OMAHA, Neb. — If two out of three ain’t bad — and that’s the popular sentiment when it comes to bat-and-ball sports on the diamond — then the Georgia Bulldogs under third-year head coach Wes Johnson are doing pretty good when it comes to one of college baseball’s most prestigious individual honors.
Georgia catcher Daniel Jackson is the winner of the Dick Howser Trophy as the player of the year for the 2026 season, the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association announced Friday.
Jackson, a 6-foot-2, 200-pound junior from Sandy Springs in the Atlanta area, is the second Bulldog in three years to receive the honor, joining 2024 recipient Charlie Condon, who was the program’s first. Jackson is also the fifth winner in six years from a Southeastern Conference program.
“When I talk about Daniel Jackson and think about the Howser Trophy, he embodies those cornerstones of this award,” Johnson said in a Georgia release. “We have this thing sometimes where we say it takes on guys with courage, and Daniel embodies that. You look at his leadership, the way he talks about his teammates, phenomenal leader, and obviously his character on and off the field speaks for itself.
“You will not find a better recipient of the Dick Howser Trophy than Daniel Jackson, and I couldn’t be happier for him and his family.”
Jackson was presented the award during a ceremony in Omaha, Nebraska, shortly before the start of the 80th edition of the College World Series. In an acceptance speech that ranged from touching (he got choked up while thanking his stepmother Brandi “who has filled a big hole in my life) to humorous (he laughed while noting senior infielder Kolby Jackson helped him tie his necktie that morning), Jackson expressed his gratitude for all the support he has received from family and teammates.
“I wouldn’t be able to do it by myself,” said Jackson, who played his freshman season for Southern Conference member Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
The Bulldogs, who swept the SEC regular-season and tournament championships, are 5-0 in this year’s NCAA Division I tournament after sweeping regional and super regional weekends in Athens. Georgia (51-12), the national No. 3 seed and one of five SEC teams at the CWS, will face fellow league member Texas (45-13), which is seeded sixth, on Saturday night in Omaha.
The consensus SEC player of the year, Jackson led or was in the top five in almost every statistical category for offense. He entered Friday tied for third in the nation in home runs (31), fourth in slugging percentage (.837) and 15th in batting average (.396). He is the fifth player in NCAA Division I baseball history with at least 25 homers and 25 steals in a season.
“Daniel Jackson is a youngster who epitomizes the tenets of the Dick Howser Trophy — leadership, moral character and courage — and obviously he had a career year with Georgia,” Howser Trophy chairman David Feaster said.
The other national finalists for this year’s award were UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky, Louisville first baseman Tague Davis UC Santa Barbara pitcher Jackson Flora and Arizona State outfielder Landon Hairston.
The Howser Trophy honors the memory of the two-time All-America shortstop for Florida State (1957-58) who was later an MLB manager with the Kansas City Royals and the New York Yankees. The award has been presented since 1987, shortly after Howser’s death from brain cancer at age 51.
The NCBWA also announced that Texas freshman Sam Cozart was selected as the stopper of the year as the nation’s top relief pitcher and West Virginia’s Steve Sabins was the national coach of the year.
Jackson is a finalist for three other major awards: the Golden Spikes, Buster Posey national collegiate catcher of the year, and the Bobby Bragan national collegiate slugger of the year.