Georgia catcher Daniel Jackson wins Golden Spikes Award

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — Georgia catcher Daniel Jackson is bringing home more hardware.

Jackson was named the 2026 Golden Spikes Award winner on Monday, beating out fellow finalists Roch Cholowsky of UCLA and Landon Hairston of Arizona State to earn recognition as the nation’s top amateur baseball player. The award was announced on MLB Network.

He also earned 2026 SEC Player of the Year honors after slashing .379/.473/.803 with 100 hits, 32 home runs, 87 RBIs and 26 stolen bases. He led the SEC in batting average, home runs and RBIs to become the first Triple Crown winner in Georgia program history, and also became the first catcher in NCAA Division I history to record at least 25 home runs and 25 stolen bases in the same season.

Jackson is the second Georgia player to win the Golden Spikes Award, following Charlie Condon’s exceptional 2024 campaign where he hit 37 home runs. He led the Bulldogs to their first College World Series appearance since 2008.

Currently ranked No. 39 on MLB Pipeline’s Draft Top 200, Jackson is expected to climb even higher when the rankings are expanded and updated later this week. He’s projected to be the third catcher selected, behind Georgia Tech’s Vahn Lackey and Arkansas’ Ryder Helfrick, and has a chance to become the eighth first-round MLB Draft pick in Georgia program history.