COVINGTON, Ga. — During a baseball parent and player meeting, Eastside High School principal Jeff Cher officially announced Cody Walker as the Eagles’ new head varsity baseball coach. 

Walker comes to Eastside after spending the past two seasons as an assistant coach for Putnam County High School in Eatonton. 

“There’s going to be a lot of challenges,” Walker said. “But that’s something you can’t really shy away from. It really gets me more excited. I’m really looking forward to it.” 

Though Walker comes from Putnam High School, he is no stranger to Eastside High School. 

Walker graduated from Eastside in 2013 and played baseball for the Eagles. After high school, he attended Georgia Southern in Statesboro and began his coaching career soon thereafter. 

This will be Walker’s first head coaching job. 

But coming back home for Walker weighed heavily in his decision to become the head guy at his alma mater. 

“When I heard the job was opened, I talked to my wife and dad about it,” Walker said. “I was like, ‘This really would be something I didn’t even envision happening.’ So, the process went smoothly and I was able to get it. It’s just really a blessing.” 

The Eagles baseball squad is coming off a 2022 season in which they finished 8-19 overall and missed the playoffs for the first time since the 2013-14 season. 

Putnam County finished 14-2, third in Region 4-AA.

Walker stressed how he plans to begin laying the foundation as soon as possible to help the Eagles have better success moving forward. 

“This is going to be a foundational year,” Walker said. “I just want to start there and hopefully these guys will buy into what we show them in the first year. I want to show them that whatever energy and effort they give me, I’m going to give them twice as much. Because this is something we can really start at the ground floor with a new facility, new school and a new coach. That’s something we can really use to motivate them.”