Link to my full rankings: 2026 Preseason Top 25

D1 Baseball Ranking: 15

Baseball America Ranking: 6

Perfect Game Ranking: 15

#10) Georgia

Wes Johnson enters his third season after bringing life back into Georgia’s program. According to Baseball America, back-to-back 43 win seasons and a super regional appearance in 2024 made Johnson the winningest coach through two years in school history. This roster is very experienced as it is loaded with upperclassmen.

Returning Hitters:

The lineup will lose their top 3 hitters from a year ago, but Johnson brings back some talent with upside and reloaded in the portal

• Tre Phelps: The ceiling is the limit with Phelps. He may end up being one of the SEC’s top hitters. Phelps hit .353/.441/.699 as a freshman in 2024 and followed it up with a .318/.409/.547.
• Kolby Branch: Experienced MIF with nearly 800 collegiate ABs under his belt. Hit .303/.398/.537 with 13 HRs last season. Hit 17 HRs as a Sophomore in 2024.
• Daniel Jackson & Ryan Black: Two upperclassmen with experience. Jackson will be behind the plate.

Transfers & Freshmen:

Per usual, Johnson hit the portal hard for pitching and lineup pieces. They earned the #1 portal class according to 64Analytics. Johnson is a pitching guru and he has his best staff on paper to date. The main question is how will these guys translate to SEC competition?

• Joey Volchko (Stanford): Huge upside arm with 1st round potential. Struggled last season at Stanford but the talent is there with a fastball that gets up to 100. Ranked #67 in MLB’s top draft prospects.
• Caden Aoki (USC): Had been a staple in USC’s rotation the last few seasons. Tossed 97 innings with a 3.99 ERA last season. Locates the ball well with a 6.43 K/BB ratio.
• Matt Scott (Stanford): He was projected as a top arm in the 2025 draft but struggled last season at Stanford. Despite the struggles, he was the 2nd ranked pitcher in the portal according to 64Analytics. Ranked #11 in PG’s top 100 Seniors.
• Kenny Ishikawa (Seattle): Two way player that hit .318/.420/.562 while producing a 4.21 ERA across 66.1 IP on the mound. He will have an immediate impact.
• Bryce Calloway (New Orleans): A big get in the portal, Calloway slugged .390 with 18 HRs last season. He also added depth on the mound with 23 Ks across 25.1 IP. Ranked #25 in PG’s top 100 Seniors.
• Jordy Oriach (New Mexico): Crushed the ball last season with a .388/.470/.748 line. He produced 16 HRs with a 176 wRC+.
• Dylan Vigue (Michigan): Experienced arm that posted a 4.25 ERA with 51 strikeouts this past season. Ranked #38 in 64Analytics transfer portal rankings.
• Scott Newman (USC Upstate): Hit .300/.410/.582 with 19 HRs last season.
• Jack Arcamone (Richmond): .355/.463/.675 with 13 HRs while producing a team-leading 155 wRC+.
• Michael O’Shaugnessy (Davidson): 3 year starter at Davidson that hit over .300 each season. Produced .369/.482/.691 with 17 HRs and team-leading 164 wRC+ last season

Returning Pitchers:

The main pieces of this staff all come from the transfer portal.

• Jordan Stephens: Relief arm that produced a 3.92 ERA and 3 saves last season. Hit 99mph in the Cape this summer.

I originally had this team ranked inside the top 5, but dropped them to 10 due to the number of transfers coming in. If these guys produce like expected, Georgia likely ends their season in Omaha. Vegas is high with some books offering them as the 2nd highest odds to win the CWS.