The Gatewood baseball 2025 class certainly left its mark on the program.
The Gators’ seven seniors concluded their time with the program last Saturday after winning three consecutive GIAA Class AA state championships. They also won three straight region titles and ended their Gatewood careers with an 84-36 record.
Gatewood head coach Brandon Moss said he was proud of this year’s group of seniors, including Walker Roberts, Hunter Johnson, Ames Johnson, Wilson Moore, John Wallace Thompson, Jackson Love, and Jack Rich.
“While the accolades are incredible, it’s the character of these kids as individuals and as a group that defines them,” Moss said. “From the day I saw them, I knew they were gamers.
“They showed up to work every single day, being led by the intensity of Hunter Johnson and Ames Johnson, the steadiness of Walker Roberts and Jackson Love, the loyalty of Jake Rich, the encouragement of Wilson Moore and John Wallace Thompson. These guys established the culture of a winning brand. They did it the right way.”
Moss saw growth in every single player across their careers at Gatewood. He also watched them grow up in life.
“They improved every single year they were here. The ones that didn’t play football showed up in September through January to put in the work to improve,” Moss said. “They were a coach’s dream. Watching them grow over the last five years from middle schoolers to young men has been an absolute pleasure.”
Roberts was one of the team’s big-time contributors during its runs to the state championships, but he also faced his fair share of defeats in the final round of the playoffs.
A few of Gatewood’s seniors were part of the team as eighth graders and freshmen when it lost back-to-back state championships in 2021 and 2022 to Terrell Academy and Piedmont Academy, respectively.
According to Roberts, those losses fueled him and his teammates as they began their sophomore season.
“After my eighth-grade and freshman years, my teammates and I were frustrated after losing game three of the state championship twice in a row,” Roberts recalled. “I believe this is what made us the team we were in the years that followed. This put a chip on our shoulders and gave us an attitude that no other team had.”
Roberts said it felt special to leave Synovus Park in Columbus after winning three consecutive titles.
“I think what made winning another state championship so special this year was the fact that it was our third in a row,” Roberts said. “Typically, high school teams aren’t accomplishing things like this.”
Hunter Johnson made significant contributions at the plate and in the field for Gatewood over the last few years.
“We were all committed,” he insisted. “We’ve been playing together since the eighth and ninth grades, so it was just special growing up with them. Those guys are special. We all bonded well and treated each other like brothers. It was really special because each of them was a great player and teammate at the same time.”
Gatewood returns half of its team next season, including players Jayden Moss, Drew Love, and Lawson Moore, among others.
Roberts and Johnson believe the younger players can maintain the standard they set and win another title.
“I honestly think we left our mark, but it wasn’t just our senior class that pushed us through this year,” Johnson said. “The underclassmen pushed us to be great, and we did the same. Hopefully, our senior class will be one to remember, but these guys coming up held their own. They’ll do the same job as they did this year.”