The Statesboro Brief: Edition 21 Tormenta FC Pauses, HomeGoods Opens, Eagles Make History, and a Week Full of Events for March 2

Hello Statesboro!

Twenty-one editions in, and this week might be the most packed one yet. We're covering the heartbreaking suspension of Tormenta FC professional soccer just days before the season opener, a big moment for Statesboro retail as HomeGoods opens its doors Thursday, and the most dominant stretch of Georgia Southern women's basketball we've ever seen. On top of all that, GATA Jam is Saturday at Paulson Stadium, Irish music hits the Averitt Center Friday night, and your weather forecast calls for a warm, mostly sunny week with a brief rainy spell Thursday and Friday before a beautiful weekend.

Let's get into it.

TOP NEWS

Tormenta FC Suspends Professional Operations Days Before Season Opener

South Georgia Tormenta FC announced on February 23 that it will not compete in the 2026 USL League One season just 13 days before its scheduled opener against Spokane Velocity on March 8. The club's USLW women's team will also not take the field. Financial instability, including reported delayed paychecks and unresolved workers' compensation coverage, drove the decision. Preseason training that was supposed to begin January 20 never happened, and the USL Players Association was notified on February 20.

Players will receive three months' severance and become free agents. Owner Darin Van Tassell called the decision "heartbreaking." Tormenta's front office, coaching staff, and youth Academy will continue operating, with a possible 2027 return on the table. The 2022 USL League One championship the first professional title in Statesboro history remains the club's legacy. Stadium Phase 2 expansion, which would have grown capacity to 5,300 seats and added a brewery, gym, and restaurant, has also stalled.

Mayor McCollar: "The State of Statesboro Is Strong"

Mayor Jonathan McCollar delivered his 2026 State of the City address on February 24 at the Emma Kelly Theater, themed around "responsible growth" and the numbers backed it up.

Highlights from the address: more than $130 million in new development investment in 2025, over 1,100 active business licenses (including 195 new in 2025), a daytime population now exceeding 100,000, and Statesboro being named a 2025 All-America City finalist (top 20 nationally). The city's poverty rate has declined to 36%. The address also spotlighted Fire Station No. 3 breaking ground the first new fire station in 25 years and the completed Phase II expansion of the Statesboro Food Bank, a 12,000-square-foot facility funded with $930,000 in city ARPA funds and $826,000 from Bulloch County.

Board of Education Names Richard Smith Interim Superintendent

The Bulloch County Board of Education announced during its February 26 work session that Richard Smith has been named interim superintendent, effective April 1. Smith is a retired educator and superintendent currently serving as executive director of the First District Regional Educational Service Agency (RESA). He steps in the day after retiring Superintendent Charles Wilson's last day Wilson is wrapping up 30 years of service, 14 as superintendent.

The board's nationwide permanent superintendent search is moving forward. Nearly 40 applications were received when the window closed February 22. Those applications will be delivered to the board the week of March 9 through 12. First- and second-round interviews will follow, with finalists expected in April and a final selection in late May.

HomeGoods Opens Thursday at Southern Square 65 Jobs, $10K Donation

HomeGoods opens its first Statesboro location this Thursday, March 5, at 430 Northside Drive East in Southern Square Shopping Center the former Kmart building. Doors open at 8:00 a.m. The approximately 25,369-square-foot store will employ around 65 full- and part-time workers. On opening day, HomeGoods will present a $10,000 donation to Habitat for Humanity Bulloch County.

The opening is the result of a multi-year retail recruitment effort by the City of Statesboro in partnership with Georgia Southern's Business Innovation Group. The Kmart closed in 2018; Planet Fitness occupies the west end of the building. Regular store hours will be Monday through Saturday 9:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. and Sunday 11:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Coach Fred Shaver Dies at 91; Georgia House Passes Memorial Resolution

Southeast Bulloch High School's legendary football coach Fred William Shaver Jr. died February 24 at East Georgia Regional Medical Center. He was 91. Shaver built the Yellow Jackets football program from 0-11 in 1966 to back-to-back state championships in 1972 and 1973. He also served the school as assistant principal, math teacher, and coached baseball and basketball. The school's football field Fred Shaver Field was named in his honor in the 1980s. State Rep. Lehman Franklin presented a memorial resolution on the Georgia House floor on February 26, honoring him as "a true community legend." Funeral services were held February 28 at Connection Church Statesboro.

