Monday begins an exciting new chapter for the DawgNation newsletter. Because of that, this is the final time my words will appear at the top of this page.
I want to thank you for taking the time to click into our email and read our offering each day. It truly means more to us than you could know. It’s an awesome privilege to be able to share the news happening around UGA with you.
I also want to express my appreciation to a couple of terrific writers who’ve done the real work to put this newsletter together each day. For the last year, it’s been Olivia Sayer, and before that, it was Jack Leo. They both have incredibly bright futures in this business, and I’m sure you’ll be reading plenty from both of them for many years to come.
Of course, I’m not going anywhere. I’ll still be doing “DawgNation Daily” the way I always have, and I’d encourage you to listen or watch if you can. I think Georgia could be a fascinating team this fall. It’s clearly one of the favorites to win the national championship while constructing its roster differently than some of its competition. I can’t wait to see how it all works out.
And the good news is that as these storylines evolve, you’ll have the latest insight and information delivered right to your inbox the way you always have.
So for one final time from me, please check out the rest of our coverage below.
Trivia time
When was the last time Georgia baseball won a regional?
Answer is at the bottom of the newsletter.
Georgia baseball won’t change approach for NCAA Tournament
Tre Phelps remembers the feeling when Georgia fizzled in the NCAA regionals last season.
As talented as that team was, it lost to Duke and Oklahoma State and failed to advance to the super regionals.
Ahead of the Bulldogs hosting the Athens Regional for a third straight season, Phelps said Thursday that last year’s letdown “100%” served as motivation.
“I mean, that was, to me, disappointing,” he said. “Honestly, that’s the only way I can put it. Definitely a huge driving factor in why I wanted to come back and definitely leave this program in a much better spot that I know it should be in.”
In 2024, even bolstered by Golden Spikes Award winner Charlie Condon, Georgia lost in the super regionals.
The early exits the past two years have this year’s team aiming for the program’s first College World Series appearance since 2008.
Phelps said the team felt bad “for not taking a guy like Charlie Condon” to the CWS.
“So, just being able to keep our head down and know, like, that’s our one goal at the end of the day, and we’re not going to get there by looking straight at Omaha,” he said. “(We’re) definitely just looking at it game by game, practice by practice.”
No. 2 Boston College (36-21) vs. No. 3 Liberty (41-19), at 2 p.m., ESPN+
No. 1 Georgia (46-12) vs. No. 4 LIU (30-20), at 7 p.m. SEC Network
Saturday (Time, network TBA)
Game 3: Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2
Game 4: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2
Sunday (Time, network TBA)
Game 5: Winner of Game 4 vs. Loser of Game 3
Game 6: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 5
Monday (If necessary)
Home runs grab your attention, but Georgia baseball does so much more
When you lead Division l in home runs, it’s bound to garner attention. And indeed, hitting for power is a large part of the Georgia baseball team’s identity.
But it’s not the only thing Georgia does well, and it’s not the only way it can win.
On the way to the program’s first SEC Tournament championship this past weekend, the Bulldogs rallied from a 6-0 deficit to defeat Florida 8-7 in the semifinals — courtesy of three sacrifice flies, three run-scoring doubles, one wild pitch and exactly zero home runs.
“We actually won a game and didn’t homer,” Georgia coach Wes Johnson said after the semifinal win Saturday. “It’s just a running joke within our locker room … I’m proud of our guys for hanging in there and not panicking and staying within our approach.”
The Bulldogs, who earned the NCAA Tournament’s No. 3 overall seed and will host a regional in Athens this weekend, only hit two home runs in the SEC Tournament. First baseman Brennan Hudson hit a three-run shot in the quarterfinals against Mississippi State, and designated hitter Jack Arcamone’s two-run home run helped Georgia cruise to an 11-1 win against Arkansas in the championship.
After taking the SEC regular season title for the first time since 2008, Georgia won its first SEC Tournament title without relying on the long ball. The conference is sending a nation-high 12 teams to the NCAA Tournament, including five of the top eight national seeds: No. 3 Georgia; No. 4 Auburn; No. 6 Texas; No. 7 Alabama; and No. 8 Florida. No. 12 Texas A&M and No. 14 Mississippi State are also hosting regionals.
Georgia's Michael O'Shaughnessy (left) celebrates his two-run home run with Jack Arcamone during the first inning against Georgia Tech at Truist Park on Tuesday, April 21, 2026, in Atlanta. (Jason Getz/AJC)
Quote of the day
Johnson on the offensive balance:
“I think we always rely on the home run … I think it’s more (that) we’re balancing the chase rates than homers or doubles or singles,” Johnson said the week before the SEC Tournament. “We’re looking at, does the pitcher induce a lot of chase, and if so, what does that look like, who should be in the lineup and who shouldn’t?”
UGA signee pitches Etowah to late-night win
Matthew Sharman, a big right-hander who has signed with Georgia, pitched in and out of danger all night and helped Etowah defeat North Paulding, 2-1, in the opener of the best-of-three Class 6A championship series Tuesday.
Perhaps Sharman was thrown off by the late hour; the game didn’t start until 10:17 p.m. and wasn’t completed until 12:45 a.m., when a high pop-up settled into the glove of shortstop Nate Curcio.
The series will resume Wednesday, with Game 2 starting at 3 p.m. A third game will follow, if needed.
Etowah (32-7) is trying to win its third state championship and first since 2024. North Paulding (32-7) is seeking its first baseball title.
Sharman pitched seven innings and allowed only one unearned run. He allowed five hits and two walks, striking out eight. He stranded runners at second and third in the second inning, left the bases loaded in the third and left a runner at second in the fourth. He retired 12 of the last 14 batters he faced.
In the sixth inning he was bailed out when center fielder Trevor Condon, a Tennessee signee and likely MLB draft choice, made a nice running catch in the gap in right to save an extra-base hit and perhaps preserve the lead.
The only truly poor decision Sharman made came in the seventh when he was called out for using an illegal bat.
