University of Georgia Athletics
Photo by: Conor Dillon/UGAAA
Daniel Jackson Earns More Hardware, Wins Posey And Bragan Awards
June 13, 2026 | Baseball
Bulldog Named Nation’s Top Catcher And Slugger
OMAHA, NEB.-----Â University of Georgia All-American Daniel Jackson has been named the 2026 Buster Posey Award winner as the nation's top collegiate catcher plus claimed the Bobby Bragan National Collegiate Slugger Award, it was announced Saturday at the College World Series.
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These are the latest national awards for Jackson, who on Friday took home the Dick Howser Trophy, which goes to the top Division I player in college baseball and is considered the baseball equivalent of the Heisman Trophy. He is the first Bulldog in school history to win the Posey Award and the second to claim the Bragan Award and Howser Trophy, joining Charlie Condon in 2024. Also, Jackson is one of three finalists for the Golden Spikes Award with USA Baseball announcing the winner live on MLB Network on Monday, June 29th at 7:30 p.m.
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A 6-2, 200-pound native of Sandy Springs, Ga., Jackson is one of just three players (and first catcher) in NCAA Division I history to have at least 30 home runs and 25 stolen bases in a season. He is batting .396 with 31 home runs, 86 RBI, and 26 stolen bases. Jackson, the 2026 Southeastern Conference (SEC) Player of the Year and Triple Crown winner, ranks in the top five nationally in five offensive categories while starting all 63 games including 53 at catcher.
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Jackson has helped the Bulldogs (51-12) advance to the College Worlds Series (CWS) after sweeping the NCAA Athens Regional and Super Regional. The Bulldogs will face Texas in their CWS opener Saturday at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.Â
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"I'd like to thank everyone with the College Baseball Foundation and the Buster Posey Award for thinking of me," said Jackson. "It feels great to be rewarded for what I love to do. I have a lot of passion for catching. I have to give a lot of credit to my family, my coaches and teammates for helping me. I have to give a shout out to my catching coach Brock Bennett because he's been wanting a shout out for a while. I'm extremely excited and want to congratulate the other finalists too. I've gotten lucky to meet a lot of them and play with some of them, and they're a bunch of great catchers."Â
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The Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher of the year Award, previously known as the Johnny Bench Award, when it began in 2000, honor's the nation's top Division 1 catcher as voted on by head baseball coaches, sports information directors and Major League Scouts. It is presented by Hasty Awards, administered by the Wichita Sports Commission and named for former Florida State standout Buster Posey. He swept every major award while in college and was selected fifth overall by the San Francisco Giants in 2008. In his major league career, Posey won three World Series titles and was a seven-time All-Star. Currently, he serves as president of baseball operations for the Giants. This year's Posey finalists were Jackson, Carson Tinney (Texas), Vahn Lackey (Georgia Tech), Chase Fralick (Auburn) and Jon Embury (Florida Gulf Coast).
The Bragan Award, presented by the Bobby Bragan Youth Foundation based in Texas, recognizes the top offensive player in Division 1 college baseball based on athletic performance, academics, and personal integrity.  The award was created in 2017. Bragan was a former major league baseball player, manager, and coach, who established the foundation in 1991 as an effort to encourage children to stay in school and pursue their education and career dreams. Along with Jackson, this year's finalists were Roch Cholowsky (UCLA) and Tague Davis (Louisville).
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After winning the Bragan Award at the press conference, Jackson thanked the Bragan Foundation and added baseball is what he loves to do including hitting home runs.
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"There's no better feeling than rounding the bases after leaving the yard," said Jackson. "There's a lot of criteria that goes into the Bragan Award, and I'm grateful that I can be a part of it and very thankful to be this year's winner."Â Â
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As part of the festivities at the CWS, the College Baseball Foundation (CBF) announced the winners of seven national awards including the Posey and Bragan Saturday during a press conference.