Dutch Bros Shut Down on Opening Day for Missing Food Permit

Dutch Bros Coffee's much-anticipated first Statesboro location at 23950 Highway 80 East opened to long lines on February 24 but was shut down around 3:00 p.m. by the Bulloch County Health Department for operating without a required Food Service Permit. Brad Wiggins, Director of Environmental Health for the Southeast Health District, said reopening depends on how quickly Dutch Bros meets regulatory requirements. The Dutch Bros website now shows the location as open, suggesting the permit has been resolved though no formal reopening announcement has been published.

Morris Bank–Pinnacle Merger Nears Completion as "Vallant Financial" Brand Unveiled

The merger between Morris Bank (Dublin-based, three branches in Statesboro) and Pinnacle Bank (Elberton) is expected to close in late Q1 or early Q2 2026. The combined entity will operate under the name Vallant Financial, with 35 branches and $3.8 billion in assets. Local market president John Roach reassured customers that familiar faces and service standards will remain. Morris entered the Statesboro market in 2019 when it merged with Farmers & Merchants Bank. All Statesboro branch locations will remain open.

City Taking Different Approach from County on Data Centers

While Bulloch County imposed a 90-day moratorium on data center development (covered in Edition 20), the City of Statesboro is taking a different path expressing interest in smaller data centers for the significant tax revenue they could generate. During a February 17 work session, Planning and Development Director Justin Williams called them "high tax-generating facilities" that are "low-usage facilities, outside of water." Mayor McCollar and city staff visited data centers in metro Atlanta in January. City staff plans to develop Unified Development Code amendments to regulate data centers rather than pause them with a moratorium.

Mungo Homes Launches "The Outpost" First Statesboro Community

Mungo Homes has launched The Outpost, its first residential community in Statesboro, featuring 30 homesites near Georgia Southern University. Homes range from 1,383 to 2,800+ square feet starting in the low $300s. Planned amenities include a pool, pavilion, walking trails, and fitness center. A second Mungo community Grange Mill is planned for later in 2026.

March 2–8, 2026

Monday, March 2

🕯️ Candlelight Celtic | Georgia Southern Performing Arts Center, 847 Plant Dr. | Tickets $10–$25 (discounts for seniors, GSU students/faculty, children) | Irish music, songs, and stories by candlelight with 1,000+ candles. Created by 2009 World Champion of Irish Dance Scott Doherty and Irish musician Chris Smith. Box office: (912) 478-7916.

📚 Pop Up Library Read Across America | 1:00–3:00 p.m. | Student Union Porch, Georgia Southern University | FREE

📖 Senior Craft Activity | 10:30 a.m. | Statesboro Regional Library, 124 S. Main St. | FREE | Ages 55+

👥 Teen Advisory Group | 5:00 p.m. | Statesboro Regional Library | FREE | Ages 12–18

Full community calendar

Tuesday, March 3

🏛️ City of Statesboro Mayor and Council Meeting | 9:00 a.m. | City Hall Council Chambers, 50 E. Main St. | Open to the public

🏛️ Bulloch County Board of Commissioners Meeting | 5:30 p.m. | North Main Annex | Open to the public

💊 Medicare Workshop | 5:45 p.m. | Statesboro Regional Library, 124 S. Main St. | FREE | Call (912) 764-1341 for info

🏀 Sun Belt Men's Basketball Tournament First Round | Pensacola Bay Center, Pensacola, FL | (12) Louisiana vs. (13) Georgia State at 5:00 PM CT; (11) Old Dominion vs. (14) ULM at 7:30 PM CT | ESPN+

