When Savannah’s Justin Thomas Jr. contemplated his baseball future a year ago, he had some very good options.
The former Benedictine two-sport star had put up impressive numbers for his Florida junior college baseball team and earned an armload of postseason 
honors in 2024. As a sophomore, the outfielder considered the Major League Baseball draft last summer, but there was something else, something personal that was gnawing at him.
“I had pro teams reaching out to me about going into the draft and stuff like that,” Thomas said this week. “I wanted to come play again in the SEC again for one more year. I had some things to prove.”
When he entered the transfer portal after his freshman season at Georgia, Thomas was recruited by Division I programs and committed in October 2023 to head coach Dave Van Horn’s perennial national power at Arkansas, which among its advantages was membership in the Southeastern Conference.
“I liked everything they were telling me about how I’m going to be a better athlete, be a better hitter, surrounded by 11,000 fans every weekend (for home games),” said Thomas, now a junior studying sports management in Fayetteville, Ark. “I felt like it was a no-brainer to come here, plus it’s in the SEC.”
The Razorbacks (46-13) are the highest remaining national seed (No. 3) in the NCAA Division I postseason when they host another SEC school, No. 14 seed Tennessee (46-17), in the best-of-three super regional starting Saturday at 5 p.m. Eastern at Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville. Game 2 is Sunday at 3 p.m. ET, with a third game, if necessary, on Monday at a time to be determined.
Arkansas was ranked as high as third and no lower than sixth in five of the leading national polls on June 3. The super regional winner advances to the Men’s College World Series beginning June 13 in Omaha, Neb.
Thomas’ quest to play again in the SEC stems from his initial experience as a true freshman for the 2023 season at Georgia. What might have been the first chapter of a storybook career at the in-state university fell far below expectations.
“It was not how I wanted it to go,” Thomas said. “I know God has a plan for me, and that’s not where he wanted me to be at that time. I’m grateful for the path he put me on toward this because without him, I wouldn’t be in the position I am now.”
Thomas said that he joined a UGA roster that had “a lot of older, mature guys that had played college ball already.” He played in 25 of 56 games, making eight starts in the outfield.
When he did play, the numbers weren’t characteristic of his baseball career, including at Benedictine, where he was the Region 3-4A Player of the Year as a senior. Thomas batted .517 with a .634 on-base percentage, 13 doubles, five triples, a school-record 16 home runs, 71 runs scored, and 53 RBIs in 38 games for the GHSA Class 4A state semifinalists. A nationally ranked prospect rated one of the top 30 players in the state, Thomas also stole 18 bases in 18 attempts for the Cadets in 2022.
In 2023, however, he batted .103 (3-for-29) for the Bulldogs, with one double, one homer, five RBIs, seven walks, four hit by a pitch, and 15 strikeouts.
Thomas had seven total bases for the entire season. That could be one game during his Benedictine career.
“I think at Georgia, I took (things) for granted a little bit. I think going to junior college, it had me realize things I should be grateful for in life,” said Thomas, who saw UGA change head coaches from Scott Stricklin to Wes Johnson in June 2023.
“I felt like I needed a change of scenery, I needed to go somewhere where I was going to be play every single day, get more (at-bats). Going to junior college was the best option for me.”
Every-day player
Thomas did become a regular starter at Florida SouthWestern State in Fort Myers, playing 58 games and batting .393 with 14 homers, 49 RBIs, 44 walks, and team highs with 86 runs and 21 doubles.
He was voted to the NJCAA All-America third team, the FCSAA Region 8 All-State first team, and the Citrus Conference first team.
His fourth team in four seasons would be Arkansas, where FSW assistant coach Cullen Smith concluded his playing career and then was a student assistant coach.
Thomas’ decision has gone very well. He is batting .290 with nine homers, 34 RBIs, 45 runs, 32 walks, 46 strikeouts, 5-of-8 on stolen-base attempts, and a .981 fielding percentage in 56 games (48 starts).
“I felt like I’ve had a pretty decent year. Sometimes I know I could have done better,” Thomas said. “As long as the team is doing good, I’m happy. I’ll be fine going 0-for-4 as long as we win; I’m happy about that. I want to get to Omaha and win a national championship. I feel like that’s what a lot of kids on this team’s goal is.
“I feel like we owe that to our coaching staff,” he continued. “The amount of time and effort and dedication they put into us. We owe it to them to come out every day and practice hard and play hard and give them the energy and respect.”
Reunion in Athens
Playing for Arkansas meant a return to Athens, but wearing a different uniform, for a three-game series against UGA on April 11-13.
“It wasn’t weird. It was good to be back in Athens,” Thomas said. “It wasn’t awkward. I knew I had to go there and prove a point.”
He noted that it was nice that his parents and family friends were at the game, and it was good to see former UGA teammates, including his former roommate, junior pitcher Leighton Finley, a Richmond Hill High School graduate.
“(Finley) was a great guy, always offering to help, a great heart, a hard worker, was raised by great parents,” Thomas said. “He was a great guy to be around. If I was ever feeling down, Leighton was always a guy to turn to, always cheering me up.”
As for the games, the Razorbacks beat the then-No. 7 Bulldogs 13-3 in Game 1, then lost 7-6 and 7-6 (12 innings) as UGA won the series.
“It didn’t quite turn out like I wanted it to turn out, but I felt like I left my presence there,” Thomas said.
He homered in the Razorbacks’ most recent game, a three-run shot in the second inning of an 8-3 victory over Creighton on Sunday to capture the Fayetteville Regional with an impressively efficient 3-0 tournament.
“That was a good moment. I finally put one out. It’s been a couple of weeks,” Thomas recalled. “It was a good feeling, especially with our fans here.”
He credits fans for their support and the energy they bring to home games – with the squad 35-4 at Baum-Walker Stadium. He also lauds the Razorbacks for not taking anything for granted and playing the game in front of them.
His focus is on the super regional, not Omaha, and not the MLB draft, which he said he “more than likely” will enter again.
They have fresh memories of Tennessee from their regular-season series May 15-17 in Fayetteville. The Volunteers won the opener 10-7 before the Razorbacks took the series on 8-6 and 8-4 victories.
“They have great pitchers, great hitters, a great coach,” Thomas said. “We know they’re going to come in and give us a run for our money.”
Photo Credits: Courtesy of Arkansas Athletics
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