It was a big weekend for Georgia athletics and one that will come with some hardware.
First of all, Georgia baseball clinched the SEC regular season title Saturday night with a victory over LSU, its first title since 2008. The Bulldogs completed the series sweep Sunday, their first-ever over the Tigers.
Georgia, who tied a single-season program record with 21 SEC wins, is riding a nine-game winning streak. The Bulldogs will end the regular season at Auburn, who has won six consecutive SEC series.
Georgia softball also made a run in the SEC tournament, falling to No. 4 seed Texas on Friday night on a walk-off in the bottom of the seventh inning. The Bulldogs knocked out top-seeded Oklahoma on Thursday with a 10-5 victory that included a five-run comeback.
Finally, Georgia women’s tennis beat UCLA in the Super Regional, advacing to the NCAA Championships for a fourth-consecutive season. The Bulldogs will host the tournament Friday at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.
Check out the rest of our coverage below.
Trivia time
How many times has Georgia baseball won the SEC regular season title?
Answer is at the bottom of the newsletter.
Georgia baseball captures first SEC regular season title since 2008
For the first time since the 2008 season, the Georgia Bulldogs claimed the SEC regular-season title. They clinched with Saturday’s 13-8 win vs. LSU, which also lifted them to 40 wins (40-11, 20-6 SEC).
“It’s massive,” Georgia coach Wes Johnson said. “It’s so hard to win this league, and then win it outright. It’s something that you want to check off on your list of things that you’ve ever accomplished. It’s right up there. It’s hard to do. It’s 10 weekends of just meat house grinding.”
The No. 5 Bulldogs claimed the SEC title with four games still to play in the regular season, including Sunday’s game against LSU. They’ll have one final road trip to No. 6 Auburn beginning Thursday.
Georgia also recognized 16 seniors Saturday, including shortstop Kolby Branch.
“It’s sweet,” Branch said of winning the conference. “This is why I came to the University of Georgia and why I decided to come back. I think we’re setting the standard in the SEC, and I think that’s the way it should be.”
The Bulldogs have hosted two straight regionals and have made significant strides under Johnson, who was hired in 2023, but they haven’t advanced to the College World Series since 2008.
Although they’re happy to claim the SEC regular-season title, it’s not the ultimate goal for this group, which leads Division l with 135 home runs.
“An SEC championship is great, but we want to do bigger and better things,” pitcher Paul Farley said. “That’s just one piece of the puzzle. … We obviously don’t want to look too far ahead (after) this, but we’re going to celebrate and get back out there (Sunday).”
Softball at SEC Tournament vs. LSU (Lexington, Kentucky): 7-3 victory
Thursday, May 7
Softball at SEC Tournament vs. Oklahoma (Lexington, Kentucky): 10-5 victory
Friday, May 8
Women’s Tennis vs. UCLA (NCAA Super Regional): 4-1 victory
Baseball vs. LSU: 11-8 victory
Softball at SEC Tournament vs. Texas (Lexington, Kentucky): 5-4 loss
Saturday, May 9
Men’s Tennis at Mississippi State (NCAA Super Regional): 4-1 loss
Baseball vs. LSU: 13-8 victoy
Sunday, May 10
Baseball vs. LSU: 12-1 victory in seven innings
Georgia football NIL strategy has a lot riding on 2026 season
Kirby Smart hasn’t hid from how Georgia goes about doling out dollars to its roster.
He wants veterans to make more than newcomers.
“I don’t want you to have to take a discount,” Smart recently told Josh Pate. “OK, a discount might be a little less than year one or two. We have we have traditionally paid our players junior and senior year as much as anybody at those positions. We don’t want to start (earlier)because I want you to earn it and work your way up.”
Smart acknowledges that route might hurt Georgia in recruiting. The 2026 recruiting cycle seems to reflect that. It was the first time Georgia signed a recruiting class that finished outside the top five of the 247Sports Composite rankings since Smart’s first class back in 2016. The Bulldogs had just two players finish in the top 50 of the player rankings, the fewest ever for a Smart signing haul.
As for the top players on Georgia’s 2026 roster, most of them are in either their third or fourth seasons. KJ Bolden, Ellis Robinson, Nate Frazier and Chris Cole all signed as members of the 2024 recruiting class. Gunner Stockton is in his fifth year at Georgia and second as a starter.
Georgias Michael O'Shaughnessy jogs around the bases after hitting a solo home run during the fifth inning against Georgia Tech in a NCAA baseball game at Truist Park, Tuesday, April 21, 2026, in Atlanta. (Jason Getz/AJC)
Quote of the day
Georgia pitcher Paul Farley on the 2026 team:
“This is the closest group of guys in the three years that I’ve been here. Everyone has each other’s backs and everyone’s willing to do a job.”
Georgia loses 5-star commit Donte Wright to Miami
Georgia has seen one of its top commitments in its recruiting class flip, as Donte Wright has changed his commitment to Miami.
Wright last visited Georgia for G-Day back on April 18th. He had been scheduled to take his official visit to Georgia on May 29 but it is unknown at this time if that visit will take place. Oregon had also been a major factor in Wright’s recruitment.
With Wright backing off his pledge to the Bulldogs, Georgia holds just six commitments in its 2027 recruiting class, though it does still count 5-star running back Kemon Spell among those recruits.
