Osborne ready to lead South Effingham High baseball squad
GUYTON — Jesse Osborne admits his path to head baseball coach at South Effingham High School wasn’t typical.
Osborne started as the Mustangs' varsity basketball coach after four years as a middle school basketball coach in Richmond Hill.
But after two years patrolling the sidelines of South’s gym, Osborne looked toward a seat in the Mustangs’ baseball dugout.
He met with newly hired coach Todd Eubanks before the 2019 season. Osborne, a right- handed pitcher, played baseball at SEHS for three years before playing at Armstrong Atlantic State University. Surely, he could assist Eubanks somehow.
“I was just looking for an opportunity. I’d do whatever was needed,” Osborne said.
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His pitching knowledge was evident and soon was calling pitches from the dugout. In four years, the Eubanks/Osborne tag team took the Mustangs to the elite of Class 5A.
When Eubanks left last month for a chance to be closer to family at Woodland High in Cartersville, Osborne was ready for another step forward.
He applied for the head coaching job and on June 8 was approved by the county school board.
“I’m a different person than coach Eubanks, but big picture, we’re not going to change a lot,” Osborne said. “If it’s not broken, why change?”
Osborne, 32, gave credit to his mentors. He played for coach Tony Kirkland at SEHS and earned all-region and all-state honors as a senior in 2008.
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Jesse Osborne's coaching style
At Armstrong, Osborne played for Joe Roberts — among the winningest baseball coaches in Division II.
And as a coach, Osborne had the chance to pick the brain of Eubanks, who entered the spring ranked 23rd in wins (463) among Georgia’s active high school coaches.
Eubanks’ formula for success centered around good pitching and a small-ball philosophy of putting baserunners in motion and manufacturing runs.
Whatever wins games, Osborne says about implementing a game plan.
“We small-balled people to death at Armstrong, and with coach Kirkland, we never bunted,” Osborne said. “We won a lot of games at both places.”
The Mustangs won the GHSA Region 2-6A championship in 2021 with a 1-0 victory over Richmond Hill in the region finale. That team tied a school single-season record with 27 wins and advanced to the Class 6A Elite Eight at state.
Under Osborne’s guidance, Nick “Tiny” Milbrandt earned Region 2-6A Pitcher of the Year accolades.
This spring, SEHS entered the final week of the regular season tied for first place in the region standings before stumbling, but the Mustangs rebounded to knock off Region 4 champion Westlake in the first round of state and took highly regarded Allatoona to the third game of the best-of-three series in the Sweet 16.
Osborne said he talked to SEHS athletic director Nick Smith about wanting the job after Eubanks announced he was leaving.
“I didn’t want to go without saying it,” Osborne said.
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Eubanks gave support through social media. The duo took a SEHS program that had gone 16-16 in 2018 and produced a 77-41 squad over the next four years.
There will be a strong nucleus returning — and a new coach who has had a hand in winning at the school will be in charge.
“We have a good group of seniors coming back and we’ll be looking for young guys to step up,” Osborne said. “This school has had a strong baseball program over the years. I know I have big shoes to fill.”
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: South Effingham High School hires Jesse Osborne as head baseball coach
