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BSB: Daniel Jackson Named SEC Player of the Year and Wes Johnson Earned SEC Coach of the Year

University of Georgia catcher Daniel Jackson has been named Southeastern Conference Player of the Year while Wes Johnson earned SEC Coach of the Year honors, the league announced Monday.

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. Jackson was joined on the first team by junior third baseman Tre Phelps and sophomore outfielder Rylan Lujo. Also, senior shortstop Kolby Branch was a Second Team All-SEC selection. Phelps was named to the SEC All-Defensive Team, too.

Jackson, a 6-2, 200-pound native of Sandy Springs, Ga., becomes just the third Bulldog in Georgia baseball history to be named SEC Player of the Year, joining 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, Georgia’s Ike Cousins head baseball coach now in his third season, 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 to be honored by the league, joining W.P. White (1933), Jim Whatley (1953-54), Steve Webber (1987), Ron Polk (2001) and David Perno (2004 & 2008).

During the regular season, Phelps, a 6-2, 197-pound native of Atlanta, Ga., finished second in the SEC in batting at .372 and 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, 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, including 43 starts. 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. 

As the top seed at the SEC Tournament in Hoover, Ala., fourth-ranked Georgia earned a double bye to the quarterfinals. The Bulldogs will play on Thursday at 4 p.m. ET against either Ole Miss/Mississippi State or Missouri.     

MGOLF: Dawgs in Fifth after Round of NCAA Athens Regional

The Georgia men’s golf team shot 5-under par to sit tied for fifth place after round one of the NCAA Athens Regional. 

FAST FACTS:

• Sophomore Matt Moloney had the best round for the Bulldogs, shooting 3-under par. He used an eagle on the seventh hole and two birdies on the back nine to propel himself to a tie for eighth.
• Moloney was one of three players on the leaderboard with an eagle today. He also shot 3-under par on par five holes, tying for the best in the field. 
• Sophomore James Earle and freshman JD Culbreth both sit tied for 16th at 1-under par. Earle totaled five birdies on the day, while Culbreth had four. 
• Senior Carter Loflin and junior Grayson Wood rounded out play for Georgia, sitting tied for 29th and tied for 51st, respectively, heading into round two. 
• Louisville leads the way at 10-under par, with Auburn and Vanderbilt tied for second at 7-under par.

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