COLUMBIA, S.C. — University of Georgia standout Charlie Condon cannot be stopped.
The Georgia baseball star set a new NCAA record on Thursday night with his 34th home run of the season, which now marks the most homers in the BBCOR era, which began in 2011.
Condon did so by hitting a solo blast against South Carolina on Thursday to extend the Bulldogs' lead to 7-3 in the top of the second inning. It was also the slugger's eighth consecutive game with a blast.
Condon raised his average to .462 on the season with the home run and continues to make his mark as the greatest UGA hitter the city of Athens has ever seen.
The new NCAA record breaks the previous one held by University of Florida slugger Jac Caglianone, who hit 33 a season ago. He's followed that up with 27 so far in 2024.
What is the BBCOR era?
BBCOR stands for bat-ball coefficient of restitution. Back in 2011, the NCAA produced a new composite baseball bat in order to reduce the exit velocity among previous BESR bats and promote player safety.
The new BBCOR bats are made from aluminum alloy or composite metals and must not have a barrel diameter that is wider than 2 5/8, a length-to-weight ratio greater than -3, and a length that does not surpass 36 inches.
BESR stands for ball exit speed ratio. Those bats that were previously used prior to 2011 had much faster exit velocity speeds. The limit for BBCOR bats today is a 97 mph exit velocity, while BESR bats saw exit velocities rise past 108 mph at times.
Pitchers had much less time to react to line drives back toward them, and some faced significant injuries during that time period. That led to BESR bats becoming illegal and the introduction of BBCOR to reduce injury around college baseball.
