ATHENS -- Georgia baseball coach Wes Johnson put any questions to rest about him leaving for the head coaching vacancy at Mississippi State.

Johnson was clear and concise in his comments on the opening at Mississippi State, a job he has been linked to by several national media outlets.

“I love Georgia,” Johnson said. “I have no plans to venture to Starkville, let’s just say that.”

Mississippi State fired former head coach Chris Lemonis on April 28 after a rollercoaster six-year stretch. Lemonis won the program’s first College World Series title in 2021 before back-to-back 9-21 records in SEC play.

Mississippi State went 17-13 in the SEC last year before another ugly start in 2025. Lemonis was fired after the team fell to 7-14 in SEC play, well below the standards in Starkville.

Johnson hasn’t done anything to validate the possibility of a move to Mississippi State, but the speculation was fair considering his past.

Johnson was Mississippi State’s pitching coach in 2016 and helped the maroon Bulldogs go worst-to-first, literally. Mississippi State finished 2015 at the bottom of the SEC standings (8-22) and finished 2016 in first place (21-9).

Mississippi State also saw six pitchers selected in the 2016 MLB Draft following the turnaround season. The team ERA dropped from 4.51 to 3.35 in Johnson’s only season in Starkville.

Johnson signed an extension through 2030 last July after leading Georgia to the NCAA Tournament super regionals. The Bulldogs earned the No. 7 national seed and were one win away from their first College World Series appearance since 2008.

Johnson has kept the momentum rolling into 2025, as the Bulldogs were just named the No. 1 team in the country by two national polls and are chasing another national seed.

The Mississippi State opening was the first ‘promotion’ that Johnson has been heavily linked to since coming to Georgia.

It’s not a knock on Georgia’s program to consider the State job as a step up. Mississippi State is one of the top baseball powerhouses in the country.

State’s Dudy Noble Field is one of the cathedrals of college baseball, a raucous SEC environment that holds over 15,000 fans. That’s the largest capacity of any SEC ballpark.

Mississippi State is also a national leader in baseball facilities, resources and has strong support from its fan base.

It’s got all the things that Johnson appears to be building in Athens. And at least for now, Johnson isn’t done laying bricks.

Johnson’s impact and influence were key in the $45 million renovation of Foley Field this offseason. Georgia’s home park debuted an AstroTurf field, improved seating throughout the park, in-house pitching labs and other upgrades in 2025.

Always searching for improvement, Johnson has more infrastructure upgrades in mind.

“We’ve got a little more tech I want to do,” Johnson said. “You can go, ‘Oh, man we need a bigger scoreboard,’ ... that’s not where my mind goes. I go to, ‘Oh man, we need to get our hitting mo-cap in.”

Johnson has proven he isn’t the kind to take every ‘better opportunity’ to come his way, though he has moved plenty in his career. He was a successful pitching coach for six different colleges before taking his first head job at age 51.

That included Johnson’s shocking mid-season decision to leave his pitching coach position with the Minnesota Twins to take the same role at LSU in 2022. Johnson cited priorities of faith and family above his baseball career as the driving reason for his decision, according to an MLB.com article.