July 2, 2025 Charles Wilson / BartowSportsZone.com Christina Surcey Cartersville golfer Christina Surcey carded rounds of 76-78-77 and a 231 total (15-over par) this past Monday through Wednesday to tie for 38th place at the 2025 Georgia State Golf Association Women’s Amateur Championship at Dunwoody Country Club. Ava Merrill of Johns Creek and Vanderbilt University shot 15-under par (66-69-66) and won the 96th Georgia Women’s Amateur Championship by two shots over runner-up Mary Miller of Savannah (71-65-67, 13-under), who plays collegiately at Georgia Southern University. Cumming’s Kylie Chung, age 13, was third and four shots back at 11-under par (68-69-68). Loralie Cowart (8-under) of Douglasville was fourth, and Thanana Kotchasanmanee from Thailand, now living in Rome, shot 3-under to round out the top five. Kotchasanmanee, 17, is committed to playing collegiately at Princeton University. 108 women qualified to participate in the 2025 championship, with 59 players making the 36-hole cut of 13-over par. Dunwoody Country Club played at par-72 and 6,259 yards. Surcey, a high school state champion at North Cobb Christian School, will play her sophomore collegiate season at Lipscomb University starting this September after transferring from Florida State University.

July 1, 2025 Charles Wilson / BartowSportsZone.com Former Cartersville High School Purple Hurricane star and 2018 MLB first-round draft pick by the New York Yankees, Anthony Seigler, has made it to Major League Baseball. The long journey to The Show included seven, mostly unsuccessful, seasons in the minor leagues in the Yankees' organization. He never even made it to Triple-A until this year, when he became a minor league free agent and was signed by the Milwaukee Brewers' organization. The Brewers placed the recently turned 26-year-old with their Triple-A affiliate, the Nashville Sounds, and the ambidextrous, switch-hitting catcher/second baseman/third baseman flourished. Seigler joins the MLB Milwaukee Brewers today (July 1) before their three-game series at Citi Field against the New York Mets. He arrives after 63 games with Nashville, where he hit .277 with an .881 OPS. He hit seven home runs, stole 20 bases, and walked 49 times with only 51 strikeouts. Seigler can hit and throw with both hands. In fact, he appeared as a right-handed and left-handed pitcher in high school and has played the outfield in the minors as a left-handed thrower. This season, he has reduced his right-handed at-bats and has seen his production numbers increase. Most recently, he has been facing left-handed pitchers as a left-handed batter. The Brewers are counting on Seigler to be a steal as a utility player and a late bloomer. The change of scenery from the New York organization to Nashville certainly allowed his production to blossom. To move Seigler to the MLB roster, the Brewers designated outfielder Daz Cameron for assignment. Milwaukee also moved reliever Rob Zastryzny to the 15-day injured list and recalled Easton McGee from Nashville to take his place. Leading into Tuesday night's action, Milwaukee is 47-37 and trails the Chicago Cubs by two games in the National League's Central Division. If the playoffs began today, the Brewers would be a wild-card team in the playoffs.

