By Michael A. Lough

The Sports Report

centralgasports@gmail.com

Jones County has a new head baseball coach, a Central Georgian with college baseball playing experience.

The school announced Noble Coley as the new baseball boss recently.

Coley graduated in 2005 from Hawkinsville, where he belted eight homers in 2004 – tying current Westfield head football coach Chad Campbell, among others – and hit .517 in 2002.

He went on to play at Georgia Southwestern for four years, from 2007-10, and earned two degrees from GSW. The 37-year-old married father of two has been head baseball coach at Bacon County – where he also coached football – for the last six years.

The Raiders went to two Sweet 16s and an Elite Eight while finishing second in region play twice.

According to info provided to MaxPreps, Coley went 98-98 in seven seasons with the Class A Raiders.

He succeeds Mike Paulk, who went 24-38 in two seasons after taking over for Jason Page.

Dublin boosts Barrs in softball

There’s another new head coach on the diamond at Dublin, this time in softball.

Several weeks after promoting Brian Brown to head baseball coach, Dublin is doing the same with Emily Barrs in softball.

Barrs has been at Dublin since 2022 as head tennis coach and assistant softball coach.

The West Laurens grad earned multiple all-conference honors en route to two degrees at LaGrange. She was the team MVP in 2017 and 2018, after missing most of the 2016 season with a torn ACL, leading USA South in slugging percentage in 2017, a record she holds.

She replaces Todd Hogan, as did Brown.

Dublin, according to information – much apparently incomplete - provided to MaxPreps, hasn’t had a non-losing softball season since 2013-14.

And hires Killins for girls basketball

Dublin’s new head girls basketball coach has a state championship as part of a postseason-filled resume.

Monte Killins was approved last week to succeed Evan Jefferson, as per a post from Dublin City Schools

His coaching career began in 2008 as a boys assistant at Dougherty, followed by Randolph-Clay as a girls assistant – helping the team to a 2014 state title - and boys track coach.

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He was head girls coach at Mitchell County from 2020-22 with a pair of GHSA state tournament trips. After a year at Lee County, he coached the Upson-Lee girls in 2022-23.

According to The Advance, Montgomery County hired him as head boys basketball coach and assistant football coach in May of 2023, only to rescind the offer a few weeks later.

He returned to Hancock Central for 2023-24.

Killins has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Troy, and is working on a master’s in sport and fitness.

He replaces Jefferson, who was hired in mid April as the new head boys coach at Midtown High in Atlanta. Jefferson went 80-33 in four seasons with Dublin’s girls.

Around Central Georgia

ACE is adding wrestling for 2024-25, and has hired Southwest head coach Patrick Saladrigas to get the program going.

He has also been on the football staff. Saladrigas was recently named Positive Athlete’s top wrestling coach in the state.

Shauna Dixon has been named head tennis coach, succeeding Yvonne Apodoca, who started the program in 2015 and is stepping away but remaining as a teacher. …

Trinity Christian’s new head boys basketball coach knows his way around campus.

Nolan Gottlieb, who played for the Crusaders and graduated in 2001, was announced recently as the new head coach.

He replaces John Williams, released during last season, a year after the Crusaders won the GIAA Class AA state title.

Gottlieb, who has battled cystic fibrosis nearly all of his life, was a walk-on at Anderson in South Carolina, progressing from JV to varsity and finally earning a scholarship and graduating in 2006.

He was part of the Anderson staff for a year, but has been ministry and business since then. He underwent a double-lung transplant in 2018. …

Brentwood has hired Britt Metts to succeed Jeremy Boutelle has the War Eagles’ head baseball coach.

Metts graduated from Jeff Davis and played at Jacksonville and Georgia College, and returned to the Jeff Davis staff. He is the son of longtime Georgia high school coach Roger Metts, currently athletics director at Jeff Davis.

New Howard head football coach Trey Porter is close to filling out his staff.

Nick Brooks, Kavin Walker, and Royce Ivery are remaining.

Joining the staff: Shannon Sands, Solomon Sands, Terry Kendrick, and Tony White.