Georgia baseball has landed Nolan Stevens, the Oklahoma outfielder and left-handed pitcher who helped send the Bulldogs home from the College World Series (CWS) last month. Stevens is transferring to Athens for his final season of eligibility.
He joins a Georgia transfer class that has already grown past 15 players and that analysts already rank first in the country. He also arrives with a batting line that never matched the one he posted before he ever put on Oklahoma crimson.
Georgia Turns to the Team That Beat It
Stevens is a 6-foot-2, 216-pound left-handed hitter who spent this season as part of Oklahoma’s improbable run to a national title. The Sooners beat Georgia twice in the College World Series bracket before topping North Carolina for a third national title, first since 1994. Oklahoma’s coach, Skip Johnson, has no relation to Georgia’s own Wes Johnson, despite the shared last name.
That result ended Georgia’s first trip to Omaha since 2008, a season that also included Southeastern Conference (SEC) regular-season and tournament titles for the Bulldogs. Now a piece of the team that stopped that run is heading to Athens instead.
Stevens made 25 starts across 31 games for Oklahoma this year, mostly in right field and at designated hitter. He hit .230 with five home runs, 11 RBIs and three stolen bases in three attempts. His only trip to the mound came in one relief outing against Arkansas on May 9, a sign his bat and glove will matter far more than his arm going forward. The move was confirmed on social media by Olivia Sayer, a Georgia baseball reporter for 247Sports’ Dawgs247, who flagged the commitment as it broke.
A Reload Forced by the Draft, Ranked No. 1 in the Country
Georgia’s roster took a hit in the 2026 Major League Baseball (MLB) draft, a class UGA Wire described as record-breaking for the program. The Bulldogs lost several core contributors, including Daniel Jackson, Tre Phelps, Kolby Branch and Joey Volchko, to professional organizations.
Coach Wes Johnson responded by rebuilding almost entirely through the transfer portal. The incoming class now runs past 15 names, including:
- Mikey Bell – infielder, Gonzaga, a two-time West Coast Conference Player of the Year
- Casey McCoy – infielder, Louisiana Tech
- Matthew Cuccias – pitcher, Wichita State
- Luke Howe – pitcher, Long Beach State, the Big West’s Freshman Pitcher of the Year
- Graham Mastros – infielder, Illinois State
- Zane Coppersmith – pitcher, Stetson
- Nolan Stevens – outfielder and left-handed pitcher, Oklahoma
- Cooper Walls – pitcher, Florida
- Cristofer Cespedes – pitcher, Maryland
- Mathew Farner – infielder, North Florida, a .286 hitter with 12 home runs in 2026
- Riley Goodman – pitcher, South Carolina
- Edwin Alicea – pitcher, USF
- Jason Flores – pitcher, Texas
Yahoo Sports counted 12 transfers in and seven players out through June 30, before Stevens’ commitment pushed the incoming total past 15. The portal window opened June 1 and closed June 30, though players who entered before the deadline could keep announcing commitments afterward, which is how Georgia’s class kept growing.
The Rest of the SEC Is Racing to Reload
64Analytics, a transfer portal analytics service, ranked Georgia’s incoming class first nationally.
| Rank | Program |
|---|---|
| 1 | Georgia |
| 2 | Arkansas |
| 3 | Tennessee |
| 4 | South Carolina |
| 5 | Mississippi State |
Arkansas jumped to second by landing a commitment from the No. 2 overall player in the portal, part of four pledges the Razorbacks landed in a single day. Every program in that top five plays in the SEC, underscoring how much of the sport’s roster churn now runs through one conference.
Coach Wes Johnson described the monthlong chase in blunt terms.
We’ll consume a lot of Red Bull. I don’t eat the Sour Power, but we’ve got a couple coaches who do. So there will be a lot of sugar and caffeine consumed during that month.
Johnson, Georgia’s head coach since 2023, made those remarks to 247Sports’ Dawgs247 network during the portal window. He also said many coaches around the sport wish the calendar worked differently. “A lot of coaches in our league, and just in college baseball in general, would really like to see that portal window change a little bit,” Johnson said, adding that the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association), not individual conferences, controls the schedule.
