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The NCAA
Transfer
Portal
By Jim Fowler
The NCAA Transfer Portal
started on Oct. 15,2018. Since that
time there have been thousands of
athletes to transfer from one
school to another and to become
eligible to participate the next sea
son. Before the portal, athletes had
to sit out one year before they
could become eligible.
Now I am not an expert on the
transfer portal. Far from it. But I
so have an opinion about it just
like all college sports fans do. On
the basis of what I see and know, I
don’t like it at all and I have yet to
find a fan who likes it.
A short amount of research
shows that a student/athlete can
enter their name into the portal by
contacting their school’s compli
ance office. The administration
then has two days to comply. Once
the student/athlete’s name is en
tered into the portal, they receive
an email notifying them that they
are in the portal.
The student/ athlete can provide
personal information if they
choose, or they can decline to do
so. By providing their information
they can open recruitment from
other schools. Failing to supply
personal information may indicate
that they already have a school to
which they intend to transfer.
Some of the main reasons given
for these transfers are (1) no-par-
ticipation, (2) egregious misbe
havior, (3) financial hardship, (4)
family injury or illness, and (5)
student/athlete personal injury.
The report said 80 percent of the
transfers occur in football and bas
ketball.
Now let’s “get right down to the
real nitty-gritty.” I see the portal as
an avenue for a student/athlete to
move from school to school with
out any penalty. If things aren’t
going their way or if they aren’t
playing as much as they think they
should, they just choose to go to
another school. Now I admit that
not all transfers meet the reasons
mentioned above, but a large per
centage do.
I have heard the argument that
coaches can leave without penalty,
so why can’t players. OK, I see that
and respond by saying that players
in a program where a coach leaves
could be allowed to leave if they
choose. That will work for players
who are deserted by the coach that
recruited and signed them.
How can a coach build a pro
gram when players can leave at
any time? Coaches recruit and sign
players that they feel will be
around long enough to build a
team and, all of a sudden, some of
those players decide to leave.
Some of these players were pam
pered in high school and when
they get to college where there is
stiff competition for playing time,
they decide to just leave instead of
working to earn a position.
There are hundreds of players
in the transfer portal in both foot
ball and basketball. There are lots
of outstanding players entering
the portal, players who have ex-
celed at their present schools.
Why? I don’t know, but it just
makes one wonder.
I’m guessing that every athletic
department has an assistant coach
assigned to keep a close watch on
the portal. It has become that im
portant.
Again, I state that this is a per
sonal opinion and that some
transfers are reasonable and nec
essary. I just see that, over the last
two years, the number of transfers
has increased by an unbelievable
percentage and wonder about
most of them.
I don’t like the transfer portal.
Players need to adhere to their
commitments and make the best
of it. They may win that desired
playing time and become stronger
people along the way. What do you
think?
Georgia State Baseball, Puckett Moving in the Right Direction
Photo Submitted
Kalen Puckett is poised to be a part of the
new era of Georgia State Baseball.
By Jacob Stewart
sports@upsonbeacon.com
After a 15-win season two years
ago, Kalen Puckett had begun to
lose his love for the greatest game
on Earth. Georgia State’s baseball
program and Puckett were at a bit
of a crossroads. GSU went on to
hire Coach Brad Stromdahl and
bring in new staff to help turn the
direction of the program around.
Since the hire, the program has
progressed, and Puckett has be
come a large part of the team’s plan
to win.
“(Puckett’s sophomore season)
was one of the worst seasons I had
ever been a part of.” Puckett told
The Upson Beacon, “That’s where
baseball was a struggle for me and
I’d never really had that, so with
Coach Stramdahl and the new staff
coming in, it really helped me from
a baseball standpoint to know that
I belong here and know that base
ball is fun again.”
In his junior season, he began
to experience what the new staff
was all about, but COVID-19 intro
duced itself to the world and col
lege sports was soon disbanded for
2020. The cancellation of the sea
son allowed Puckett to return to
Thomaston and work on his skills
with his dad, Wayne Puckett, who
was the first to show him the ropes
to the great game of baseball.
“Luckily, I had my dad, who
coached me all my life, who knows
a good bit of baseball, so every day
I got to go to a field and work with
him, hit with him, and talk to him
about baseball,” he said. “He
helped me stay prepared for this
year coming.”
The return to his roots has led
to an impressive start in his third
complete season at GSU. Puckett
has earned the first starting job of
his college career. He is starting at
second base for the Panthers. He
has started 22 of his 23 games
played and is slashing
.208/.333/.310 at the plate.
The events that occurred due to
COVID-19 put a lot of things in
perspective for Puckett. “Every day
you can’t take it for granted, I mean
you never know when your last
game is going to be. So that has
really driven me to be the best I can
be every day you know and wake
up prepared and be ready for the
day ahead.”
Puckett is playing his third year
this season since his junior eligibil
ity rolled over after the cancella
tions, but COVID-19 showed him
how quickly things can be taken
away. Since then, he has worked
extra hard to earn his position.
The Panthers are taking the
necessary steps to elevate their
program. The non-conference
schedule was the toughest of any
Sunbelt team. The schedule fea
tured a total of nine games versus
top-25 teams. These games were
against the likes of Vanderbilt,
Georgia Tech, Tennessee, and Flor
ida. Their many games in the
Southeastern Conference were a
great experience for the team.
