ATHENS, Ga. — The Southeastern Conference champion Georgia Bulldogs open the SEC Tournament Thursday in the quarterfinals at 1 p.m.ET against Mississippi State. The game will be available on the SEC Network and the Georgia Bulldog Sports Network.
Due to possible inclement weather in the Hoover Area on Thursday, Georgia’s game with Mississippi State will now begin at 1 p.m. ET.
Georgia (43-12, 23-7 SEC), ranked as high as No. 4 nationally this week, clinched the SEC title and top seed in the tournament in week nine and won the league by 3.5 games. The Bulldogs are in their third season under Wes Johnson. Earlier this week, he was named the 2026 SEC Coach of the Year in a vote of the league’s coaches.
Johnson said they wont change the approach that led them to their first SEC regular season title since 2008.
“We’re planning on going with our regular routine,” Johnson said. “From a pitching standpoint on Thursday, we have a lot of guys who will be ready to throw. I’ll see who wins the first few games before we announce exactly what we’re planning to do, but we’re staying with it.
“We’ve got guys on bullpen schedules, as if we’re playing a Thursday, Friday, Saturday series. This is the way we’re setting our routines up without getting too in depth about that.”
Georgia became the first school in SEC history to win all five of its road series against top 25 foes, beating No. 4 Auburn, No. 5 Miss. State, #14 Arkansas, #17 Ole Miss and #21 Texas A&M.
While Georgia’s firepower is well documented as the national leader in home runs, it’s worth noting that the Bulldogs won 10 SEC games when it held their opponent to a pair of runs or less.
This season, Georgia went 3-0 against MSU, posting a road sweep in Starkkville. On Tuesday in the opening round of the SEC Tournament, Missouri upset Ole Miss to advance to Wednesday’s second round against MSU. On Wednesday, MSU eliminated Missouri. In SEC Tournament history, Georgia is 31-52, and its best finish is second in 1985, 1986 and 1989.
Georgia leads the NCAA with 147 Home Runs and ranks second with a .621 Slugging Percentage and fourth in Scoring at 9.4 runs/game. The Bulldogs have an SEC-best .325 Batting Average that ranks fourth nationally. Also, Georgia has a .983 Fielding Percentage, which is seventh nationally.
Georgia is averaging an NCAA-leading 2.67 Home Runs per Game (HR/G). The 2024 team averaged 2.52 HR/G when it set a school record with 151 home runs. Currently, the Bulldogs have 147 home runs.
But it will more than likely come down to pitching for the Bulldogs if they want to back up their regular season title with a tournament title.
“This is the first year that we are in a position not to have to play until Thursday,” Johnson said. “You can get your guys back and get them rested, and there’s just so many things you’re able to do that you haven’t been able to.”
Georgia junior catcher Daniel Jackson, a National Player of the Year candidate, is one of just six players (and first catcher) in NCAA Division 1 history to have 25 home runs and 25 stolen bases in a season. J.D. Drew (FSU) is the only D1 player to ever have a 30-30 season when he posted a 31HR-32SB year in 1997. Jackson, who was named the SEC Player of the Year, is the first player in league history to have a 25-25 season.
Jackson ranks in the top five nationally in Home Runs (27), Total Bases (178), RBI (77), Slugging Percentage (.836) and Runs Scored (74). He is a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award, the Dick Howser Trophy and the Buster Posey Collegiate Catcher of the Year Award. In SEC action, Jackson batted .392-11-33. Did You Know? Jackson could become the third straight Bulldog to lead the SEC in batting, joining Charlie Condon (.433 in ’24) and Ryland Zaborowski (.370 in ’25). The only schools to do that in SEC history are Tennessee (1974-76) and Auburn (1988-90).
All-SEC junior 3B Tre Phelps (.372-18-53), a semifinalist for the Dick Howser Trophy, bats leadoff with a .490 on base percentage and ranks second in the nation with a school record 30 Hit-By-Pitches.
Sophomore All-SEC CF Rylan Lujo (.359-9-37) led the league with a .394 batting average in SEC games, and he had a .661 slugging percentage in SEC action too.
Senior SS Kolby Branch earned second team All-SEC honors after batting .309 with 15 doubles, 17 home runs and 51 RBI. He has started all 55 games at shortstop this year and has been a four-year mainstay in the lineup.
Georgia’s SEC rotation during the regular season featured junior right-handers Joey Volchko (8-2, 4.22 EA) and Dylan Vigue (4-1, 3.57 ERA) in the first wo games while the game three starter of late has been graduate right-hander Caden Aoki (8-1, 4.12 ERA, 3 SV). The top relievers have been senior RHP Matt Scott (6-0, 3.86 ERA, 4 SV), redshirt sophomore RHP Paul Farley (7-1, 4.99 ERA, 1 SV), redshirt junior RHP Justin Byrd (3-2, 4.56 ERA, 6 SV) and junior RHP Zach Brown (2-0, 3.30 ERA, 1 SV).
The Bulldogs have not announced their starter for Thursday’s game.
Georgia’s team ERA is 5.05 with 570 strikeouts and 245 walks in 467.1 innings. Opponents are hitting .243 against the Bulldogs.
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