Five Georgia Bulldogs baseball players landed in MLB Pipeline’s top-250 draft prospects for 2026, headlined by Golden Spikes Award winner Daniel Jackson at No. 28. The Bulldogs’ haul arrives a week before the 2026 MLB draft opens in Philadelphia, with catcher Jackson, right-hander Joey Volchko, third baseman Tre Phelps, outfielder Rylan Lujo and right-hander Dylan Vigue all set to hear their names called this weekend. All five sit inside the 250-player cutoff for the 20-round draft.
Jackson rose from a midseason No. 39 ranking to his current No. 28 slot in the five weeks since the College World Series. The climb ties a season that included the Dick Howser Trophy, the SEC Player of the Year award and the program’s first SEC tournament championship to a draft class few college programs match in depth. He is one of three players and the first catcher in NCAA Division I history with 30 home runs and 25 stolen bases in a single season.
Georgia’s Five Top-250 MLB Draft Prospects
Five Bulldogs checked in inside the top-250 on the MLB draft board released before the All-Star break. The class covers every position group: a catcher, two right-handed pitchers, a third baseman and an outfielder. Georgia’s five entries come from one roster.
- Catcher Daniel Jackson: No. 28
- Right-handed pitcher Joey Volchko: No. 68
- Third baseman Tre Phelps: No. 121
- Outfielder Rylan Lujo: No. 190
- Right-handed pitcher Dylan Vigue: No. 202
Jackson’s No. 28 ranking makes him a probable first-round pick when the draft opens Saturday, July 11 in Philadelphia. Volchko at No. 68 and Phelps at No. 121 are both inside the Day 1 range of picks 1 through 135. Lujo and Vigue, ranked No. 190 and No. 202 respectively, fall to Day 2, which covers Rounds 5 through 20 on Sunday, July 12. Picks 1-10 will air on NBC and Peacock, picks 11-40 on MLB Network, and picks 41-135 on MLB.com and MLB TV. The full ranking of Georgia’s top-250 draft prospects tracks five names from one roster.
Georgia’s five top-250 entries follow a season that ended at the College World Series and included the program’s first SEC tournament title and first SEC regular-season crown since 2008. The Bulldogs posted a 51-12 record through the Super Regional. Two of the five prospects took transfer-portal paths to Athens. Volchko spent two seasons at Stanford before a meeting with coach Wes Johnson sent him through the portal to Georgia, while the others developed inside the program.
Daniel Jackson’s Season for the History Books
Daniel Jackson built a case as the best amateur player in college baseball long before the draft board settled at No. 28. In June, the Georgia catcher won the Dick Howser Trophy at Charles Schwab Stadium during the College World Series. A week later, USA Baseball named him the 2026 Golden Spikes Award winner as the nation’s top amateur.
His stat line backed the hardware. Jackson hit .396 with 31 home runs, 86 RBI and 26 stolen bases through the Super Regional, ranking in the top five nationally in five offensive categories. He became the first catcher in NCAA Division I history and one of only three players to record 30 home runs and 25 stolen bases in a single season. The combination of power and speed projects Jackson as a bat-first catcher whose offensive ceiling sits above most of his draft class.
Jackson swept the SEC’s top individual honors as well. The league named him Player of the Year and Triple Crown winner. He also took Most Valuable Player at the SEC Tournament as Georgia claimed its first tournament title and its first regular-season crown since 2008. Across five postseason games in Athens, he batted .450 with four home runs and seven RBI. His two-run homer in the top of the 10th inning of the Super Regional clincher against Mississippi State sealed Georgia’s trip to Omaha.
The awards kept a familiar Georgia name attached to national hardware. Jackson is the second Bulldog in three years to win the Howser Trophy; outfielder Charlie Condon took it in 2024. Jackson is the 39th Howser recipient overall and only the second in school history.
Joey Volchko’s CWS Statement
Volchko arrived at the College World Series needing a stage performance to match his stuff. He delivered one. The right-hander struck out 15 Texas Longhorns in a complete game on June 13, leading Georgia to a 7-1 win in its first CWS victory in 18 years. The 113-pitch outing ended with a 96 mph fastball and a slider he finally located to both sides of the plate. His fastball grades out as one of his plus offerings, and he maintained his velocity from the first pitch to the last.
At the time, MLB Pipeline had Volchko at No. 73. In the five weeks since, he has climbed to No. 68. Outfielder Rylan Lujo, then ranked No. 187, hit a two-run homer in the first inning to give Volchko the cushion he would not need. The performance drew comparisons to Arkansas’ Gage Wood, whose 19-strikeout no-hitter on the same field in 2025 launched him to the No. 26 pick by the Phillies.
