I’m all packed and ready for Omaha — media day will be Thursday, and Georgia’s first game will be 8 p.m. Saturday vs. Texas.
Georgia baseball also had media availability Tuesday in Athens, and I thought I’d lead off today’s newsletter with an awesome quote from coach Wes Johnson.
It’s long, so bear with me, but it perfectly encapsulates the team’s mindset heading into the College World Series:
“We’re gonna enjoy some things, but just like when we’re on the road, guys, this isn’t a vacation, this is a business trip,” said Johnson, who served as pitching coach for the national champion LSU Tigers in 2023. “There’s gonna be cool Ferris wheels and really neat, cool T-shirt shops, and all kinds of people and a little bigger stadium.
“But at the same time … I don’t want you sitting on the couch 20 years from now, looking at your kids and telling them, yeah, we were in Omaha, and, man, if we could stay focused, we might have made a run at this. Doesn’t mean that you’re going to not lose, win or whatever, but we’re going to go in there and be focused. I don’t want these young men living with regret 20 years from now.”
“I think this whole season, I mean, we’ve been put through some tough, tough things, and we’ve had some really hard games, and I think this weekend it solidified that we cannot give up, and we can fight through the tough things and just keep pushing through, and I think that’s going to help us, going to Omaha,” Byrd said.
Branch added: “I feel like we’re resilient. We’ve got a lot of toughness. We talk about toughness all the time, and it’s different for everybody and every team, but it’s just (we’re) capable of great endurance. And so, just doing that over and over and over, and finally getting that timely hit, both games. Both games could have gone either way, and sometimes you need somebody with courage to step up and do it.”
Georgia trip to Omaha carries extra weight for Branch
Kolby Branch watched his brother Kyle’s Oklahoma Sooners upset No. 2-seeded Georgia Tech a week ago.
The Georgia Bulldogs won the Athens Regional the day before, which allowed Branch and his teammate Tre Phelps to be in the stands in Atlanta alongside Branch’s parents, Kari and Rusty.
Fast forward one week, and both Branch brothers have punched their tickets to Omaha.
“You don’t think about that as kids, man. You kind of just play around in the backyard thinking about it, but you don’t really think it could happen. And then you get into it, you’re like, ‘Man, we’re pretty good. We can do it, go accomplish it,’” Branch said.
The box score would tell you Georgia starting pitcher Joey Volchko’s performance against Mississippi State was bad.
He finished Saturday’s super regional throwing just five innings. He gave up seven hits and seven runs (four earned), walked two and struck out six.
Yet the Bulldogs prevailed, 13-12. And Johnson said his No. 1 arm in the starting rotation showed true guts on the mound.
“There’s a lot of guys, when that happens, they’ll crumble a little bit and be like, ‘Ah, poor me,’” Johnson said. “But Joey’s like, ‘No, I got to keep in here, I got to keep fighting for my team.’”
Volchko, a 6-foot-4 right-hander, was making his third start this season against Mississippi State and gave up six runs in the second inning. It looked like Georgia was going to have to turn to its bullpen much earlier than expected.
But Johnson chose to leave him in. Like a boxer being knocked to the mat, Volchko picked himself up and got back to work. He managed to give Georgia three more quality innings.
“That’s what really good big leaguers do,” Johnson said. “They kind of get hit in the mouth with some adversity, and some things happen, but yet they’re still able to grind you out five innings and save your bullpen, keep you in the game, and not give up any more.”
“He does my heart some good that a pitcher like Aoki still has a place in modern college baseball,” ESPN’s Chris Burke said on a conference call Tuesday. “He’s a Swiss Army knife.”
Georgia Bulldogs pitcher Caden Aoki strikes out a batter during the sixth inning of Game 2 of the NCAA Super Regional on June 7, 2026. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)
Georgia pitcher Joey Volchko pitches during Georgia's game against Mississippi State in the SEC Tournament on May 21, 2026. (Conor Dillon/UGAAA)
Infielder Kolby Branch throws out a player in Game 2 of the NCAA Super Regional on June 7, 2026. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)
Numbers show 2027 cycle shaping up to be Kirby Smart’s worst in-state recruiting haul yet
Georgia rolled out the red carpet for 4-star defensive back Chance Gilbert. The East Coweta High School standout was one of Georgia’s top targets for the 2027 recruiting class, in addition to being one of the best players in the state.
This made his Monday night commitment to Auburn sting all the more. The 4-star defensive back ranks as the No. 57 overall player in the class and the No. 4 player in the state, per the 247Sports Composite rankings.
Georgia will still pursue Gilbert, but it remains to be seen if the Bulldogs will be able to flip one of the state’s top players.
And if Georgia can’t do that, it spells even more trouble for the Bulldogs when it comes to landing the top players in the state for the 2027 recruiting cycle.
After Gilbert’s commitment, 17 of the top 20 players in the state, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings, are committed. Just one of those players has pledged to Georgia. That would be offensive tackle Kelsey Adams, the No. 10 player in the state.
Adams, though, is far from locked in with Georgia; he took a visit to LSU this past weekend and is slated to take a trip to Mississippi State this weekend. In the event he flips his commitment, Georgia would not have a single commitment from a top-20 players in the state of Georgia.
For someone who puts as much effort into recruiting as Smart, this would be a significant blow.
A year ago, Georgia signed two of the top 10 players in the state and five of the top 20. It shouldn’t come as a surprise those two in the top 10 — Kaiden Prothro and Craig Dandridge — impressed during spring practices.
Jayden Aparicio-Bailey sets commitment date and final two schools
Jayden Aparicio-Bailey is done with his visits. He’s down to two schools.
Clemson and Georgia. Georgia and Clemson.
It is fitting. Those were his top two at the end of spring practice visits. Those two were on top at the end of his junior season, if not even earlier than that. Those were the only two official visits he scheduled.
The 4-star attends Prattville High in Alabama. He’s the nation’s No. 9 safety and the No. 134 overall prospect for 2027 on the 247Sports Composite. The Rivals Industry Ranking has him as the No. 10 S and No. 136 overall.
Aparicio-Bailey told DawgNation on Tuesday morning he’s down to those two programs. He will now settle down this week to figure out where his next college home will be.
He’ll likely make that decision and keep it under lock and key until his decision ceremony in the Birmingham metro area on June 27. That’s the current plan.
“It is super hard right now,” Aparicio-Bailey said. “I feel like my family and I are just processing both. I feel like we have everything answered for both schools, so it is just time to make decisions.”
Where Georgia football ranks in ESPN’s future power rankings
Under Smart, Georgia has been one of the best programs in the country. The Bulldogs have won the SEC four times and the national championship twice since Smart took over.
Georgia figures to have one of the top teams in the country this coming season, with key pieces returning.
But what does the future look like for the Georgia program? Not just in 2026, but beyond?
Still bright, according to ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg’s future power rankings. But not as bright as the recent past.
In the most updated rankings, Georgia dropped from No. 3 to No. 5.
Notre Dame now has the No. 1 spot, up from No. 5. Ohio State is still at No. 2, with Texas sliding down to No. 3. Oregon is sandwiched between the SEC schools at No. 4.