July 1, 2025 Charles Wilson / BartowSportsZone.com Buck Brumlow begins his professional journey this week at the PGA Tour Americas Explore New Brunswick Open. In the same week that former Cartersville High baseball standout Anthony Seigler was promoted to the Major League's Milwaukee Brewers, former Canes' golfer Buck Brumlow is making his debut on the PGA Tour Americas. Seigler was called up from the Triple-A Nashville Sounds on Sunday night to join the MLB club, and Brumlow made his journey to Canada that same evening to launch his professional career. For more on Seigler, visit -- https://www.bartowsportszone.com/single-post/seigler-called-up-by-the-milwaukee-brewers Meanwhile, this week's report includes updates on the two other MiLB prospects from Cartersville, Mason Barnett and Logan Martin. MiLB MASON BARNETT — Las Vegas Aviators (Oakland A’s Triple-A affiliate; 4th-year pro; Auburn; Cartersville HS) … following pitching wins in four of his last five starts, the 24-year-old settled for a no-decision last Thursday in a 4-⅓ inning home start against the Albuquerque Isotopes. Barnett left the game with his team leading 6-5 in an eventual 14-11 victory. He was responsible for five earned runs on eight hits and one walk, but recorded seven strikeouts. He is 5-1 this season in 16 starts, covering 74-⅔ innings. He has a 5.79 ERA and 65 strikeouts. Las Vegas, 53-27 entering the week, won the first-half race in the Pacific Coast League West to secure a playoff berth. The Aviators are 5-1 entering the week in the second-half standings. Las Vegas hosts the Oklahoma City Comets in a six-game series this week. LOGAN MARTIN — Quad Cities River Bandits (Kansas City Royals High-Class A affiliate; 3rd-year pro; Kentucky; Cartersville HS) … won his third straight start last Thursday by working five scoreless innings at the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. The 23-year-old right-hand pitcher allowed just two hits and one walk while striking out four of the 16 batters he faced. His season record improved to 7-3 in 14 starts, and his ERA dropped to 3.98 with 52 strikeouts in 63-⅓ innings. Quad Cities won 2-0 in Martin’s start last week and took four of six games at Wisconsin.  The River Bandits began the week with a 45-30 overall record. They host the Cedar Rapids Kernels for three games on Tuesday through Thursday and travel to Cedar Rapids for three games over the weekend. PGA TOUR AMERICAS BUCK BRUMLOW — (1st year pro; University of Georgia; Cartersville HS) … the 22-year-old is turning professional this week and playing in his first event July 3-6 in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada. The Explore New Brunswick Open will be played on the par-71, 7,132-yard Mactaquac Golf Course.

July 1, 2025 GHC press release After an extensive national search, Georgia Highlands College (GHC) has found its next men’s basketball head coach close to home. Director of Athletics Dr. Nicole Levering announced today that Reco Dawson will take the helm of the Chargers’ program. Reco Dawson “I’m excited to welcome Reco Dawson as the new head men’s basketball coach at Georgia Highlands College!” said Dr. Levering. “His proven success and leadership—both on and off the court—made it clear that he has the knowledge, passion, and vision to guide our student-athletes in becoming the best versions of themselves. He is exactly what GHC needs.” Dawson brings a wealth of experience and a championship pedigree to GHC. Most recently at Shelton State Community College, Dawson previously served as head coach at Central Georgia Technical College for a decade. During his tenure there, he led the program to three consecutive Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association (GCAA) championships in 2018, 2019, and 2020, earning Coach of the Year honors each of those seasons. His coaching résumé also includes assistant coaching roles at Georgia Southwestern State University and South Georgia Technical College. “I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to lead the men’s basketball program at Georgia Highlands College,” Dawson said. “There are big things on the horizon, and I am honored to be a part of the Athletics staff. Every day we will work to build something bigger than ourselves—because the real reward is helping players grow into successful individuals.” Beyond his on-court accomplishments, Dawson has demonstrated a strong commitment to academic excellence. Over his 13 years as a head coach, he has mentored 35 conference All-Academic student-athletes and four NJCAA All-Academic honorees. “I’m excited for what’s ahead and proud to represent Georgia Highlands College,” Dawson added. With Dawson’s leadership, GHC looks forward to a new era of excellence in men’s basketball, both in competition and in the classroom.

