MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. — If you know anything about John Milledge Academy, you probably know the name Briggs Eady.
The Trojans’ senior is a star in just about every season at JMA but right now it's baseball season, where the Trojans find themselves in the Final Four once again.
“Winning, that's the best thing about being here,” Eady said.
Over the last four years, winning is something this guy's gotten pretty used to.
“I mean you could talk about that forever, you can tell your kids about it, tell everybody that you've won seven state championships,” Eady said. “It's probably a record somewhere. You don't really think about that at the time but when you grow up, you'll look back on stuff like that.”
Yes. Seven.
Four straight state titles as quarterback on the football field. A first-ever this year for basketball, and now, Briggs is hoping to go back-to-back with baseball for the first time ever.
And whether it's the turf, the hardwood, or the diamond, it's Briggs leading the Trojans’ march.
“We've been through it,” Eady said. “We've been through football, basketball, all the tough moments and you try to keep everybody as a team together and we're all very close so it's not very hard to do it.”
The GIAA player of the year last fall was most recently seen hitting three home runs in JMA’s Elite Eight series against Heritage.
None of it comes as much of a surprise.
“Everything he does is max effort,” head coach Chad Starley said. “Whether it's jogging out to his position, taking swings off a tee or shooting hoops with guys, he always wants to win. It's just something that's in him. It's either in you or it's not and it's in him.”
But, as Briggs gears up to go for state title number seven, even he knows it's going to take a team.
“Baseball isn't just a me sport,” Eady said. “You've got to have all nine hitting, you've got to have all nine playing the field, pitching, everybody's got to be clicking at the same time.”
And a team that's confident as ever with their guy leading the way.
“It’s just a fun environment to be out there,” Eady said. “Everybody's relaxed, everybody knows we've got each other's back and we don't have to worry about anything else.”
JMA hosts Valwood for a right to play in the 2023 state championship. Friday’s doubleheader begins at 1 p.m. in Milledgeville.