To put it mildly, this was a disappointing weekend for UGA.
Georgia saw one of its most coveted recruits for the 2026 class, five-star tight end Mark Bowman, abruptly announce a surprise commitment to USC. Unlike other UGA-USC battles in recent years. I don’t think Bowman will be reconsidering his decision anytime soon.
Speaking of abrupt, that’s also an apt description for how the Diamond Dawgs’ season ended. After a blowout win against Binghamton on Friday, UGA went cold in back-to-back losses to Duke and Oklahoma State.
A postseason that started with much promise comes to a premature end. Of course, UGA did get some good news with the addition of legacy commit, four-star defensive lineman Carter Luckie.
But unfortunately, this weekend will mostly be remembered for what didn’t happen.
For the rest of the news, check out our coverage below.
Trivia time
When was the last time Georgia beat Alabama in Sanford Stadium?
Happy guessing! Answer at the bottom of the newsletter.
Georgia lands another brother in four-star DL Carter Luckie
Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good. In Georgia’s case, it’s electing to be Luckie, as the Bulldogs landed another commitment from the family.
Defensive line prospect Carter Luckie, younger brother of current Georgia tight end Lawson, committed to the team Saturday afternoon.
It’s a nice pickup for Georgia, as the younger Luckie is the No. 308 prospect in the country for the 2026 recruiting cycle. He is a four-star prospect for the cycle and the 11th member of the recruiting class.
To some, Luckie might have always seemed like a lock for this Georgia class, given his brother, dad and uncles all played for the program. Still, Ohio State, Florida, Florida State and Texas A&M were among the programs that tried to land the Norcross product.
Luckie should have a better idea than most of what it takes to succeed at Georgia. Older brother Lawson will be entering his junior season with the Bulldogs in 2025. He was Georgia’s most productive tight end last season and figures to be a key leader for the program. Georgia head coach Kirby Smart has raved about the toughness and mental makeup of Lawson Luckie.
If that trickles down to Carter Luckie, Georgia should have another difference-maker on the defensive line.
For more on Luckie’s commitment and what it means, check Jeff Sentell’s story below.
Georgia baseball season comes to a disappointing end
Going into the weekend, there was hope Georgia would have locked up a bid to the Super Regionals by Monday morning.
Instead, its season is now over after losing games to Duke and Oklahoma State to bow out of the Athens Regional.
Georgia got off to a great start Friday, pounding Binghamton 20-4. But the Bulldogs couldn’t muster much offense in a 6-3 loss to Duke on Saturday, which meant it would have to win three consecutive games to advance.
As frustrating as the Duke loss was, what happened Sunday was even worse. The Bulldogs built a 7-3 lead over Oklahoma State, only for the Cowboys to tie the game in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Georgia then retook the lead in the seventh inning and held a 9-7 lead going into the bottom of the ninth. But Georgia gave up two, two-run home runs, handing the Bulldogs an 11-9 loss.
Making matters all the more frustrating, the Bulldogs had runners on second and third in the top of the ninth with a chance to build on the lead. But they struck out three straight times to end the frame.
Georgia went 43-17, but for a season that had some incredible highs, it’s undoubtedly a disappointing end for the Bulldogs.
Georgia was far from the only national seed to lose this weekend — No. 1 Vanderbilt and No. 2 Texas both crashed out — but that doesn’t make the end result any better.
It was a fun season for Wes Johnson and his team. But this marks the second consecutive season where the Bulldogs have been a top-eight seed and failed to be one of the final eight teams playing.
For more on the end of Georgia’s baseball season, check out Mike Griffith’s recap below.
Not a ton of new answers coming out of SEC spring meetings
There was a whole lot of chatter coming out of SEC spring meetings last week in regard to changes for the future of the sport.
But there was not much action, as usually seems to be the case these days.
The House settlement remains unsigned. The future College Football Playoff format is still being debated. We don’t know yet if the SEC will go to an eight-game or nine-game conference schedule.
Once again, those in charge at the top of the sport seem to have kicked the can down the road.
It has to continue to be frustrating to see and hear all the ideas being thrown out about the future of college football, yet nothing ever seems to get done.
The House settlement is likely the first actual piece of action to get done, though when that might happen is anyone’s guess. Judge Claudia Wilken has had a revised settlement for more than two weeks now, yet it remains unsigned. Revenue-sharing payments could begin as soon as July 1.
SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey seemed to indicate the SEC could make a decision on conference scheduling before a final decision on the format of the College Football Playoff. The Big Ten seems to support an automatic qualifier model, where the SEC and Big Ten would get four teams every year. The Big 12 meanwhile favors a format where the five highest-ranked conference champions get in, along with the 11-highest-ranked nonchampions.
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Photo of the Day
4-star DL Carter Luckie has made his college decision. He's ready to become the fifth Georgia Bulldog football player in his family.
Credit: Cayce Dunn
Quote of the Day
Georgia commit Carter Luckie on getting to play with his brother Lawson:
“That doesn’t really play much of a factor in where I’m going to college. I’m going to go with the best relationship I’ve got with the program, with the coaches and where I think I am wanted the most, honestly. Lawson and I, even if I ended up going somewhere else, that wouldn’t affect our relationship. He supports me going wherever I decide to go. He tells me to ‘check everything out and go where you feel like God is taking you’ and just ‘Follow your heart,’ honestly.”
Mark Bowman recruitment leads to more frustration for Georgia fans
Bowman was one of the top prospects in the country and one of the top targets in Georgia’s 2026 recruiting cycle. He is the No. 1 ranked player in the country and someone who has long drawn comparisons to Brock Bowers.
But what was supposed to be a Texas-Georgia battle is now a USC win.
In the old days, it would’ve made a ton of sense for Bowman to end up at USC. He plays for California powerhouse Mater Dei High School, which has produced Matt Lienart, Bryce Young and current Georgia running back Nate Frazier.
This has become a recurring theme for Georgia in recent cycles, especially among 5-star recruits. The Bulldogs have seemed to lead for Bowman, Justus Terry and Jackson Cantwell in the past two recruiting cycles, only for them to end up elsewhere.
Georgia still recruits very well and is poised to have an elite recruiting class once again. Expect 5-star prospect Kaiden Prothro to become even more important in this recruiting cycle.
Still, the Bowman recruitment is just the latest one to remind college football fans that recruiting is not what it used to be.
And for someone who loved following those, it’s becoming a bit of a drag.
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