from majorleaguefishing.com by Joel Shangle Cooper Moon of Cartersville High School and teammate Carson Holbert of Eagleton College & Career Academy won the High School Fishing National Championship this past weekend in Oklahoma. GROVE, Okla. – In the days leading up to their arrival in Oklahoma for the 2025 Abu Garcia High School Fishing National Championship on Grand Lake on Grand Lake o’ the Cherokees, Georgia-based teammates Cooper Moon and Carson Holbert thought that their chances of winning the nearly 400-boat tournament were, in their words, “a long shot.”  But within 30 minutes on Day 1 – after catching 12 quick pounds en route to a tournament best of 15 pounds, 12 ounces – “long shot” turned to “Dude, I think we have a shot at this” for the Cartersville Fishing Team pair. Two days and 44 pounds later, Moon and Holbert are leaving Grand Lake with a pair of trophies, matching $5,000 checks to spend on college, and the title of 2025 National Champions. The Georgia high school seniors sacked up 13-15 on the final day to finish the three-day event with 44- 1 – good enough for a 3-pound win over Dylan Sorrells and Andrew Waters (41-1) of the Highland Park Bass Team.   “We came out here with an open mind, learned as much about the lake as we could in practice, and kind of just worked our way through it, day by day,” Holbert said. “There were almost 400 teams fishing, so we knew it was a little bit of a long shot just because of the numbers. But we figured out a few things that got us onto bigger fish and ran with it.” Moon and Holbert spent the majority of their tournament fishing what they referred to as “transitional” water – rocky structure in 8 to 12 feet of water that seemed to harbor bigger-than-average fish while remaining impervious to the fluctuating water on Grand Lake. They started the tournament with a 15-12 lead on Day 1 and held onto it with a 14-6 advantage on Day 2, before finishing with a 13-15 loss on Friday to secure the win. The teams of Carson Mowdy and Colton Stewart of the Milano Eagles (37-10); Jackson Roumbanis and Lawson Lewis of the Russellville Cyclones (37-4); and Wyatt Woods and Wyatt McBride of Lexington High School (35-5) rounded out the Top 5. Moon, Holbert dialed it in Moon and Holbert are meticulous in their pre-tournament research and invest ample time leading up to the National Championship, collecting facts and trends about Grand Lake (which they put to use by practicing on a handful of local lakes that approximate Grand). They identified the basics of their winning pattern on Day 1 of practice, spent the rest of practice eliminating water and techniques, and started the tournament with a basic plan to fish crankbaits over mid-depth rock. In contrast, the majority of other teams either fished shallow or on main-river offshore spots. “We weren’t back in the bushes, and we weren’t on the main river ledge stuff that other people found them on – we wanted to stay in that transitional zone where the water would be somewhat more stable and fish didn’t move very much,” Moon said. “If the water came up a few feet, they’d be in maybe 12 feet of water; when it came down, they’d move to 8 feet. They’d only have to move maybe 20 feet. I think it was just the area where they felt safe and could feed.” Holbert and Moon fished a variety of crankbaits from various manufacturers, almost all in shad colors, each working at different depths and retrieves until they found the magic combination that triggered a flurry. They knew they had seen the correct pattern early on Day 1. “We caught 12 pounds in 30 minutes on our first spot on Day 1 and thought ‘We might be putting ourselves in contention here,’” Holbert said. “We had heard mixed reviews all week about people catching them just OK, or not catching them. It didn’t seem that the lake was fishing that great for a lot of the teams, so we felt good about that first day.” They picked right up in the same area on Day 2, despite being on a late flight and some increased pressure on their main spot. The pressure didn’t seem to affect Moon and Holbert as they plucked 13 pounds off of that spot within 15 minutes, setting themselves up for the final day. “We had some boats fishing around our spot, but they weren’t doing what we were doing,” Holbert said. “Everybody was doing the same thing, but we were working the bait right, hitting the angles right, doing everything efficiently.”  They arrived to a ripping current on their key spot the final morning as water managers pulled water, which played right into Holbert and Moon’s hands. “They pulled a TON of current (Friday), those fish wanted something moving, and fast,” Moon said. “We had lost a big fish on that spot just before weigh-in on Day 2, and when we went back to it on the final day, it was loaded. We caught a 5 and a 4 on one bait and had total chaos for about 10 minutes before the school broke up a little.” “We knew we were around the fish to win,” Holbert said. “It was just a matter of getting the right bites and getting them at the right times when they were setting up to feed. Getting them in the boat was a big thing, too. We’d get a lot of bites in a flurry, and then it would go pretty dead. We knew we needed to take advantage of every bite, especially on those bigger fish. Moon and Holbert’s National Championship partnership will eventually lead them both to Montevallo University in Alabama – both have declared to fish for the College Fishing powerhouse, now with $5,000 apiece to help with expenses. “We met back in July of 2024 – both of us were looking for a partner who was committed to traveling the whole country and be serious about it,” Holbert said. “We’ve fished together very well from the beginning, and have some experience fishing in giant tournaments. Going into this week, we wanted to look for more sneaky stuff that people hadn’t looked at. It really worked out for us.”