I don’t think I’ve ever been a part of something that cool. That was just electric.
Daniel Jackson, Georgia’s All-America catcher and Golden Spikes winner, said it after Georgia’s CWS-opening win. Volchko had bounced back from a shaky Super Regional start against Mississippi State to deliver his first career complete game in the College World Series, as Volchko’s 15-strikeout complete game against Texas showed. The Bulldogs’ 7-1 win was their first at the CWS in 18 years. The 20-year-old right-hander came out of California high school in 2023 and spent two inconsistent seasons at Stanford before a meeting with Johnson sent him through the transfer portal to Georgia. His fastball drew early Noah Syndergaard comparisons out of high school. Five weeks later, he now sits inside the Day 1 draft range.
The Georgia vs Georgia Tech Catcher Battle
Georgia’s draft story carries an in-state rivalry at the catcher’s spot. Jackson, the No. 28 overall prospect, ranks third among catchers in the 2026 draft class. Ahead of him sit Georgia Tech’s Vahn Lackey, the top-ranked catcher and No. 3 overall prospect, and Arkansas’ Ryder Helfrick. The matchup places Georgia against its in-state rival at the position most teams draft around rather than reach for.
The .396 average, 31 home runs and 26 stolen bases project Jackson as a power-and-speed catcher, a rare combination in any draft class. He is the first catcher in NCAA Division I history to record 30 home runs and 25 stolen bases in a single season. Lackey, a 6-foot-2, 215-pound junior, earned his top ranking on the strength of his defense and right-handed bat, while Jackson took the Dick Howser Trophy and Golden Spikes Award at catcher. The two catchers share the position’s top three spots in the 2026 draft class. Jackson’s offense-heavy profile and Lackey’s defense-first scouting report give the 2026 draft two distinct catching prototypes.
| Catcher | School | Overall Draft Rank | Catcher Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vahn Lackey | Georgia Tech | 3 | 1 |
| Daniel Jackson | Georgia | 28 | 3 |
How Georgia Built a Top-250 Pipeline
Georgia’s 2026 roster produced five top-250 draft picks from one program. The Bulldogs won the SEC regular-season crown for the first time since 2008 and added the program’s first SEC tournament championship. They swept through the NCAA Athens Regional and Super Regional to reach the College World Series. The run opened with a 7-1 win over Texas on June 13.
Wes Johnson, Georgia’s Ike Cousins head baseball coach, oversaw the run in Athens. Johnson arrived after stints as a pitching coach in college and the major leagues and inherited a roster that returned most of its core hitters. The Bulldogs posted a 51-12 record through the Super Regional and entered the CWS as one of the favorites. Condon’s 2024 Howser Trophy had already shown what Georgia’s hitters could put on the national shelf. The 2026 group took that legacy one step further by adding the program’s first SEC tournament title.
Two of the five prospects took transfer-portal paths to Athens. Volchko spent two seasons at Stanford after ranking No. 80 on the pre-Draft list out of California high school in 2023. A meeting with Johnson sent him through the portal to Georgia. Phelps and Vigue developed inside the program, and Lujo attended the MLB Draft Combine ahead of the July 11-12 draft.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is the 2026 MLB Draft?
The 2026 MLB Draft runs July 11-12 in Philadelphia. Day 1 on Saturday covers Rounds 1-4 from 1:00 to 7:45 p.m. ET, with picks 1-10 on NBC and Peacock.
Where will the 2026 MLB Draft be held?
Philadelphia, during MLB All-Star Week. Rounds 5 through 20 follow on Sunday, July 12, from 11:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. ET on MLB.com, MLB TV and MLB+. Coverage runs across MLB digital platforms with no over-the-air broadcast on Day 2.
Who is Georgia’s top 2026 MLB draft prospect?
Catcher Daniel Jackson, ranked No. 28 on the top-250 list. He won both the Dick Howser Trophy and the Golden Spikes Award this season. Jackson was also the SEC Player of the Year and the SEC Tournament Most Valuable Player. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound catcher hit .396 with 31 home runs, 86 RBI and 26 stolen bases.
Who is the No. 1 catcher in the 2026 MLB draft class?
Georgia Tech’s Vahn Lackey, ranked No. 3 overall on the draft board. Jackson ranks third among catchers, behind Lackey and Arkansas’ Ryder Helfrick.
When did Georgia baseball last win the SEC?
Georgia’s 2026 SEC regular-season title was the program’s first since 2008. The 2026 SEC Tournament title was Georgia’s first ever. Jackson was named both the SEC Player of the Year and the SEC Tournament MVP.
