Big honors for Georgia's Wes Johnson, Daniel Jackson

It’s already been a remarkable year for Georgia’s baseball team. On Monday, the first of what could be several individual awards began rolling in.

Head coach Wes Johnson is your SEC Coach of the Year, with Daniel Jackson honored as the SEC Player of the Year.

Neither comes as a surprise.

Jackson, who captured the SEC regular season Triple Crown with a .394 batting average, 27 home runs, and 77 RBI, was one of four Bulldogs to earn First Team All-SEC honors in a vote of the league’s head coaches.

He joins Tre Phelps and sophomore outfielder Rylan Lujo, also first-team selections. Senior shortstop Kolby Branch was a Second Team All-SEC selection. Phelps also earned a spot on the SEC All-Defensive Team.

Jackson, a 6-2, 200-pound native of Sandy Springs, is just the third Bulldog in Georgia baseball history to be named SEC Player of the Year. He joins Gordon Beckham (2008) and Charlie Condon (2024).

He is only the sixth player (and first catcher) in Division 1 history to post a season with at least 25 home runs and 25 stolen bases. Jackson is 25-for-26 in stolen bases. On Monday, he was named a semifinalist for the Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher of the Year Award. He is a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award and the Dick Howser Trophy, too. Jackson is fielding .996 in 55 games, including 45 starts at catcher.

Johnson, meanwhile, directed the Bulldogs to the SEC regular season title with a school record 23-7 league record. Overall, fourth-ranked Georgia is 43-12 and enters the SEC Tournament as the top seed. He is the sixth Georgia coach honored by the league. He joins W.P. White (1933), Jim Whatley (1953-54), Steve Webber (1987), Ron Polk (2001), and David Perno (2004 and 2008).

Under Johnson’s leadership, Georgia expects to receive a Top 8 national seed for the third straight year.

Phelps enjoyed a fantastic regular season.

The Atlanta native finished second in the SEC in batting behind Johnson at .372. He was third in on-base percentage at .490. Phelps smashed 18 home runs, drove in 53 runs, and ranked second in the country with 30 hit-by-pitches. Phelps fielded .974 in 54 games, starting 46 at third base and eight at second base.

Lujo’s emergence has been key to Georgia’s success.

A 6-2, 192-pound native of Coconut Creek, Fla., batted .359 with 12 doubles, one triple, nine home runs, and 37 RBI in 48 games. He ranked second in the SEC with a .394 batting average in league games. Lujo, who has a .988 fielding percentage, played error-free for the first 52 games of the year. He has made 40 starts in centerfield, one in right field, and two at first base.

Branch, a 5-11, 202-pound native of Lucas, Texas, started all 55 games at shortstop and posted a .309 batting average with 15 doubles, 17 home runs, and 51 RBI. A four-year starter, he fielded .973 during the regular season.