June 30, 2025 Charles Wilson / BartowSportsZone.com Anthony Seigler Former Cartersville High Purple Hurricane and New York Yankees first-round draft pick, Anthony Seigler, has been called up to the major league Milwaukee Brewers, according to a report from Francys Romero on X that was shared Monday by Yahoo! Sports. Now in his eighth year as a professional, Seigler was signed by the Brewers’ organization before the 2025 season. He turned 26 earlier this month and has played all around the infield this year for Milwaukee’s Triple-A affiliate, the Nashville Sounds. He has made appearances at catcher (24 starts), second base (24), and third base (11) across 62 game appearances, slashing .278/.416/.469 with seven home runs, 35 RBI, 43 runs, and 20 stolen bases. In 2025, with Nashville, the ambidextrous utility man has recently abandoned switch-hitting. He was only hitting .097 as a righty and has been facing left-handed pitchers as a left-handed hitter. As of early Monday morning, no corresponding move has been announced by the Brewers to clear roster space for Seigler. NOTE: BartowSportsZone.com will add to this report as additional information becomes available.

June 26, 2025 The Cartersville 8U Coach Pitch Baseball team captured the 2025 GRPA State Championship on Thursday and was undefeated in District and State Tournament play. Front row (L-R): Nolan Menerey, Baylor Foster, Corbin Ferguson, Easton Fillers, Jackson Miller, and Beckham Bowden. Second row (L-R): AJ Jones, Donovan Tate, Jr., Brooks Poole, Colton Hamby, Max Brown, and Brooks Caverly. Coaches (L-R): Aubrey Caverly, Adam Jones, Nick Ferguson, and TJ Menerey. The Cartersville 8U Coach Pitch Baseball team won the 2025 Georgia Recreation and Parks Association Class A/B state championship on Thursday with a 15-7 win over Summerville 8U. Cartersville 8U, the District 5 champions, went 5-0 in the 10-team double-elimination bracket that began on Tuesday at Westside Park in Whitfield County. Cartersville had state tournament wins over Gainesville (22-4), Bainbridge (8-0), Summerville (15-8), and Jefferson (11-3) before wrapping up the title on Thursday in a second meeting with Summerville.

June 26, 2025 The Bartow County 8U Coach Pitch Softball team is the 2025 GRPA State Runner-Up. Front row (L-R): Josie Bennett, Lollie Jarrett, Erin Miller, Brooklyn Akins, Kaylani Watkins, Zeplyn Mulkey. Second row (L-R): Annabelle Prouty, Sophia Amyx, Cora Kaylor, Ara Bohannon, Coco Minnick. Coaches (L-R): Joe Bennett, Matthew Kaylor, Holly Kaylor, and Derrick Mulkey. The Bartow County 8U Coach Pitch Softball team finished as state runner-up on Thursday at the 2025 Georgia Recreation and Parks Association Class A/B Tournament at Westside Park in Whitfield County. Bartow 8U qualified for the state tournament as the District 5 runner-up to Summerville, and fell to the same opponent in the state championship round. Bartow went 4-2 at the state tournament and had wins over Jackson County (19-11), Carroll County (15-3), Jackson County (25-13), and Whitfield County (12-11) en route to the finals.  The two Bartow losses were to Whitfield County (9-7) in the second round and Summerville (26-0) in the championship game.

