If the University of Georgia baseball team is going to make it to the Men’s College World Series next month, pitcher Leighton Finley will have a great deal to do with it.
PHOTO: Richmond Hill alum Leighton Finley delivers a pitch for the No. 7 Georgia Bulldogs during the 2025 season. Finley has emerged as a key arm in UGA’s rotation. (Photo by Conor Dillon, UGAAA. Courtesy of the University of Georgia Athletic Association.)
Finley is scheduled to start Friday when the Bulldogs host Binghamton in the first game of their NCAA Division I regional in Athens. The right-hander, a junior from Richmond Hill, leads the team with 62 innings pitched as UGA (42-15) earned the No. 7 national seeding, the right to host the regional, and, if it advances through the weekend, a super regional.
“I don’t think we’re surprised about it,” Finley (2-2, 5.08 ERA) said on Wednesday night. “This was our goal and what we expected from the beginning of the year in hosting a regional, just like we did last year.
“Now we’ve got to go win it,” he added.
The Bulldogs face the America East champion Bearcats (29-24) at 12:06 p.m. Friday at Foley Field, followed by Duke (37-19) against Oklahoma State (28-23) at 6:06 p.m. in the double-elimination format. The losers of Friday’s games play at 12:06 p.m. Saturday, with Friday’s winners meeting at 6:06 p.m. Saturday.
The survivors play at 12:06 and 6:06 p.m. Sunday, with the time for Monday’s game, if necessary, to be determined.
“It doesn’t matter what team you’re playing, it’s going to be a battle,” Finley said. “Every team is there for a reason, whether that’s winning their conference tournament or being a really good ballclub. No game’s easy, no regional is going to be easy. Anything can happen. You can’t take any team lightly. You’ve just got to go out there and play your best ball.”
Finley has been playing his best ball after what he described as “a little rough patch” early in the season. Though the Bulldogs are 12-3 in games he has pitched, he did get a healthy amount of run support to get out of some sticky situations.
He gave up five runs on five hits and four walks with one strikeout in two innings against Florida Gulf Coast on February 28. Georgia won 10-9, but his earned-run average increased from 1.00 to 4.91.
The team’s March 8 victory over Columbia raised his ERA to 6.00 after allowing five runs (four earned) in three innings. The ERA hit a season-high of 7.71 after an outing against Kentucky, which Georgia won on March 16.
But the ERA steadily decreased from there as Finley has made 13 starts in 15 games played this season and recorded 25 walks to 76 strikeouts, the latter matching his 2024 total which also ranked second on the team.
“That beginning of the year was a little rough patch for me,” said Finley, listed at 6-foot-5 and 225 pounds. “It took me a little bit to figure things out and really get in a groove. I think I’ve hit that groove and started going.”
A 2022 Richmond Hill High School graduate who starred for the Wildcats’ baseball and basketball teams, he hoped for a better season in 2025, but it’s been “pretty good.”
“At the end of the day, you can’t complain,” he said. “You’ve got to go with the flow and accept what happened early on in the season. I look back at it and I’m pretty proud of myself. I think it’s a pretty good year. There’s definitely been a lot of things I’ve improved on since last year.”
He has worked on his slider, which he considers his out-pitch, and also has command of a four-seam fastball, two-seam fastball, changeup, and curveball.
“Most of the time, I stick with the regular fastball, the slider and the changeup,” Finley said. “I’ll bring out the curveball if I need it.”
Finley thinks his fastball has topped out at 97 mph this season and hit 98 last season. His college career record is 10-5 with five saves, a 4.84 ERA, 63 walks, and 183 strikeouts in 165 1/3 innings over 53 games (30 starts).
His impressive numbers aren’t limited to baseball, as Finley was selected to the Southeastern Conference Academic Honor Roll as a freshman and sophomore and expects a three-peat with the conclusion of this semester for the sports management major.
His dream is to play in the major leagues, as his older brother Jackson Finley, also a Richmond Hill graduate, is currently pursuing in the Athletics organization. Jackson was an eighth-round draft pick out of Georgia Tech in 2023.
Leighton, as all UGA faithful do, takes pride in the Bulldogs beating the rival Yellow Jackets, as happened on April 15 at the Atlanta Braves’ home stadium, Truist Park. While Leighton didn’t pitch in that game, the experience of playing in a major league park packed with UGA and Tech fans was “awesome.” He also let his big brother know about the 5-2 result.
He noted that Georgia Tech (40-17) was assigned to the regional hosted by Ole Miss this weekend. If UGA wins its regional, it will host the winner of the Oxford Regional in a best-of-three super regional, meaning that Tech could be coming to Athens.
“There’s a chance,” Finley said. “You never know, but that would be pretty cool. I would have to say that would be pretty cool.”
He said his biggest highlight this season was Georgia’s 7-6 victory on a walk-off homer in the 12th inning to beat then No. 1 Arkansas on April 13. He fanned a season-high-tying eight batters and allowed three hits, two runs (one earned), and one walk in 5 2/3 innings.
One “bummer” was Finley didn’t face Arkansas’ standout outfielder Justin Thomas, a former high school foe at Benedictine and a former roommate when Thomas played for UGA his freshman year.
“He’s a great guy; a really good ballplayer, too,” Finley said. “I didn’t have much time playing with him. I had the one year, so it was cool.”
The Razorbacks (43-13), the No. 3 national seed, are hosting a regional this weekend in Fayetteville, Ark. The winner faces the winner of the Knoxville Regional in a super regional.
“I would love to meet those guys in Omaha,” Finley said of the Razorbacks. “That would be pretty cool. We’ve got to get through this regional (and the super regional) first.”
Photo Credits: Conor Dillon, UGAAA. Courtesy of the University of Georgia Athletic Association and Uniiversity of Georgia Baseball Page
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