Greenbrier has only been around for 25 years, but in that time, they have established themselves as one of the premier baseball programs in the southeast.
Their motto is “Tradition Never Graduates” and there could not be a more apt slogan. In 23 seasons, the ‘Pack have claimed an astonishing 16 region titles and six state championships. This year, Greenbrier is 19-4 overall and boast a 10-1 region record in the challenging Region 8-AAAAA.
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With that much success, it’s clear that Greenbrier has had some quality pitching over the years. Don’t get me wrong, they have had some amazing position players. Jon Johnson was a fourth round MLB draft pick right out of high school. Rich Poythress was an All-American at UGA and was drafted in the second round after his junior campaign with the Dawgs, Jeff Rowland was a three-year starter at Georgia Tech and was drafted by the Detroit Tigers, and there are countless others who became stars at the college level and many more who were drafted.
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However, pitching is where Greenbrier has produced the most Division I signees. I have covered the school since its inception, but even I was surprised by the number as I started to compile a list. The reason I was compiling the list was because the next great Greenbrier pitching star, Chase Dollander, to go D-I has caused quite a stir as a freshman in Statesboro.
Dollander, whose brother Hunter is a standout pitcher at Georgia Gwinnett College in Atlanta, was solid for the Pack as a sophomore in 2018. However, as a junior he truly emerged as one of the area’s top pitchers.
He finished that season 6-1 with a sizzling 0.79 ERA and posted 71 K’s in just 61.2 innings of work. He was primed for a monster senior season and then COVID-19 came along and basically wiped out the entire season. Dollander had already locked up several scholarship offers, including an invite to a school that seems to have a pipeline to Columbia County… Georgia Southern.
The Eagles knew they were getting a good pitcher, but even they were taken aback when the Greenbrier product arrived. Dollander used the lost season to get stronger and added velocity. He was now consistently hitting 94-95 mph on the gun. He was outstanding during the fall and by the time the regular season approached, Dollander had earned a spot in the starting rotation.
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His first outing was a difficult challenge against the Tennessee Volunteers. Dollander was up to the task as he completely shut down the Vols for 5.2 innings. He yielded just three hits, one run and struck out eight batters. From there, he has not slowed down.
In late March, he dominated App State over six innings of scoreless ball allowing just two hits and posting a career high 13 strikeouts. And after a rough outing versus Georgia State, Dollander bounced back with another solid effort in his latest outing. He struck out seven, allowed six hits and one run over six innings of work in a win over Louisiana-Monroe. He also recently topped 97 mph on the radar gun, which was easily the highest mark on the squad.
For the season, Dollander leads the 19-13 GSU Eagles in starts (eight), wins (four) and strikeouts (52). Overall, he is 4-1 with a 4.03 ERA, 52 K’s and 19 walks in 38 innings of work. The expectations are high for the young righthander. In a couple of years, he could be the next Greenbrier player to have his name called on draft day.
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Here is a list of the Greenbrier pitchers who have gone on to play at the Division I level.
Brandon Cumpton (Georgia Tech) – 9th Round Pick by the Pittsburgh Pirates
Nolan Belcher (South Carolina)
Nick Sandlin (Southern Miss) – second Round Pick by the Cleveland Indians
Bryce Melear (University of Georgia)
Hampton Rowland (South Carolina)
Jackson Hodnick (South Alabama)
Alan Cannell (Gonzaga)
Chad Farmer (App State)
Blake Ross (College of Charleston)
Michael Hester (Georgia Southern)
Mitchell Knox (Winthrop)
*Nick Wandless (USC-Aiken) Not D-I but was an All-American and record-setting closer, who was recently inducted into the Pacers Athletic Hall of Fame, so I figured it was worth a mention too.
Ashley Brown covers sports for The Augusta Press. Reach him at Ashley.brown@theaugustapress.com.
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