June 26, 2025 Bartow County 10U Softball placed fourth at the GRPA State Tournament. Team members include: Olivia Caverly, Amberly Cowart, Cambell Davis, Leah Eubank, Everleigh Gulledge, Charley Hicks, Brinleigh Howerton, Elliana Lonberg, Armauni Palacios, Rylei Pittman, Adalynn Reynolds, and Jenna Rose. Head Coach: Austin Pittman. Assistant coaches: Chris Davis and Rob White. The Bartow County 10U Live Arm Softball team finished fourth at the Georgia Recreation and Parks Association state tournament. The Bartow team went 2-2 in four games in the state tournament played at West Jackson Park in Hoschton. Bartow 10U defeated host and District 7 champion Jackson County 10-5 in the opening round, but was sent to the elimination bracket in the second round after an 11-6 loss to Effingham County. The local team won its first elimination over Bremen 13-9, but lost a rematch with Jackson County on Wednesday night, 13-6. Everleigh Gulledge was Bartow’s top pitcher and tossed a six-inning complete game with 15 strikeouts in the first game against Jackson County. Across the four games of the tournament, Gulledge worked 18 innings in the circle and recorded 29 strikeouts. Elliana Lonberg struck out three in two innings in the circle. Campbell Davis was 3-for-3 in Bartow’s first-round victory. Charley Jo Hicks, Leah Eubank (double), and Adalynn Reynolds added two hits. Hicks finished with two of her team’s four hits in the loss to Effingham County. Against Bremen, Reynolds was 2-for-3 with four RBI, while Davis went 2-for-2. Armauni Palacios added one hit with two RBI in the win. Reynolds, Eubank (RBI), and Davis finished with two hits in Bartow’s loss to Jackson County. Lonberg (RBI), Jenna Rose (two RBI), and Hicks added one hit. Amberly Cowart drove in one run.

June 25, 2025 Excel Christian Academy Head of School, Rodney Stewart, announced this past weekend that the school will delay their start for fielding a high school football program until the 2026-27 school year. ECA had initially planned to start playing nine-man football in August as part of the Georgia Association of Private and Parochial Schools (GAPPS); however, the challenges of launching a completely new program forced school officials to reconsider. “It is mostly a question of logistics,” stated Stewart. “Getting everything together in such a short amount of time was more challenging than we expected. We decided to start with more planning and organization.” Veteran head coach Marty Durden was hired in the Spring to lead the Eagles and will remain on staff with Excel as the preparations continue. “Coach Durden is in this with us for the long haul,” added Stewart. “He recently moved into the community and will continue teaching at Shorter University. His schedule is flexible enough to devote the right energy to the development of our program. We’re a little disappointed that we couldn’t get things going this year, but this plan will be better overall in the long run.” “Our overall enrollment numbers are up for the first time since Covid, so we believe this is a great time to enhance our athletic offerings,” he added. Durden noted the additional planning time was a necessity. “We are starting from scratch. That means building an inventory of equipment, a weight room, and having a proper practice facility are essential. We will get all that organized better with this additional time. We have good athletes and excellent support, so we want to get this right.  The new head coach also indicated they will begin team development this Fall. “We will be touching base with the athletes and organizing some practices. We must begin building a trust relationship, and the kids get to know me. I’m thrilled to be involved with Excel and looking forward to what we can accomplish.”

