The John Milledge Academy (JMA) Trojans baseball season came to an end last Saturday on St. Simons Island, where the Frederica Knights won the series-deciding game three over the Trojans.
JMA took game one 3-1 over the Knights last Friday afternoon but lost game two 9-2. The Trojans and Knights were tied 6-6 after seven innings leading to an extra innings thriller in game three for the rights to play in the GIAA AAA baseball semi-finals.
JMA took the lead 8-6 in the top of the eighth inning but the Knights continued to chip away at the Trojans lead. With one runner on and one run scored, Frederica hit a walk-off home run win 9-8 and to advance themselves to the GIAA AAA semi-finals by finishing the Trojans’ season.
JMA head coach Tucker Bradley said he was sad to see his team's season come to an abrupt end but he is not disappointed in its overall results.
“It was a great season,” Bradley said. “I couldn’t ask for a better group of kids or better school, from the support to the family atmosphere. It was everything we had hoped for.”
In his first year as a head coach Bradley’s Trojans went 18-12 and came up just one run short of making it to the state semi-finals. And after a good first season Bradley said he hopes to see his young players continue to grow and make another push for the state championship in 2027.
“We have a good young group who were led by the seniors who set the new standard and now it’s their time to take the next jump,” Bradley said, looking forward to next season.
The Trojans had a plethora of great underclassmen who made names for themselves this past season and stepped up into big roles throughout the 2026 campaign.
Eighth grader Xay Cheney is the youngest member of the JMA squad and he made his impact felt from game one on through the end of the season. Cheney finished 2026 with the third-most runs (25) and second-most stolen bases (17) on the Trojans’ team.
Freshman Gus Cummings was impressive at both the plate and on the mound but his biggest impact was felt when he toed the rubber in 2026. Of all the JMA pitchers who made 10 or more appearances, Cummings had the second-best ERA (3.78) and second-most wins with a 4-2 record. Cummings also had the second highest number of strikeouts (43) and allowed just 25 hits, the lowest amount among JMA pitchers with 10 or more appearances.
Fellow freshman Lane Rhodes also had an impactful season highlighted by his game-winning score to beat rival Piedmont in March. Rhodes finished 2026 with a .329 batting average, 24 hits, and 19 RBIs.
Sophomore Nathan Snow had the third-most hits for the Trojans with 25 and second-most RBIs with 20. Snow also had a great season at first base with a fielding percentage of .902 committing only four errors all season.
The most impactful underclassmen was sophomore Asa Wall. Wall showed his range of athleticism on the diamond this season by leading the Trojans in eight major offensive categories including a .400 batting average, .525 on base percentage, four home runs, 29 runs scored, 34 hits, 35 RBIs, .663 slugging percentage, and seven doubles. Wall also committed zero errors in the outfield in 2026 fielding 31 balls on 31 chances.