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To date, Jackson has claimed all three of the awards he was a finalist for this season. The winner of the final one where he is a finalist will be determined later this month. Fan voting will again play a part in the Golden Spikes Award. Baseball fans can vote for Jackson on GoldenSpikesAward.com, now through June 28. The 2026 Golden Spikes Award recipient will be announced June 29th.
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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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These are the latest national awards for Jackson, who on Friday took home the Dick Howser Trophy, which goes to the top Division I player in college baseball and is considered the baseball equivalent of the Heisman Trophy. He is the first Bulldog in school history to win the Posey Award and the second to claim the Bragan Award and Howser Trophy, joining Charlie Condon in 2024. Also, Jackson is one of three finalists for the Golden Spikes Award with USA Baseball announcing the winner live on MLB Network on Monday, June 29th at 7:30 p.m.
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A 6-2, 200-pound native of Sandy Springs, Ga., Jackson is one of just three players (and first catcher) in NCAA Division I history to have at least 30 home runs and 25 stolen bases in a season. He is batting .396 with 31 home runs, 86 RBI, and 26 stolen bases. Jackson, the 2026 Southeastern Conference (SEC) Player of the Year and Triple Crown winner, ranks in the top five nationally in five offensive categories while starting all 63 games including 53 at catcher.
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Jackson has helped the Bulldogs (51-12) advance to the College Worlds Series (CWS) after sweeping the NCAA Athens Regional and Super Regional. The Bulldogs will face Texas in their CWS opener Saturday at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.Â
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"I'd like to thank everyone with the College Baseball Foundation and the Buster Posey Award for thinking of me," said Jackson. "It feels great to be rewarded for what I love to do. I have a lot of passion for catching. I have to give a lot of credit to my family, my coaches and teammates for helping me. I have to give a shout out to my catching coach Brock Bennett because he's been wanting a shout out for a while. I'm extremely excited and want to congratulate the other finalists too. I've gotten lucky to meet a lot of them and play with some of them, and they're a bunch of great catchers."Â
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The Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher of the year Award, previously known as the Johnny Bench Award, when it began in 2000, honor's the nation's top Division 1 catcher as voted on by head baseball coaches, sports information directors and Major League Scouts. It is presented by Hasty Awards, administered by the Wichita Sports Commission and named for former Florida State standout Buster Posey. He swept every major award while in college and was selected fifth overall by the San Francisco Giants in 2008. In his major league career, Posey won three World Series titles and was a seven-time All-Star. Currently, he serves as president of baseball operations for the Giants. This year's Posey finalists were Jackson, Carson Tinney (Texas), Vahn Lackey (Georgia Tech), Chase Fralick (Auburn) and Jon Embury (Florida Gulf Coast).
The Bragan Award, presented by the Bobby Bragan Youth Foundation based in Texas, recognizes the top offensive player in Division 1 college baseball based on athletic performance, academics, and personal integrity.  The award was created in 2017. Bragan was a former major league baseball player, manager, and coach, who established the foundation in 1991 as an effort to encourage children to stay in school and pursue their education and career dreams. Along with Jackson, this year's finalists were Roch Cholowsky (UCLA) and Tague Davis (Louisville).
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After winning the Bragan Award at the press conference, Jackson thanked the Bragan Foundation and added baseball is what he loves to do including hitting home runs.
Â
"There's no better feeling than rounding the bases after leaving the yard," said Jackson. "There's a lot of criteria that goes into the Bragan Award, and I'm grateful that I can be a part of it and very thankful to be this year's winner."Â Â
Â
As part of the festivities at the CWS, the College Baseball Foundation (CBF) announced the winners of seven national awards including the Posey and Bragan Saturday during a press conference.
Â
To date, Jackson has claimed all three of the awards he was a finalist for this season. The winner of the final one where he is a finalist will be determined later this month. Fan voting will again play a part in the Golden Spikes Award. Baseball fans can vote for Jackson on GoldenSpikesAward.com, now through June 28. The 2026 Golden Spikes Award recipient will be announced June 29th.
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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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Players Mentioned
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Sunday, June 07