Wednesday, March 4

📚 Storytime with Ms. Sherrie (English & Spanish) | 4:00 p.m. | Statesboro Regional Library | FREE | Ages 6–12

⚾ GS Baseball at The Citadel | 6:00 p.m. | Charleston, SC | ESPN+

🏀 Sun Belt Men's Basketball (10) Georgia Southern vs. Old Dominion/ULM winner | 7:30 PM CT / 8:30 PM ET | Pensacola Bay Center | ESPN+

🏀 Sun Belt Women's Basketball Second Round | 11:30 AM and 2:00 PM CT | Pensacola Bay Center | ESPN+

Thursday, March 5

🛍️ HomeGoods Grand Opening | Doors open 8:00 a.m. (regular hours 9:30 a.m.–9:30 p.m.) | Southern Square, 430 Northside Drive E. | $10,000 donation to Habitat for Humanity Bulloch County at opening

🧵 Teen Sewing Circle | 4:00 p.m. | Statesboro Regional Library | FREE | Ages 12–18

🙏 Georgia Southern Prayer Walk | 6:00 p.m. | Sweetheart Circle, Georgia Southern University | Open to all

🎻 Strings at Southern Chamber Music Festival begins | Runs March 5–8 | Georgia Southern University | Master classes, workshops, and performances for high school and university string players. Directed by the Elaris Duo.

🏀 Sun Belt Basketball Tournament Third Round | Men's and Women's games | Pensacola Bay Center

GEORGIA SOUTHERN UPDATES

GS Partners with Coastal Harbor to Expand Student Mental Health Resources

On February 24, Georgia Southern's Counseling Center and Coastal Harbor Behavioral Health signed a Memorandum of Understanding to improve communication, referral procedures, and care coordination for students who need mental health support beyond what campus resources can provide. The partnership specifically ensures continuity of care when students return to campus after receiving inpatient therapeutic treatment. Counseling Center case manager Ty White said the agreement "expands access to care beyond what the Counseling Center alone can provide."

GS and Georgia Tech Collaborating on Real-Time Athlete Hydration Monitor

Announced February 26, Georgia Southern and Georgia Tech are developing a soft, wearable patch that measures athletes' hydration levels in real time using embedded sensors that transmit physiological signals via Bluetooth to the sideline. GS football players served as test subjects during fall 2025 practices. The project brings together faculty from GS's Waters College of Health Professions and Georgia Tech's Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering.

Professor Amy Potter Elected SEDAAG President, Wins Research Award

Geography Professor Dr. Amy Potter was elected president of the Southeastern Division of the American Association of Geographers (SEDAAG) on February 25 and received the SEDAAG Excellence in Research Award for her work documenting historic communities along coastal Georgia. Potter has previously served SEDAAG as treasurer, vice president, honors chair, and Georgia state representative. Georgia Southern students have won the Geography Bowl twice at SEDAAG conferences under her guidance.

Eagle Ethics Team Heads to National Championship This Weekend (March 7–8)

Georgia Southern's Eagle Ethics Team qualified for the 2026 APPE Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl in St. Louis after finishing third at the Mid-Atlantic Regional a remarkable result for a team in only its second year of competition. The team also received the Bob Ladenson Spirit Award. Founded in 2023 by Dr. Paul Tubig (Assistant Professor of Philosophy), the team draws members from diverse fields including electrical engineering, anthropology, and philosophy.

Class Times Changing for Fall 2026

Georgia Southern is restructuring its academic schedule starting Fall 2026. Monday-Wednesday-Friday classes will increase from 50 to 55 minutes each. Tuesday-Thursday class meeting times will also see changes. Chief Communications Officer Jennifer Wise confirmed the update.

Kaitlyn Tanner Crowned 2026 Miss Georgia Southern University

Junior Kaitlyn Tanner was crowned at the 79th annual Miss Georgia Southern University competition. An exercise science major and member of Alpha Delta Pi sorority, Tanner's community service initiative is the H.E.A.R.T. initiative, which supports families who have adopted children a cause close to home, as both she and her younger brother were adopted.

