When Gatewood hired former Major League Baseball All-Star Brandon Moss in 2021, it generated plenty of excitement about the program and what it could become under his leadership.
Moss quickly whipped things into shape and led the Gators to back-to-back state championship series in 2021 and 2022 for the first time in 10 seasons.
Gatewood lost both of those final series, but a new standard had been set, and a more-than-bright future lay ahead that nobody could have predicted.
When Moss was hired, former Gatewood athletic director Buster Douglas said he hoped Moss would “bring stability to the program and a world of knowledge.” In an interview with The Walton Tribune in August 2020, before starting as head coach, Moss shared what he was hoping to achieve at the Eatonton-based school.
“My primary focus will be to recognize and develop talent, but also to prepare these young men for the next level of life,” he said. “For some, that next level may include baseball, but for many more, it will not. I believe that with a focus on the fundamentals, the wins will follow.
“However, never in the history of sports has a title been won by anyone other than the people playing for it. Players win championships when they work hard, dedicate themselves to their craft and their team, and believe in the men leading them.”
Since arriving at Gatewood, Moss has led with confidence, and as a coach and mentor, his players could believe in him to always deliver his best.
In 2023, he led his Gators to a 19-9 record and a third straight state championship series. Gatewood went 4-1 through the first two rounds of the playoffs that year and began the final series with a dominant 10-4 win over Southwest Georgia Academy.
However, Game 2 presented a close battle that ended in a heartbreaking loss to the Warriors, who walked off with two runs in the bottom of the seventh to claim a 2-1 win.
Game 3 was postponed due to inclement weather and moved to Hephzibah, where field conditions were less than ideal after a steady light rainfall persisted throughout the early afternoon. Despite the rain, Gatewood came out swinging and scored eight unanswered runs in the first inning. The Gators followed up with one run in each of the second and third innings and, after five innings, were awarded a 10-0 mercy rule victory, capturing the elusive state title the program had been seeking for 32 years.
Gatewood enjoyed its most successful regular season to date in 2024, going 20-8, followed up by just one playoff loss, this time to Edmond Burke Academy in the state championship series. Then, as in the previous year, Game 3 was moved due to inclement weather to Tattnall Square Academy in Macon, where Gatewood started slowly but built a 6-0 lead by the fourth inning that held up for the win and a second straight state title.
Following that championship victory, Moss said all the little things, the hard work, and the effort his players put into the season, meant “everything” to him. He harkened back to his earliest comments in 2020 when he said his teams would focus on the fundamentals and that the winning would follow.
In fact, the winning has followed the Gators ever since. The team won 24 games in 2025 and 20 this past season, becoming even more confident and successful along the way. The 2026 season was the most dominant so far for Gatewood under Moss, ending with an undefeated 6-0 postseason run, capped by a no-hitter on May 29 in the state championship game over The Heritage School.
Still, Moss said the overall experience has been the most rewarding part of his time at Gatewood, more so than he ever expected.
“It’s been incredible,” Moss said. “Obviously, the success the program has enjoyed has been an awesome experience, but the memories that I’ve made with the players collectively and individually, and the relationships I’ve made with them have been just as great.
“The team dinners, the long bus rides, the practices that turn unexpectedly difficult, the winter workouts, and seeing players get the most out of themselves, all of it contributes to the overall enjoyment I’ve experienced.”
And now, the 2027 campaign awaits.