Macon players named All-Stars; former MGA catcher joins Savannah Bananas league

The GIAA announced its all-star squads for the 2026 soccer and baseball seasons this week, with several Macon schools represented on rosters.

Boys and girls soccer each have two all-star teams, red and blue, while baseball featured four teams: red, blue, Carolina blue and white.

After winning the GIAA Class 4A State Championship, the FPD Vikings had four players on all-star rosters. Wyatt Waters, Major Simmons, Conner Strandmark and Brady McHugh all appeared on the list, with Strandmark and McHugh appearing on the same team.

Other Macon schools had representatives as well. Marquez Wilson, Wyatt Still and Braxton Collins represented Tattnall on rosters. Mount de Sales’ CJ Preyna was also named an all-star. Stratford, the state runner-up after losing to FPD in the championship series, had no players on the roster.

On the girls soccer side, the Stratford team that defeated FPD to win the Class 4A title had three representatives: Maggie Jamison, Campbell McIntyre and Stella McIntyre. Sophia Wrabel, Elcee Leslein and Addison Kelley were all-stars for FPD. Emory Andrews and Morgan Gunningham, who helped Central Fellowship win its third consecutive championship, also made all-star teams. Covenant was represented by Bethany Wiley, while Mount de Sales’ Laura Sparks was named an all-star.

The boys’ all-star teams included Alex Roseboro and Jack Bearden from Mount de Sales. Judson Walls represented Central Fellowship on the boys’ all-star teams as well. 

Some local teams also had coaches selected for the staff. The girls’ blue team will be coached by Stratford’s Kate Blankenship and CFCA’s Teddy Tanner. The boys’ blue team is led by Iain Jones of Stratford, while Mount de Sales head coach Robert Ochieng heads the red team.

The all-star games unfolded Tuesday at Cavalier Fields in Macon.

Some of those coaches also won Coach of the Year Awards. Tanner, Blankenship and FPD baseball coach Greg Moore all won COTY for their respective classifications.

MGA alum nets unique baseball opportunity

A former Middle Georgia State University baseball player earned a spot on a baseball team that will compete with the Savannah Bananas, the university announced Tuesday.

Chris Burgess, a former catcher for the Knights, will join a team called the Indianapolis Clowns — the same moniker as a legendary Negro League team that existed from the 1930s-60s — in the Banana Ball sphere of baseball.

The Savannah Bananas began as a summer wooden bat league team but have evolved over the past decade into a sort of “Harlem Globetrotters” approximation of baseball, travelling the country and playing baseball laden with gimmicks, games and unique twists. The Bananas have added teams in recent years to compete against on tour, with the Clowns being the newest.

Burgess spent time in different minor and independent baseball leagues, including within the Baltimore Orioles’ system, before joining Indianapolis.

Tattnall alum Stubbs pitches for Troy in CWS

A former Macon baseball player and Tattnall grad will pitch in the super regionals this weekend in the NCAA college baseball tournament.

Benjamin Stubbs, a former Tattnall Trojan who graduated in 2022, is a top pitcher in the rotation for the Troy Trojans, who upset the No. 8 Florida Gators twice in the Gainesville regional to advance to the next phase of the baseball tournament in stunning fashion.

Stubbs pitched twice in the regionals, allowing three runs in 5 and ⅓ innings against Miami before pitching one scoreless inning on short rest against Florida. Stubbs was a standout for Tattnall in high school, setting the school record for strikeouts and earning all-state first team honors as a pitcher.