Georgia College Introduces Jeff Pelkey as New Head Baseball Coach
New Bobcats Baseball HC was able to meet some of his team along with the GCSU community at a meet and greet press conference Monday
MILLEDGEVILLE, Georgia – (41NBC/WMGT) – Georgia College & State University has found its next leader on the diamond.
Following a 30-win season and third-place finish in 2025, GCSU introduced Jeff Pelkey as the new head coach of the Bobcats baseball team during a meet-and-greet press conference Monday afternoon.
Pelkey arrives from Peach Belt Conference rival Flagler College, where he served as an assistant coach. Ironically, GCSU defeated Flagler in dramatic fashion in the 2024 Peach Belt Conference Championship, scoring five runs with just less than five outs remaining for a 5-4 comeback win.
Now, just two years later, the Bobcats are turning to the man they beat in that epic contest to lead the program.
“This is technically my first official day…so it’s been an awesome ride,” Pelkey said. “Meeting everybody and feeling the support and the love of Georgia College Baseball has been great. There will be things I need to learn on the fly and figure out on my own, but I’m excited.”
Pelkey is taking over for longtime head coach Nolan Belcher and steps into his first head coaching role after 13 years as an assistant, having worked under five different head coaches during his career.
“Coach Belcher is an unbelievable coach,” Pelkey said. “What he did with this program and the coaches beforehand, they’ve all had a lot of success. I’m definitely well aware of the on-field success. I can’t wait to take it one day at a time here, get on the field, and start building some relationships with the guys.”
GCSU seniors have already begun stepping into leadership roles to assist with the coaching transition.
“It’s definitely weird. I’ve been playing for Belcher since I’ve been here,” said senior Keegan Baxter. “We’ve won a lot of baseball games, but we’ve got a lot of new guys coming in. I think change could be, it’s not always a bad thing. It could be a good thing. Just ready to get it rolling.”
Senior outfielder Carson Phillips echoed the sentiment.
“Obviously, we appreciate everything Belcher did, he brought most of us in here, but all of us that are still here have decided to take this new route, in this new chapter,” Phillips said. “We can’t thank Coach Pelkey enough for how much he’s already done for us, getting recruits and getting new players in. We’re looking to have a good year. He’s a great coach. I’ve had a couple of friends at Flagler who spoke very highly of him. Pitching-wise, he’s incredible. I’ve already talked to him about some of the assistants. He’s got some great assistants coming in, and we’re excited.”
GCSU Director of Athletics Wendell Staton also touched on the displays of new renderings of improvements that will be made to John Kurtz Field in the future.