From Starkville to a Brother’s Locker Room
The Brother Who Got There First
Stevens arrived at Mississippi State from Franklin High School in Elk Grove, California, where Perfect Game rated him the No. 69 overall player in the 2023 class and a two-time All-American. He spent two seasons in Starkville before transferring away from the SEC entirely.
He followed his older brother, Grant Stevens, an Oklahoma alumnus whose own pitching career ended with an elbow injury before the 2025 season. Grant is now the program’s pitching development coach, which is part of why Nolan picked Norman over other landing spots.
A Program Wes Johnson Rebuilt
Georgia fired Scott Stricklin, the coach Johnson replaced, in 2023 after a decade that never advanced past the NCAA regional round. Stricklin left with a 299-236-1 overall record.
Johnson came in from LSU’s pitching staff and has since delivered an SEC regular-season title, a conference tournament championship and Georgia’s first trip to Omaha since 2008. A No. 1 ranked transfer class is the latest step in that turnaround.
How Did Stevens Perform During Oklahoma’s Championship Run?
Stevens hit .230 with five homers and 11 RBIs in his lone season at Oklahoma, a step down from the .320 average and 21 RBIs he posted the year before at Mississippi State. He barely pitched, appearing once on the mound all year, reinforcing that his role at Georgia will lean on his bat and glove rather than his arm.
| Season | School | AVG | HR | RBI | Mound Work |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 (Freshman) | Mississippi State | .269 | 0 | 2 | 26.2 innings, 4.72 ERA, 28 strikeouts |
| 2025 (Sophomore) | Mississippi State | .320 | 4 | 21 | Limited relief work |
| 2026 (Junior) | Oklahoma | .230 | 5 | 11 | One outing, two outs recorded |
The gap between his sophomore and junior seasons is the clearest data point Georgia has to work with. It is also the biggest question mark hanging over the pickup.
What Georgia Needs From Him in 2027
Dawn of the Dawg, a Georgia sports outlet, cautioned that a No. 1 transfer ranking guarantees nothing once the season actually starts. The Bulldogs still have to replace the bats and arms the draft took in June, and the SEC remains what most observers still call the deepest conference in the sport.
Stevens gives Johnson a left-handed bat with some pop and a body that can play multiple outfield spots, filling a roster hole left by draft departures and graduation alike. Oklahoma, for its part, reached the title game after finishing the regular season in 11th place in the SEC, a reminder that late-season form can matter more than a spring batting average.
Stevens has one season left to find the swing that made him a .320 hitter at Mississippi State. Georgia is the program betting he still has it in him.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Many Years of Eligibility Does Nolan Stevens Have Left?
Stevens has one season of eligibility remaining after using two years at Mississippi State and one at Oklahoma. Georgia will be the third program of his college career, and 2027 will be his final chance to play at this level.
When Did the 2026 Transfer Portal Window Close?
The window opened June 1 and closed June 30, 2026, eight days after the College World Series ended. Players could still announce commitments after that deadline as long as they had entered the portal before it closed, which is how Georgia’s incoming class kept growing past 15 names.
What Was Nolan Stevens’ Full Statistical Line at Oklahoma?
Stevens finished with a .345 on-base, .446 slugging junior season over 87 plate appearances, per 64Analytics. He added 17 hits, five home runs and 12 runs scored to go with his .230 batting average.
How Many Players Has Georgia Lost to the Transfer Portal?
Georgia had seven players enter the portal through June 30, including reliever Jordan Stephens, who left for South Carolina after a 7.85 ERA in 18 1/3 innings, and outfielder Scott Newman, who batted .133 in a reserve role before departing. That is well below the number of players the Bulldogs brought in over the same window.
How Did Oklahoma Even Reach the Championship Series?
Oklahoma finished the regular season in 11th place in the SEC before catching fire in the postseason, knocking off the No. 2, No. 3 and No. 5 national seeds on its way to Omaha and, eventually, the title.
