NIL

What Georgia pays softball coach Tony Baldwin after 2024 extension

Georgia softball reached the NCAA Super Regional round this past season for the third straight year under coach Tony Baldwin. It came after a tough SEC season when a Bulldogs team with an overhauled roster did not win an SEC series in a conference that saw three teams reach the final four of the Women’s […]

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Georgia softball reached the NCAA Super Regional round this past season for the third straight year under coach Tony Baldwin.

It came after a tough SEC season when a Bulldogs team with an overhauled roster did not win an SEC series in a conference that saw three teams reach the final four of the Women’s College World Series.

Georgia awarded Baldwin with a boost in pay and a three-year contract extension in a deal signed last September, according to a contract obtained by the Athens Banner-Herald in an open records request.

It keeps Baldwin under contract through the end of the 2029 season and raised his total pay to $325,000 annually. That’s an increase of approximately $87,000 for Baldwin, who just completed his fourth season as Georgia’s head coach.

Baldwin’s pay is still below at least nine other SEC coaches according to a salary survey from The Oklahoman.

As part of the deal, Baldwin’s total pay increases $25,000 each year of the deal to $350,000 starting July 1, 2025, $375,000 on July 1, 2026, $400,000 on July 1, 2027 and $425,000 on July 1, 2028.

Baldwin also received a $30,000 longevity bonus on Sept. 30, 2024 and receives a $25,000 longevity bonus one month after each season.

He was due to receive a $50,000 longevity bonus on July 31, 2026 under his original contract after he was promoted from associate coach under Lu Harris-Champer following the 2021 season when the Bulldogs last made the Women’s College World Series.

Georgia finished the 2025 season with a 35-23 record. It went 7-16 in the SEC but won an NCAA regional as a lower-seeded team at Duke.

“This was a very young team, we graduated a ton of seniors last year,” athletic director Josh Brooks said. “Really excited with the progress they made. With all due respect to Duke and every other conference, we went through a gauntlet in the SEC. I knew once we got to regionals…I felt good about our opportunity.”

Georgia lost a deciding game three against Florida in a Super Regional series in Gainesville, 5-2.

“We’ve taken our share of punches and shots and all of the setbacks and we’ve shown up every week to start the new week with a fresh mindset that this week’s going to be our week and you don’t get that without great senior people in your room,” Baldwin, who is 163-75 as head coach, said after the final game. “We had some shortcomings this year, but the reason that we played for a chance to go to the World Series today was because of the people we have in a room, and I’ll go to bat with that any time.”

Brooks said he feels good about where the program is with a young team and the additions it’s making in the transfer portal and through the high school ranks.

“We’re giving them support now, a brand new facility,” Brooks said of softball upgrades. “We got to showcase it at the SEC softball tournament. I think facilities still do matter. I know NIL has become a big thing, but for a sport like softball, not just for recruiting but for how a kid will be able to train and develop and where they’ll call home, I think matters. I think it will keep elevating that program.”



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