June 24, 2025 Cartersville 12U will represent District 1 in the 2025 Georgia Little League State Tournament. Team members include: Hayes Burris, Messiah Carter, Grayson Dean, Sawyer Ezell, Gavin Hamm, Carter Harris, Emory Harris, Micah Mitcham, Connor Murphy, Harris Pressley, Hayden Stewart, and Sawyer White. Cartersville Little League 12U won the 2025 Georgia District 1 championship Tuesday night with an 8-2 win over Bartow County Little League 12U on Rudy York Field at Hicks Park. Cartersville went 3-0 in the double-elimination tournament that began last Saturday and handed Bartow its losses. In Tuesday’s championship game, Cartersville broke open a one-run game by scoring six times in the top of the fourth inning. Bartow answered with a run in the bottom of the fifth inning, but got no closer. Harris Pressley pitched all six innings for Cartersville in the finals, scattering three hits and two walks with nine strikeouts. Cartersville received top pitching performances from Messiah Carter and Hayden Stewart in their first two district tournament wins.   Carter closed out a 5-4 Sunday victory over Bartow by retiring the final seven outs. He did not allow a hit and fanned four. Stewart struck out all four batters he faced last Saturday in a 15-0 blanking of Cedartown. Pressley started the Cedartown game on the bump and struck out five as the two combined for a three-inning no-hitter.  Grayson Dean and Emory Harris homered for Cartersville in Tuesday’s championship game. The duo drove in six of their team’s eight runs. Pressley (home run, five RBI), Harris (home run, double, four RBI), and Sawyer Ezell (double, two RBI) led the Cartersville offensive attack during the tournament with four hits each. Dean (home run, double, five RBI) and Hayes Burris (double, RBI) finished the tournament with three hits. Micah Mitcham (double, RBI), Gavin Hamm, Connor Murphy, and Carter (double) contributed two hits. Sawyer White (RBI) had one hit and Stewart added two RBI. Bartow County 12U finished the tournament with a 2-2 record and was the District 1 runner-up. Brantley Collum earned a three-inning pitching win over Rockmart in a 17-2 opening round victory. He recorded five strikeouts. Four Bartow pitchers — Aerion Stein, Mason Benitez, Isaiah Flores, and Noah Rutland — combined for five strikeouts Monday in a 15-3 elimination game win over Rockmart. Bartow’s Kellen Rogers and Greyson Akins pitched one scoreless inning each last Sunday in a 5-4 loss to Cartersville, while Stein yielded only one hit and no runs in 2-⅓ innings of his team’s loss in the finals. In their four-game tournament run, Stein (three home runs, five RBI), Benitez (home run, four RBI), and Christian Boatfield (three doubles, six RBI) paced the Bartow offense with four hits each. Flores finished with three hits and four RBI. Breylan Combs (two home runs, four RBI), Tallan Bradley (two RBI), Greyson Akins (home run, two RBI), Maddox Cole (double, two RBI), and Rutland (double, three RBI) contributed two hits each. Ryder Myers (RBI) and Collum (RBI) added one hit. As District 1 champion, Cartersville 12U advances to the 2025 Georgia Little League State Tournament, which begins July 12 at Vine Ingle Little League in Macon. Bartow County Little League 12U finished as runner-up in Georgia District 1. Team members include: Greyson Akins, Mason Benitez, Christian Boatfield, Tallan Bradley, Maddox Cole, Brantley Collum, Breylan Combs, Isaiah Flores, Jon Ryder Myers, Kellen Rogers, Noah Rutland, and Aerion Stein. Manager: Scott Brady. Coaches: John Myers, Thomas Akins, and Curtis Stein.

June 23, 2025 The Bartow County Little League 12U tournament team eliminated Rockmart Little League on Monday night at Rudy York Field with a 15-3 win. The win by Bartow moves them into the championship round of the double-elimination District 1 tournament against unbeaten Cartersville Little League 12U. Cartersville 12U defeated Cedartown in the first round on Saturday and sent Bartow to the loser’s bracket on Sunday with a 5-4 win. Bartow has two tournament wins over Rockmart. Bartow needs two wins on Tuesday to claim the district championship. Cartersville only needs one win. The first game is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Rudy York Field at Hicks Park. The District 1 champion advances to the Georgia Little League state tournament that begins July 12 at Vine Ingle Little League in Macon.