Last year provided a roller coaster season of emotions for the John Milledge Academy (JMA) Trojans baseball program.
After the school fired former head coach Chad Starley, middle school head coach Justin Mills took over as the interim head coach of the Trojans and did an admirable job, leading them all the way to the state semi-finals before losing to eventual state champion Frederica Academy.
Over the summer JMA hired former Georgia Bulldogs outfielder and Gordon Lee high school assistant baseball coach Tucker Bradley. Bradley, 27, hopes not only to sustain the success the Trojans have enjoyed over the past decade but to continue building on that success.
“It’s been great. It’s a real family-like atmosphere here.” Bradley said of JMA. “We’re really getting to know each other, luckily I’m able to teach about 80-to-90-percent of them (baseball players) during the school day, so I get to see them every day, how they’re acting, how their day is going, everything about that. So, not just the baseball side of it; so I’m just getting to know them as people, not just as athletes.”
Bradley inherited a veteran roster with five seniors and four juniors who he believes can help lead the large group of underclassmen the Trojans carry this season.
“Absolutely experience is everything in the sport.” Bradley said. “That experience is going to show those freshmen how to win, how to be a leader and everything that it takes to win a ballgame. We even have an eighth grader that’s going to be getting some playing time, so it’s great to have those seniors be able to lead them and show them the way of how we do things here and creating that new culture we’re trying to get to.”
The senior leadership for the Trojans starts with Bradyn Harrison, who has the second-highest batting average of all the Trojans’ returning starters. Harrison batted .322 in 2025 and drove in 11 runs on 29 hits including three doubles and one triple.
Fellow senior Grayson Paradise drove in 15 runs on 21 hits as a junior and scored 17 of his own runs including two homers.
JMA also has a lot of promising talent among their underclassmen, especially Georgia football commit Asa Wall, who as a freshman had a huge impact on the Trojans power at the plate. In 2025 Wall finished with an offensive slash line of .351/.422/.509 while also driving in 16 runs.
On the mound, Brooks and Paradise are the Trojans key returning pitchers. Brooks finished 2025 with a 2.43 ERA and 29 strikeouts. Paradise earned five wins and a 4.14 ERA with 42 strikeouts and just 21 walks in 49 innings of work.
New addition Lewis Cheney is expected to step into a starting role for the Trojans in 2026 as well. Cheney brings great potential, and his head coach spoke highly of him and what he expects from the Trojans’ newest addition.
“Lewis Cheney is going to be a ‘P-O’ (Putout) and one of our best arms this year and he’s taken on that role of I’m trying to be that guy,” Bradley said. “I’m trying to be our game one starter, just getting that dog mentality in him.”
Bradley also spoke highly of other seniors who stepped up as leaders throughout the preseason.
“It’s hard to put a name on just one of them, they all bring different things to the table,” he said. “Bradyn Harrison is that experienced centerfielder that’s been starting for three years and he controls the outfield while getting us going.”
Cohen Brooks is another senior Bradley praised, saying the catcher, has been amazing behind the plate and has worked harder than anyone else at perfecting his craft.
JMA will begin their season by hosting Brentwood on Friday, Feb. 27, in Milledgeville at 4 p.m.