Eagle Nation,

I pray this note finds you and your family safe and healthy. 

If you are like me, there is always a transition time from when our athletic seasons come to an end when I am already thinking about "what's next?" And while we are already turning our attention to the 2022-23 academic year, I wanted to take an opportunity to share a few last observations from my previous correspondence on an impressive end to our spring semester.

The NCAA Statesboro Baseball Regional was a three-day event I will never forget. Our staff did a fantastic job executing the plans detailed in our host bid. Despite not having the best weather on the first two days, we were able to get back on schedule after day two, while not at the expense of hosting a first-class Regional. Eagle Nation – thank you for showing up and being loud during the Regional! The atmosphere during our winner's bracket game against Notre Dame was electric! From the time we were notified of being a host school until the final out of the Regional, I cannot tell you how proud I am to be an Eagle.

I also wanted to take an opportunity to thank our campus and corporate partners for their role in hosting a baseball regional. It was such a unifying moment to see the alignment across all groups as we took immense pride in being a host site for NCAA baseball. I also want to thank our President, Dr. Kyle Marrero for his leadership and support leading up to and throughout the tournament. We received great feedback from the NCAA site representatives and visiting fans. All-in-all, I cannot thank everyone enough for your role in making this event a tremendous success – it truly takes a village to pull this off!

Staying on baseball, the 2022 season was one to remember:
 

• 41 wins (23-7 record in the Sun Belt)
• No. 16 National seed in the NCAA Baseball Tournament 
• NCAA Regional Host
• Beat every Division I team in the state of Georgia
• Record average home attendance
• Largest single-game attendance

Several weeks back, I shared with a couple of our baseball seniors that their leadership and grit were a great combination to make a run deep in the postseason. Our senior leadership was as good as I have seen it. Coach Hennon and his staff did an unbelievable job leading and charting the course for a special season. 

We have several updates planned for J.I. Clements Stadium this offseason that we are excited to start work on, one of which is finalizing a pre-plan study for updating the Wiggins Building. The Athletic Foundation Executive Committee approved an engagement with an architectural firm last week, and we look forward to sharing more information soon!

I had the privilege of watching our men's golf team compete in its final tournament of the year at the NCAA Championships in Scottsdale, Arizona, at Grayhawk Golf Club. Our men finished the tournament 25th in the team standings. Mason Williams advanced to the final round of stroke play as an individual. Following the tournament's conclusion, Ben Carr and Williams were named PING All-America Honorable Mentions by the Golf Coaches Association of America. 

Overall, the 2022 campaign was a highly successful one for the Carter Collins-led squad as they won three tournaments, including stroke play at the Sun Belt Championship, and finished fifth at the New Haven Regional to earn a trip to the NCAA Championships.
In closing, for Georgia Southern to reach its desired goals, I will continue to strategically highlight three (3) action steps that individuals and companies can take to help us:

1. Financially support the Athletic Foundation and the Erk Russell Fund
2. Buy season tickets and create a home-field advantage
3. Get others to do the same!

Our Athletic Ticket Office is ready to assist you in purchasing tickets and can be reached at 1-800-GSU-WINS or via email at tickets@georgiasouthern.edu. For those wishing to donate, please go to: www.Give.GSEagles.com.

Our best days are ahead – thank you for your continued support!

Hail Southern! GATA!

Jared Benko
Georgia Southern Director of Athletics