Georgia’s baseball team is the No. 1 program in the nation according to Baseball America, which ranked the Bulldogs atop this week’s Top 25 poll.
At 39-11, 15-9 in the SEC, seeing Georgia No. 1 might catch even the most diehard fans off guard.
Texas swept Georgia a month ago in Austin. However, the Longhorns were swept this weekend by Arkansas, which recently lost two of three to the Bulldogs.
Georgia also took two of three from Oklahoma. The Bulldogs swept the Gators in Gainesville.
With LSU and Tennessee losing two of three over the weekend to Texas A&M and Auburn – a team Georgia also swept – that was good enough to tab Georgia the No. 1 team.
The Bulldogs won all four of their games this week, beating Kennesaw State before sweeping Missouri over the weekend.
Georgia is also the No. 1 team in regard to RPI.
Texas remains No. 1 in the D1Baseball poll, with Georgia at No. 6.
Georgia will certainly have an opportunity to prove their ranking correct.
The Bulldogs travel to No. 25 Alabama over the weekend, before closing the regular season at home against Texas A&M.
While the ranking is nice, head coach Wes Johnson won’t be focused on that.
With Sunday’s 4-2 win over Missouri, the Bulldogs won their 15th SEC game, which guarantees the program a spot in the 64-team NCAA Tournament.
But Georgia has its expectations higher than just making the field.
After falling one game short of a trip to Omaha last year, the Bulldogs made it their goal in 2025 to qualify for the College World Series for the first time since 2008.
But first things first.
Georgia would seem to be in good shape for hosting one of the 16 regionals, but hopes to finish as one of the Top 8 seeds to guarantee hosting through this year’s Super Regionals.
The Bulldogs need to get healthy.
With no midweek game due to final exams, Georgia hopes to find out if first baseman Ryland Zaborowski will be able to resume playing after injuring his elbow against Oklahoma.
While facing SEC-level pitching has made it tougher on the hitters, Georgia’s starting rotation appears to be turning it around.
The trio of Brian Curley, Kolten Smith, and Leighton Finley continued their recent run of good work. Over the weekend, the trio combined for 18.1 innings, allowing just three earned runs on nine hits with three walks and 21 strikeouts.
Georgia’s bullpen also appears to be rounding into shape, including Alton Davis Jr. and Zach Harris, who recorded saves in each of the past two games.
“You look at the start Leighton Finley gave us, and the bullpen came through. Slate Alford had a good day at the plate with three hits, obviously the big two-run home run, but also had a couple of doubles,” Johnson said of his team’s sweep of Missouri. “We had some other hits in the game that put some pressure on them, and they were able to get out of some jams. Zach (Harris) has been very effective. He threw on back-to-back days, and he was very effective with three pitches. He was hitting 97 (miles per hour) today. Everyone in the bullpen has taken to their roles, and I’m proud of our pitching staff this weekend.”
But Georgia cannot be worried about ranking, playing Alabama and Texas A&M, which suddenly have more motivation knowing they’re the No. 1 team.
The Crimson Tide is 36-12, 13-11 in the SEC, while the Aggies, the preseason No. 1 team, are playing much better ball.
Georgia and Alabama begin their series in Tuscaloosa on Friday, before wrapping up the regular season at Foley Field on Thursday, May 15.
