University of Georgia Athletics
Friday, February 13
Athens, Ga.
3 pm
University of Georgia
vs
Wright State
Georgia Opens 2026 Season With Wright State
February 12, 2026 | Baseball
ATHENS, GA.-----The 2026 Georgia baseball season opens here Friday at 3 p.m. as the sixth-ranked Bulldogs play host to Wright State in a three-game series at Foley Field.
Reviewing The Bulldog Roster Construction
Georgia begins its third season under the leadership of Ike Cousins head baseball coach Wes Johnson. Recently, D1Baseball writer Mark Etheridge suggested Johnson could be considered baseball's "Portal King." In his first season at Georgia, the Bulldog roster featured 18 returnees, 10 freshmen and 17 additions from the portal. In 2025, Georgia's roster was comprised of 14 returnees, six freshmen and 21 transfers. The teams finished with identical 43-17 records and advanced to the NCAA postseason as national top eight seeds and played host to a regional. The 2024 squad advanced to a super regional, falling to N.C. State in three games.
This season, Georgia's roster is comprised of 15 returnees, five freshmen, one from junior college and 20 players from the portal. The Bulldogs are preseason ranked as high as No. 6 (Baseball America). This class features an array of experienced starting pitchers and more hitters who can move the baseball. We'll see if the power matches Georgia's past two squads while this one could feature more speed.
Last season, the Bulldogs had a school-record eight players with double-digit home runs as the team finished with 144, which was the second most in school history. In 2024 when Georgia set a school mark with 151 home runs, the Bulldogs had six players with 10+ home runs including an NCAA-best 37 by Golden Spikes Award winner Charlie Condon.
Baseball is the oldest varsity sport on campus dating to 1886. Georgia enters the 2026 season with an all-time record of 2,502-1,889-24. Johnson is 2-0 in season openers. The Bulldogs are 2-2 all-time against Wright State, falling 8-5 here in 2009 and winning a 2016 series 2-1 at Foley Field.
Bulldog Hitters To Watch
Junior third baseman Tre Phelps (.318-10-44) opens the 2026 season on a career-best 14-game hitting streak while senior Gold Glove-candidate Kolby Branch (.303-13-41) returns for his third year as the mainstay at shortstop. In 2025, he posted a .981 fielding percentage with just four errors and earned Academic All-District and Academic All-SEC honors. Junior C/OF Daniel Jackson (.240-14-36) is back after a strong summer where he earned All-Cape Cod League honors.
Newcomers to watch include 2nd team preseason All-America OF/LHP Kenny Ishikawa (.312-8-32; 5-7, 4.35 ERA at Seattle last year), 2nd team preseason All-America 1B/RHP Bryce Calloway (.390-18-63, 2-2, 4.26 ERA, 11 SV) at New Orleans, 3rd team All-America 1B/OF Jordy Oriach (.388-16-63 at New Mexico), C/OF Jack Arcamone (.355-13-62 at Richmond), INF Rylan Lujo (.361-9-56, 17 SB at Dayton), Cole Koniarsky (.363-7-47 at UNLV) and INF/OF Michael O'Shaughnessy (.369-17-70 at Davidson). Also, Georgia has a pair of freshmen outfielders in Cole Johnson and Ty Peeples, and both were selected in the top 20 rounds of the 2025 MLB Draft.
Georgia Pitching Plans For Opening Weekend
Georgia's rotation will feature 6-4, 225-pound junior RHP Joey Volchko (3-4, 6.01 ERA at Stanford) on Opening Day and then either 5-11, 193-pound sophomore LHP Kenny Ishikawa (5-7, 4.35 ERA at Seattle) or 6-3, 230-pound junior Dylan Vigue (1-4, 4.25 ERA at Michigan) pending the schedule of the three-game series. With rain the forecast for Sunday, the team may opt to play a doubleheader Saturday. After having snow in two of the past three weekends, Georgia will likely employ the aforementioned trio plus an array of pitchers as the staff gradually increases their workload early in the season.
Volchko earned 2nd Team preseason All-America honors from Baseball America and their teams are voted on by MLB scouting departments. Ishikawa was a 2nd Team preseason All-America selection as a utility player by the staff of D1Baseball. He looks to become the first Bulldog to serve as a starting pitcher and hit for himself regularly since eventual Major Leaguer Jared Walsh in 2015. That year, Walsh went 5-2 with a 2.60 ERA and hit .306-3-22. His final Bulldog start as a P/DH in 2015 came in a combined 6-0 one-hitter over Ga. Tech in front of 18,792 at Turner Field. Walsh fired the first five innings and allowed one hit, one walk and struck out six plus went 2-for-4 with a walk and run scored. In 2019, Georgia featured Aaron Schunk who was a starting third baseman/closer and won the John Olerud Award as the nation's top two-way talent. That year, Schunk batted .339-15-58 and was 1-2 with a 2.49 ERA and 12 saves. Vigue made 31 appearances including 19 starts during his UM career. Pitchers have flourished under the tutelage of Coach Johnson including nine getting drafted in 2025.
