Eller wants to focus on students first, build athletes second with Bobcats

Wendell Staton said the best part about Georgia College is the students.

When the search began for a new baseball head coach, the Georgia College athletics director was looking for someone who would build the students first and everything else is secondary. That person was Jason Eller.

“I was impressed with his value system,” Staton said. “And that right in line with ours.”

That is why Eller was at a podium Thursday being introduced as Georgia College’s baseball head coach. Eller was a strong candidate because of his ties to the state of Georgia for recruiting purposes and his emphasis on building student-athletes first.

For the fourth consecutive year, Staton said, Georgia College student-athletes had the highest GPA on record with a 3.28. They also lead the University System of Georgia in graduation rate.

“We’re going to sit down in that first meeting and lay down some expectations and guidelines,” Eller said.

The task of keeping the team focused on academics won’t be a challenge for Eller. He said when he recruits high-level academic players, it minimizes the off-the-field infractions. The recruit already has the skills to be able to manage class with athletics and academys.

“The majority of the kids we are going to recruit, those daily duties are already in place,” he said. “What we do is just kind of tweak it a little bit. Let them learn about college athletics, let them learn on their own without their parents being around and relying on each other with the team chemistry.”

Aside from academics, Eller is walking into an already established baseball program. Eller is excited about the offensive potential the Bobcats have. At his former program, Augusta, Eller remembers not being able to overcome the Bobcats’ power.

So Eller plans to focus on defense and pitching. He’ll let the offense continue to shine.

“We have a lot of power, I think we have a lot of star quality in our offense,” Eller said.

Staton is thrilled with adding Eller to his staff. Eller is excited to be in Milledgeville. Now the task is to produce student-athletes, both on and off the field.

“I really think it’s awesome when they put on that cap and gown, go to commencement and receive their degrees,” said Eller, who replaces Tom Carty, who resigned after the 2015 season. “Throwing the gloves in the air and having a dog pile is rewarding.

“To see them come back — as a father and as a husband — to have a family and to be doing well, financially and socially, that’s the most rewarding thing. That’s why we do the things we do in college athletics and especially as coaches.”

This story was originally published July 14, 2016 at 10:09 PM.