Success as a program and having players find a lot of individual success are the two biggest signs of a thriving program. When it comes to Georgia baseball they are experiencing both forms of success more than most other programs right now.
Georgia just wrapped up their 2026 season by winning the SEC regular season and tournament championship and also making it to the College World Series. Sure they didn't win a National Championship, but that doesn't take away from how great of a season this was.
Not only did Georgia find a lot of team success this year, but they also had players find a lot of individual success as well. None found more success than their starting catcher Daniel Jackson though who won the Golden Spikes Award on Monday. This award goes to the nation's best college baseball player, so it is equivalent to the Heisman Trophy in college football which is the one thing that has escaped Kirby Smart in his tenure.
𝐇𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐜.@Djackson2100 becomes the second Bulldog in three seasons to win the @USAGoldenSpikes. Congratulations, Daniel 🙌#GoDawgs pic.twitter.com/8Eene7dRpE
— Georgia Baseball (@BaseballUGA) June 29, 2026
Wes Johnson did what Kirby Smart hasn't been able to do by having a player win the biggest award in college baseball
Johnson has only been the head coach at Georgia for three seasons, and in those three years he has already had two players win the Golden Spikes Award. This includes Jackson who just won it this year along with Charlie Condon who won it in 2024.
Jackson's Golden Spikes award makes Georgia one of just seven schools to have more than one player win this award in the history of college baseball.
Smart has found about as much success as possible on the football field, but the one thing that he hasn't been able to accomplish is having a player win the Heisman Trophy. Stetson Bennett was close to winning it back in 2022, but even he couldn't bring that trophy home.
There's a scenario this season where Gunner Stockton could win the Heisman Trophy this year, but as it stands today this is the one thing Smart hasn't been able to win for Georgia. Johnson on the other hand has been able to have two players win the Golden Spikes Award after just three years as the Bulldogs' head coach.
Wes Johnson has the Diamond Dawgs trending in the right direction
Johnson brought Georgia's program back to national relevance this season, and it doesn't look like he has any plans of slowing down.
Having multiple players win the Golden Spikes Award is huge for recruiting because he can use that to make his pitch to the best players in the country. Apparently that is working out very well for him so far because Georgia currently has the No. 1 Transfer Portal class in the country after earning commitments from four transfers on Monday alone.
Georgia obviously will need to win on the field next spring for any of this to matter, but it's clear that Johnson has UGA in position to be one of the best programs in the country for a long time.
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