🏀 Women's Basketball: OUTRIGHT Sun Belt Champions #1 Seed for Tournament

Final regular season record: 23-6 overall, 16-2 Sun Belt OUTRIGHT CHAMPIONS

This is a program-defining season. The Eagles were picked 10th in the preseason coaches' poll and finished first. Their 23 wins tie the school record for most wins in the NCAA era, and their 14-1 home record is the best in program history. Here's how the final two weeks played out:

Feb 25 W 62-48 at App State (clinched a top-2 tournament seed)
Feb 27 W 78-72 OT at Marshall (clinched the outright regular season title)

Senior Kishyah "Shy" Anderson has earned multiple Sun Belt Player of the Week honors this season. Destiny Garrett has posted seven games with 20 or more points.

As the #1 seed in the Sun Belt Tournament, the Eagles have a bye through the first five rounds and do not play until the Semifinals on Sunday, March 8 at 11:30 AM CT / 12:30 PM ET on ESPN+ in Pensacola. Win that and they play in the Championship on Monday, March 9 at 1:00 PM CT on ESPNU with an automatic NCAA Tournament bid on the line.

🏀 Men's Basketball: #10 Seed, Playing Wednesday in Pensacola

Final regular season record: 16-15 overall, 8-10 Sun Belt

The men closed the regular season with a statement win. On February 27 at Marshall where GS had never won before the Eagles won 99-82 in Huntington. Tyren Moore went 8-for-12 from three for 26 points. Alden Applewhite added 23 on 7-of-9 shooting. Nakavieon White chipped in 20. Three 20-point scorers, 61 second-half points, and a 13-2 run to close it out. Marshall was a 7.5-point favorite.

As the #10 seed in the Sun Belt Tournament, Georgia Southern faces the winner of Old Dominion vs. ULM on Wednesday, March 4 at 7:30 PM CT / 8:30 PM ET on ESPN+. A win would put them against (7) Arkansas State on Thursday.

⚾ Baseball: First Wins Two in the Books, 2-9 Overall

After an 0-8 start, the Eagles finally broke through in a big way this weekend against USC Upstate. In Saturday's doubleheader, Georgia Southern won Game 1 4-3 for the program's first win of 2026. Sunday brought an even better story: down 7-1 heading into the fifth inning, GS rallied for a 9-8 comeback win to take the series. Bryson Trammell went off for four doubles and six RBIs a new Georgia Southern single-game record for doubles. It was the program's largest comeback win since April 16, 2022.

This week: at The Citadel on Wednesday at 6:00 p.m., then home against Tennessee Tech on Friday (6:30 p.m. "True Blue Time Machine Night"), Saturday (noon), and Sunday (1:00 p.m.) at J.I. Clements Stadium.

🥎 Softball: Upset #25 Clemson at the Clemson Invitational

The Eagles delivered one of the program's signature moments of the season at the Clemson Invitational on February 27, beating 25th-ranked Clemson 8-7 on Clemson's home field. Kayla Christensen led off with a solo home run on the third pitch of the game. In the seventh inning with the Eagles trailing Delanie Thames hit a bases-clearing double and eventually scored the go-ahead run to complete a five-run comeback, all with two outs. Clemson's six-game winning streak snapped. It was their first loss at McWhorter Stadium since 2024.

The Eagles dropped a 0-8 game to #12 Mississippi State the following day but head into this week with renewed momentum. Upcoming: UNF Tournament, March 6–8 in Jacksonville, FL. Conference play begins March 13–15 with a home series against James Madison.

🏃 Track & Field: Women Finish 6th at Sun Belt Indoor Championships

The Georgia Southern women's track and field team finished 6th at the Sun Belt Conference Indoor Championships in Birmingham on February 23-24 with 52.83 points, climbing from 10th place after Day 1. Texas State swept both the men's and women's team titles for the first time in school history. The outdoor season begins in late March.

