DOUGLAS, Ga. (WALB) — For the second straight year, Citizens Christian Academy is headed to the state championship series with a chance to win back-to-back titles, and this senior class has been at the center of it all.

The Patriots will face David Emanuel Institute beginning Thursday at J.I. Clements Stadium on the Georgia Southern University campus in Statesboro. The best-of-three series runs through Saturday.

“Me and these guys, we’ve grown up with each other since we were all little kids, and we all have a real true connection with each other,” senior Landon Williams said.

That bond started long before championship expectations, but now it has helped create them.

Building a championship culture

For CCA, winning has become the standard. Behind the plate, senior catcher Skyler Woods has helped keep that standard steady.

“Just being able to see the whole field, I’m trying to be the leader of this team and make calls and do what I think is best for the pitching staff and for the team as a whole,” Woods said.

Woods works with a dominant pitching staff that includes Clemson commit Blake Bryant and sophomore Thomas Gentry.

“Blake’s obviously going to Clemson, big school, and then Thomas is a hard thrower and just really good,” Woods said. “So it’s pretty easy when you’ve got those guys out there.”

Senior Gray McLean said another state championship would validate the work this group has put in.

“This would mean everything. I mean, if we don’t win this, we’d just be a bust,” McLean said. “With the talent and effort we’ve put in with this team, we should expect nothing less than to win it.”

A legacy beyond wins

The impact of this senior class is not only measured by wins. It is measured by the players following behind them.

Sophomore Gentry, who plays a key role on the pitching staff, said the seniors took him in when he arrived in eighth grade.

“I moved here my eighth grade year and really built a relationship with all of them,” Gentry said. “They took me under the wing. It’s been fun to play for them, and I’d love to win another one for them.”

Senior Luke Russ said the closeness of the group extends beyond the field.

“I mean, even last night after practice, we went out to eat together as a team, as a senior class,” Russ said. “We have a really good relationship with each other.”

Senior Jackson Knight said the connection comes from years of playing together.

“We’ve been playing together since, I mean, 8U, I feel like,” Knight said. “So we definitely have a good connection with everybody.”

For Bryant, this final week is about more than what comes next. It is about finishing with the teammates who became family.

“These guys have been everything to me. They’re close. They’re family. We have great relationships,” Bryant said. “I know it’s going to suck when I move off and hardly ever see these guys again. But hopefully, I stay in contact with these guys because they mean everything to me.”

Coach Coram’s championship program

Since taking over in 2016, head coach Jeremy Coram has built CCA into a championship program. A state title in 2019, another one in 2025, and now this senior class is one series away from going back-to-back.

Coram said this group of seniors has been with him longer than any other class.

“These guys have been at CCA, some of them since K-4, some of them since fifth grade,” Coram said. “From all the way in middle school baseball to now, probably what’s the most special to me has nothing to do with baseball at all. And just seeing these guys grow in their walk with Christ, grow as leaders, grow in the classroom.”

Coram said he has never been as close to a senior class as he is to these six players.

“Just what they mean to us, what they mean to the program, man, what they mean to CCA,” Coram said. “The culture that we’ve tried to set here, man, those guys have been a big part of that. And we definitely wouldn’t be where we are without them.”

The coach said the expectations and culture at CCA will not change, even as this senior class graduates.

“No matter, yeah, I’m losing six pretty good seniors this year. It doesn’t matter for us. The expectations and the culture doesn’t change,” Coram said. “We expect to be here at the end of the year next year and be right back in this spot.”

Coram invited young players to practice this week, including his own son’s 9U team, creating a full-circle moment. Some of the current seniors were part of youth teams Corum invited to practice before the 2019 state championship.

McLean said he wants the team’s legacy to reflect dominance.

“That we just dominated the high school baseball junior and senior year,” McLean said. “Sophomore year, we kind of slipped up and took out in the Elite Eight. But 11th and 12th grade, we’ve really been ready for it.”

Bryant said the focus this week is on staying locked in despite outside attention.

“Just us not getting distracted with the outside of baseball. Just focusing on every day, working hard, hitting the weight room, coming to the field, taking it serious and not goofing around,” Bryant said. “Just taking every rep that matters.”

One final series. One final chance to finish it together. And for these seniors, one final opportunity to leave CCA baseball better than they found it.

The championship series begins Thursday at J.I. Clements Stadium in Statesboro.

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