University of Georgia Athletics
‘Champions Are Champions Everywhere’
July 27, 2026 | Track & Field, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
Caryl Smith Gilbert is highly focused and highly driven. Georgia's Director of Men's and Women's Track and Field doesn't just expect her student-athletes to give their best efforts every day in training or in meets, she also wants and expects them to excel in the classroom.
"Yes, very much — even more so," said Smith Gilbert, whose women's team has won three straight NCAA titles (2025 and '26 Outdoor, '26 Indoor) while the men's team placed second at this year's Outdoor meet in June.
On top of all of that on-the-track success, Georgia's women's and men's teams did something this year that made her just as happy: they earned the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association's National Scholar Team of the Year honors.
Smith Gilbert has always prioritized doing well in the classroom. After graduating from UCLA, she earned two master's degrees while coaching at Tennessee. She wants the same commitment from her student-athletes.
"Just being at high academic institutions, that's been very important to me," she said. "All the kids know that graduation is more important to me than gold medals, because you can take graduation with you for the rest of your life, and it sets you up for life.
"They know if they miss class, they're going to miss a meet. If they're not doing their schoolwork, we've got problems. It's not always perfect, but I just want everybody to do their best."
The path to high athletic and academic success starts in recruiting, Smith Gilbert said. One of the first questions she and her staff ask a recruit, be it a high schooler or someone in the transfer portal, is for them to send over their transcript.
"We like to coach and teach, so we're looking for high intellectual people who understand teaching and understand the information and really want to use the information we're giving them as coaches," she said. "I think that's a big part of what we do."
Along with the men's and women's teams earning National Scholar Team of the Year awards, 15 women and 15 men received All-Academic honors. Teams had to have at least a 3.0 GPA to receive the award, while the student-athletes had to have a GPA of 3.25 or better and be among the top performers in the country in their events.
What's telling about Smith Gilbert's squads is that so many of her top Bulldogs on the track or in field events were among those who earned All-Academic recognition. There is Adaejah Hodge, who won NCAA Indoor and Outdoor titles in the 200 and set collegiate records in the 100 and 200 meters at the NCAA Outdoor meet. There is Dejanea Oakley, who won the NCAA Outdoor title in the 400 and set a collegiate record. Both Hodge and Oakley are among the three finalists for the Bowerman Award, which goes to the top track and field student-athlete in the country.
On the men's side, among the 15 honorees was NCAA Outdoor high jump champion Kimani Jack, who was a College Sports Communicators Academic All-American while completing his master's degree in Sport Management. Jack was one of seven Bulldogs named to the CSC's All-District Team, as well.
"I believe that hard workers are hard workers everywhere. Normally, the people with the best grades are the most motivated. They do the most off-the-track recovery to their body. They listen to the coach. They want to learn about their sport. It's like a common denominator," Smith Gilbert said. "Champions are champions everywhere."
Smith Gilbert was in New York over the weekend for the USATF Outdoor Championships, where multiple former Bulldogs shined: Aaliyah Butler won the women's 400-meter title. In the decathlon, Garrett Scantling won the title and Kyle Garland placed second. In the men's javelin, Jordan Davis placed second and Marc Minichello was third. Kaila Jackson, who wrapped up her Georgia career in June, placed sixth in the 200 meters and placed seventh in the 100, one spot ahead of teammate Jassani Carter.
Staff Writer
Caryl Smith Gilbert is highly focused and highly driven. Georgia's Director of Men's and Women's Track and Field doesn't just expect her student-athletes to give their best efforts every day in training or in meets, she also wants and expects them to excel in the classroom.
"Yes, very much — even more so," said Smith Gilbert, whose women's team has won three straight NCAA titles (2025 and '26 Outdoor, '26 Indoor) while the men's team placed second at this year's Outdoor meet in June.
On top of all of that on-the-track success, Georgia's women's and men's teams did something this year that made her just as happy: they earned the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association's National Scholar Team of the Year honors.
Smith Gilbert has always prioritized doing well in the classroom. After graduating from UCLA, she earned two master's degrees while coaching at Tennessee. She wants the same commitment from her student-athletes.
"Just being at high academic institutions, that's been very important to me," she said. "All the kids know that graduation is more important to me than gold medals, because you can take graduation with you for the rest of your life, and it sets you up for life.
"They know if they miss class, they're going to miss a meet. If they're not doing their schoolwork, we've got problems. It's not always perfect, but I just want everybody to do their best."
The path to high athletic and academic success starts in recruiting, Smith Gilbert said. One of the first questions she and her staff ask a recruit, be it a high schooler or someone in the transfer portal, is for them to send over their transcript.
"We like to coach and teach, so we're looking for high intellectual people who understand teaching and understand the information and really want to use the information we're giving them as coaches," she said. "I think that's a big part of what we do."
Along with the men's and women's teams earning National Scholar Team of the Year awards, 15 women and 15 men received All-Academic honors. Teams had to have at least a 3.0 GPA to receive the award, while the student-athletes had to have a GPA of 3.25 or better and be among the top performers in the country in their events.
What's telling about Smith Gilbert's squads is that so many of her top Bulldogs on the track or in field events were among those who earned All-Academic recognition. There is Adaejah Hodge, who won NCAA Indoor and Outdoor titles in the 200 and set collegiate records in the 100 and 200 meters at the NCAA Outdoor meet. There is Dejanea Oakley, who won the NCAA Outdoor title in the 400 and set a collegiate record. Both Hodge and Oakley are among the three finalists for the Bowerman Award, which goes to the top track and field student-athlete in the country.
On the men's side, among the 15 honorees was NCAA Outdoor high jump champion Kimani Jack, who was a College Sports Communicators Academic All-American while completing his master's degree in Sport Management. Jack was one of seven Bulldogs named to the CSC's All-District Team, as well.
"I believe that hard workers are hard workers everywhere. Normally, the people with the best grades are the most motivated. They do the most off-the-track recovery to their body. They listen to the coach. They want to learn about their sport. It's like a common denominator," Smith Gilbert said. "Champions are champions everywhere."
Smith Gilbert was in New York over the weekend for the USATF Outdoor Championships, where multiple former Bulldogs shined: Aaliyah Butler won the women's 400-meter title. In the decathlon, Garrett Scantling won the title and Kyle Garland placed second. In the men's javelin, Jordan Davis placed second and Marc Minichello was third. Kaila Jackson, who wrapped up her Georgia career in June, placed sixth in the 200 meters and placed seventh in the 100, one spot ahead of teammate Jassani Carter.
Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files.
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