About Wright State
The Raiders, led by head coach Alex Sogard since 2021, have won seven straight regular season Horizon League titles and made four trips to an NCAA Regional in the last five years. In 2025, No. 4 seed Wright State eliminated No. 1 national seed Vanderbilt in the NCAA Nashville Regional. Vanderbilt became the first No. 1 overall seed to fail to reach their regional final since the tournament switched to its current format in 1999. Louisville went on to win the regional as WSU finished 40-21. The Raiders returners include first team All-Conference J.P. Peltier who hit .303 with 20 home runs and 24 stolen bases plus Horizon League Freshman of the Year Hunter Warren, who hit .328 with an .831 OPS. Also, all-league first team selection junior RHP Cam Allen (7-3, 4.95 ERA), and he will start the opener for WSU.
Foley Field In 2026
Radio/TV (SECN+)
Friday @ 3 p.m. ET
Radio/TV: 960TheRef (Jeff Dantzler & David Johnston)
https://georgiadogs.com/watch/?Live=4962
SECN+: https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/76d7a6da-17aa-4181-82e5-65c635e39a80
Live Stats: https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=650765
Saturday @ 2 p.m. ET
Radio/TV: 960TheRef (Jeff Dantzler & David Johnston)
https://georgiadogs.com/watch/?Live=4963&type=Live
SECN+: https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/1f076ba5-5626-47d5-a596-06bfff9f44aa
Live Stats: https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=650763
Sunday @ 1 p.m. ET
Radio/TV: 960TheRef (Jeff Dantzler & David Johnston)
https://georgiadogs.com/watch/?Live=4964&type=Live
SECN+: https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/2edcfdd3-27a6-47d3-b6b8-b360dfce3d8e
Live Stats: https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=650764
FOLLOW THE BULLDOGS: For the latest Georgia baseball news, visit www.georgiadogs.com and follow the Bulldogs on X (@BaseballUGA), Facebook (@GeorgiaBaseball) and Instagram (@baseballuga).
Reviewing The Bulldog Roster Construction
Georgia begins its third season under the leadership of Ike Cousins head baseball coach Wes Johnson. Recently, D1Baseball writer Mark Etheridge suggested Johnson could be considered baseball's "Portal King." In his first season at Georgia, the Bulldog roster featured 18 returnees, 10 freshmen and 17 additions from the portal. In 2025, Georgia's roster was comprised of 14 returnees, six freshmen and 21 transfers. The teams finished with identical 43-17 records and advanced to the NCAA postseason as national top eight seeds and played host to a regional. The 2024 squad advanced to a super regional, falling to N.C. State in three games.
This season, Georgia's roster is comprised of 15 returnees, five freshmen, one from junior college and 20 players from the portal. The Bulldogs are preseason ranked as high as No. 6 (Baseball America). This class features an array of experienced starting pitchers and more hitters who can move the baseball. We'll see if the power matches Georgia's past two squads while this one could feature more speed.
Last season, the Bulldogs had a school-record eight players with double-digit home runs as the team finished with 144, which was the second most in school history. In 2024 when Georgia set a school mark with 151 home runs, the Bulldogs had six players with 10+ home runs including an NCAA-best 37 by Golden Spikes Award winner Charlie Condon.
Baseball is the oldest varsity sport on campus dating to 1886. Georgia enters the 2026 season with an all-time record of 2,502-1,889-24. Johnson is 2-0 in season openers. The Bulldogs are 2-2 all-time against Wright State, falling 8-5 here in 2009 and winning a 2016 series 2-1 at Foley Field.
Bulldog Hitters To Watch
Junior third baseman Tre Phelps (.318-10-44) opens the 2026 season on a career-best 14-game hitting streak while senior Gold Glove-candidate Kolby Branch (.303-13-41) returns for his third year as the mainstay at shortstop. In 2025, he posted a .981 fielding percentage with just four errors and earned Academic All-District and Academic All-SEC honors. Junior C/OF Daniel Jackson (.240-14-36) is back after a strong summer where he earned All-Cape Cod League honors.