Uncle Shug's Bar-B-Q Place: A Multigenerational Statesboro Institution

This one runs deep. Owner Stacy Underwood's father operated the original Uncle Shug's Restaurant in Portal starting in 1986. Stacy opened his own Uncle Shug's on West Main Street in 1996, founded Uncle Shug's Chicken Barn in 2006, and in July 2021 expanded into the former R.J.'s Seafood and Steaks space at 434 South Main on Statesboro's Blue Mile. More than 30 years in the restaurant business and counting.

Everything is cooked fresh daily using old family recipes. The restaurant uses locally grown hydroponic lettuces, bottles its own Shug Sauce and Sweet and Smokey BBQ Sauce, and offers a spacious outdoor patio and banquet rooms for events and catering. It consistently pulls a 4.6-star Google rating and has earned a TripAdvisor Travelers' Choice Award.

Worth trying: the Shug Sampler (chopped pork, brisket, BBQ chicken, BBQ ribs), the smoked chicken (Stacy's personal favorite and the dish that got the whole thing started), BBQ tacos, fried pickles with Shug Sauce, and banana pudding. If you haven't been, this is a good week for it.

WEATHER ADVISORY

Warm and Mostly Dry With a Rainy Middle

Good news for GATA Jam and the HomeGoods grand opening crowd: this week runs warm with sunshine on both ends. The rainy window is focused on Thursday and Friday, so plan outdoor activities accordingly.

Day	High	Low	Conditions
Mon 3/2	75°F	44°F	Sunny
Tue 3/3	66°F	46°F	Cloudy
Wed 3/4	71°F	54°F	Overcast
Thu 3/5	81°F	60°F	Scattered showers (86% chance)
Fri 3/6	82°F	64°F	Scattered showers (71% chance)
Sat 3/7	84°F	63°F	Partly cloudy, dry
Sun 3/8	78°F	57°F	Partly cloudy

Saturday's forecast high of 84°F is about 17 degrees above the typical early-March average for Statesboro. No active weather advisories or warnings are in effect for Bulloch County this week.

Full forecast

LOOKING AHEAD

Monday, March 9 Sun Belt Basketball Championship Games Women's final at 1:00 PM CT on ESPNU; Men's final at 6:00 PM CT on ESPN2. Georgia Southern's women could be playing for an automatic NCAA Tournament bid. Clear your Monday afternoon.

Tuesday, March 10 GS Baseball vs. #15 Clemson 6:30 p.m. at J.I. Clements Stadium. Hot on the heels of their first wins of the season, the Eagles take on a nationally ranked opponent at home.

Thursday, March 12 Bulloch County Board of Education Regular Session 6:30 p.m., Central Office Board Room, Williams Road. Superintendent search applications will be delivered to the board this week. Open to the public.

March 13–15 GS Softball vs. James Madison (Home Conference Opener) Conference play begins at Eagle Field. First Sun Belt series of the season.

March 21–22 Statesboro Festival of the Arts Second annual fine art and craft festival at The Market at Visit Statesboro on the Blue Mile. Saturday 10 AM–5 PM; Sunday 10 AM–4 PM. Free admission, 40+ juried artists, cash prizes, demonstrations, food, and live music. Organized by the Averitt Center in partnership with the Downtown Statesboro Development Authority.

THANKS FOR READING!

That's Edition 21 in the books! It's a big week HomeGoods opens Thursday, GATA Jam takes over Paulson Stadium Saturday, and the Georgia Southern women's basketball team tips off their run at a Sun Belt Tournament title and NCAA Tournament bid on Sunday. We'll have full recaps and everything ahead for mid-March in next Monday's edition.

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See you next Monday, Statesboro! 🦅

The Statesboro Brief: Edition 21 Tormenta FC Pauses, HomeGoods Opens, Eagles Make History, and a Week Full of Events for March 2–8, 2026