thomas began to run his own private baseball workouts, where he helped train young up-and-coming players in the area.
“I have been doing private lessons in this area for the past eight to 2 years, so I have my own private gym where I do strength and conditioning, working baseball-specific things,” Thomas said. “I just watched all of the programs in the area — Alcovy, Newton, Eastside, Heritage, Salem [and] Rockdale. When I saw the job come open, I reached out to Dr. Williams and it just went from there.”
As someone who is from the area and has been involved with baseball for most of his life, the chance to have his own team near a place he grew up was an exciting one for Thomas.
“It is cool to be able to come back to this area,” Thomas said. “I have always kept in contact with a lot of the players in this area through my private business and just watching the teams. It is cool to get a spot, get a gig and try to build my own program.”
Although this is his first head coach position, knowledge and understanding of the game is not a problem for Thomas.
“I know how to develop and build baseball players,” Thomas said.
Thomas noted that some of the players he had the chance to train have gone on to play at the University of Georgia, Lipscomb University, Presbyterian College as well as a pair of players that went on to be selected in the MLB Draft.
Since the hire occurred early into the offseason, Thomas has had the chance to run and organize workouts and practices with his team dating back to September and October.
As for the team itself, Thomas knows he has his work cut out for him in year one.
Taking on a team that suffered its fair share of losses through seniors and transfers, it is no surprise to Thomas that his team will be young.
“Just up front, we have been decimated by transfers,” Thomas said. “Last year I think there were six or seven seniors that were 2024 grads. Last year they had eight or nine juniors and out of those juniors I am down to two [that are now] seniors. So it is just a lot of numbers to replace as far as just replacing those bodies and baseball experience. This will be a pretty young team that will have to learn and grow on the fly.”
Seeing development from each player and focusing on one moment at a time are just two of the goals for the Tigers in 2025, according to Thomas.
“I want them to fight hard [and] play hard,” Thomas said. “Focus on their individual development. No matter what the scoreboard says, what inning it is or what pitch it is — just teach them. Every pitch is a battle in itself. Be focused and locked in on every battle that comes.”