Newcomers to watch include 2nd team preseason All-America OF/LHP Kenny Ishikawa (.312-8-32; 5-7, 4.35 ERA at Seattle last year), 2nd team preseason All-America 1B/RHP Bryce Calloway (.390-18-63, 2-2, 4.26 ERA, 11 SV) at New Orleans, 3rd team All-America 1B/OF Jordy Oriach (.388-16-63 at New Mexico), C/OF Jack Arcamone (.355-13-62 at Richmond), INF Rylan Lujo (.361-9-56, 17 SB at Dayton), Cole Koniarsky (.363-7-47 at UNLV) and INF/OF Michael O'Shaughnessy (.369-17-70 at Davidson). Also, Georgia has a pair of freshmen outfielders in Cole Johnson and Ty Peeples, and both were selected in the top 20 rounds of the 2025 MLB Draft.
Georgia Pitching Plans For Opening Weekend
Georgia's rotation will feature 6-4, 225-pound junior RHP Joey Volchko (3-4, 6.01 ERA at Stanford) on Opening Day and then either 5-11, 193-pound sophomore LHP Kenny Ishikawa (5-7, 4.35 ERA at Seattle) or 6-3, 230-pound junior Dylan Vigue (1-4, 4.25 ERA at Michigan) pending the schedule of the three-game series. With rain the forecast for Sunday, the team may opt to play a doubleheader Saturday. After having snow in two of the past three weekends, Georgia will likely employ the aforementioned trio plus an array of pitchers as the staff gradually increases their workload early in the season.
Volchko earned 2nd Team preseason All-America honors from Baseball America and their teams are voted on by MLB scouting departments. Ishikawa was a 2nd Team preseason All-America selection as a utility player by the staff of D1Baseball. He looks to become the first Bulldog to serve as a starting pitcher and hit for himself regularly since eventual Major Leaguer Jared Walsh in 2015. That year, Walsh went 5-2 with a 2.60 ERA and hit .306-3-22. His final Bulldog start as a P/DH in 2015 came in a combined 6-0 one-hitter over Ga. Tech in front of 18,792 at Turner Field. Walsh fired the first five innings and allowed one hit, one walk and struck out six plus went 2-for-4 with a walk and run scored. In 2019, Georgia featured Aaron Schunk who was a starting third baseman/closer and won the John Olerud Award as the nation's top two-way talent. That year, Schunk batted .339-15-58 and was 1-2 with a 2.49 ERA and 12 saves. Vigue made 31 appearances including 19 starts during his UM career. Pitchers have flourished under the tutelage of Coach Johnson including nine getting drafted in 2025.
About Wright State
The Raiders, led by head coach Alex Sogard since 2021, have won seven straight regular season Horizon League titles and made four trips to an NCAA Regional in the last five years. In 2025, No. 4 seed Wright State eliminated No. 1 national seed Vanderbilt in the NCAA Nashville Regional. Vanderbilt became the first No. 1 overall seed to fail to reach their regional final since the tournament switched to its current format in 1999. Louisville went on to win the regional as WSU finished 40-21. The Raiders returners include first team All-Conference J.P. Peltier who hit .303 with 20 home runs and 24 stolen bases plus Horizon League Freshman of the Year Hunter Warren, who hit .328 with an .831 OPS. Also, all-league first team selection junior RHP Cam Allen (7-3, 4.95 ERA), and he will start the opener for WSU.
Foley Field In 2026
- Foley Field Gates Open 1 hour before first pitch
- Tickets – Limited Available; Also Available on SeatGeek: https://seatgeek.com/georgia-bulldogs-baseball-tickets
- UGA STUDENTS: Free Admission and please enter at 3rd Base Gate
- Sunday: Anthem Buddies; (Postgame) Kids Run The Bases
Radio/TV (SECN+)
Friday @ 3 p.m. ET
Radio/TV: 960TheRef (Jeff Dantzler & David Johnston)
https://georgiadogs.com/watch/?Live=4962
SECN+: https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/76d7a6da-17aa-4181-82e5-65c635e39a80
Live Stats: https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=650765
Saturday @ 2 p.m. ET
Radio/TV: 960TheRef (Jeff Dantzler & David Johnston)
https://georgiadogs.com/watch/?Live=4963&type=Live
SECN+: https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/1f076ba5-5626-47d5-a596-06bfff9f44aa
Live Stats: https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=650763
Sunday @ 1 p.m. ET
Radio/TV: 960TheRef (Jeff Dantzler & David Johnston)
https://georgiadogs.com/watch/?Live=4964&type=Live
SECN+: https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/2edcfdd3-27a6-47d3-b6b8-b360dfce3d8e
Live Stats: https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=650764
FOLLOW THE BULLDOGS: For the latest Georgia baseball news, visit www.georgiadogs.com and follow the Bulldogs on X (@BaseballUGA), Facebook (@GeorgiaBaseball) and Instagram (@baseballuga).
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