For a few weeks, the SEC had
five teams in the top-five of the na
tional rankings. In the most recent
polls, the SEC still has four repre
sentatives.
Georgia State turned a few
heads when they went into Nash
ville on Feb. 26. The Panthers
handed Vanderbilt their first loss
of the season by winning the game
4-2. Puckett started at third base
and went one-for-three with a
walk.
“We wanted to go ahead and
experience that high-level base
ball,” he said, “Those teams are al
ways in the postseason and that’s
where we want to be.”
The Panthers also took a game
from Georgia Tech in non-confer
ence play. Despite the Panthers’ 5-
21 record, things are turning
around. Sunbelt conference play
has begun and the brutal non-con
ference schedule has prepared
them to play well.
“We’ve played good baseball
throughout the year,” Puckett said.
“We’ve had moments where it’s
been spread out, but once we piece
this thing together, Georgia State
baseball is going to be really good.”
Puckett is on his way to a great
season. Now that he has made his
way into a starting role, he is able
to be more confident and trust his
game. He and the Panthers have
their eyes set on a playoff run and
they believe that they are more
than capable of reaching their goal.
Tennis Boys Earn Top Seed, Girls Must Play In
By Jacob Stewart
sports@upsonbeacon.com
After the sixth sweep of a region
competitor, the Knights secured the
top seed in the April 12 region tour
nament. Upson Lee has only
dropped one individual match to any
of the seven other teams in Region 2-
AAA. They will come into the tour
nament 7-0.
With a 4-1 loss to Mary Persons,
the Lady Knights record settled to 5-
2 in the region, which is good for
third place in the region.
On the boys' side, it has been
pure domination. No team has come
close to touching the Knights. The
experience on four of the five courts
has been too much for the rest of the
region. Silas Laughman, John Her
nandez, Tanner Wison, Jed Weath
erford, and Grayson Sheppard are all
undefeated in region competition.
Laughman, Hernandez, Wilson,
and Weatherford have been called
the hardest working group of seniors
that Coach Tim Bosworth has ever
coached. Upson Lee is a monumen
tal favorite to win the region tourna
ment and secure a top seed in the
state playoffs as long as everyone is
healthy, and COVID-19 remains a
non-factor.
The girls have been a great story
as well. Four of the seven athletes
that have played multiple meaning
ful matches had never played tennis
in their life.
“This is the hardest working
group of girls I have ever coached,”
Coach Kristi Bosworth told The
Upson Beacon. Due to the inex
perience on the team, not many ex
pected to have such a great regular
season, but the hard work has paid
dividends. This group is in the mix to
earn a playoff spot and possibly
make a run.
The Lady Knights' second region
loss of the season came last week
against the top-ranked Mary Per
sons Lady Bulldogs. The progress is
remarkable and bodes well for the
future of the program.
See Seniors below.
Zaria Childs, escorted by her parents Sharon and Bobby.
Paige Neal, escorted by her parents Suze and Brock.
John Hernandez, escorted by his parents
Karla and Robert.
Silas Laughman, escorted by his parents
Marni and Steve.
Jed Weatherford, escorted by his parents
Julie and David.
Photos by Luke Haney
Kelly Wins low Medalist at Knights
Invitational, Thrasher Coaches Team Win
Photo Submitted
Trey Kelly stands with Alex Oglesbee, Brian Ogles bee, and Taylor English
after winning the Knights Invitational.
By Jacob Stewart
sports@upsonbeacon.com
The Upson Lee golf team hosted
the Knights Invitational last Monday
and welcomed six teams to Raintree
Golf Club. For the first time all sea
son, the Knights played all 18 holes
in the round. The match was scored
in Stableford format, allotting points
in this order: one point for a bogey,
three points for a par, and seven
points for an eagle.
Trey Kelly provided a bright spot
for Upson Lee, collecting 60 points
with four birdies and an eagle. Kelly
shot three-under-par (69) to win low
medalist. His round was the lowest
ever shot at the Knights Invitational.
The Knights team had a rough go of
the course, but the young team
picked up a great experience.
Ben Thrasher’s LaGrange squad
came away with the team victory.
His Grangers totaled 155 collective
points in their win. Thrasher is a
Thomaston native and is crafting a
strong program west of his home
town.
The following week, top Upson
Lee golfers, Kelly and Skye Perdue,
continued to impress with individual
wins over Harris County. Kelly shot
38 to take low medalist and Perdue
shot 53 to win on the girls’ side.
Both teams struggled on the day
as the inexperience has shown its
face over the past few rounds of golf.
Coaches Taylor English and Brian
Oglesbee explained that short shots
from around 50 yards to the green
and in are hurting the Knights. The
young golfers can only improve on
the situational shots as they are pre
sented to them, but most of the team
is made up of sophomores and fresh
men, so they will see many more
shots for Upson Lee.
Looking ahead, the Knights will
compete with Taylor County and
Pike County on Thursday at Raintree
Golf Club. They will hold senior
night for the lone senior, Kelly, on
April 15 before heading to the area at
Forest Heights Country Club on May
4-