College World Series Preview: Texas vs Georgia

College World Series – Omaha

The Texas Longhorns missed their summer vacation home for four long years, but in year two of Coach Jim Schlossnagles tenure, they are back to the sacred ground in search of their 7th national title. To achieve that goal, they will first have to get past the champions of the SEC regular season and tournament, Georgia. Texas has not faced Georgia this season, so let’s take a look at who the Horns are matched up against.

In year three under head coach Wes Johnson, Georgia enters the CWS as the betting favorite to win it all and for good reason. They have hit 60+ more home runs than any team in the field and unlike in years past, have several high-level arms in the rotation and in the bullpen to compete against the best teams in the field. They have been a powerhouse all season long.

This year’s Georgia team is built around power, athleticism and relentless pressure. They have one of the nation’s more feared offenses which is anchored by the player who will most likely win the Golden Spikes, Buster Posey and numerous other awards, Daniel Jackson.Georgia is no pushover defensively either. They are strong fundamentally and play solid baseball, rarely beating themselves.

To beat Georgia, Texas will need to limit the long ball. A tall task considering Georgia specifically seeks to hit home runs, but as Schlossnagle stated during his media availability, Texas can live with giving up a solo home run, but Texas pitching cannot allow free passes which turn into crooked numbers. The matchup is certainly an interesting one given that Dylan Volantis is a guy who likes to attack the bottom of the zone and has not been prone to giving up home runs this season, while going yard is the DNA of this Georgia team.

Additionally, Texas will need to force Volchko into deep counts while creating early traffic. Georgia’s offense is explosive and as everyone saw during Super Regionals, deficits are difficult to overcome, and Georgia can erase a deficit in the blink of an eye.

While Georgia is the betting favorite, there is an interesting mix of opinions from the folks I talked to at the stadium yesterday. A number of media believe that whomever wins this game has the upper hand, not just in the right side of the bracket, but to win it all. There were also a surprising amount of media that believe that Texas can win this game because they have the right combination of arms and stuff to beat Georgia.

College World Series Schedule

Texas will play Georgia at 7pm CT on Saturday June 13th on ESPN

If Texas loses, they will play on Monday June 15th at 1pm CT against the loser of Alabama vs. Oklahoma

If Texas wins, they will play on Monday June 15th at 6pm CT against the winner of Alabama vs. Oklahoma

NCAA Baseball Tournament Bracket

Game One Matchup

No. 6 Texas Longhorns vs. No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs

Series Record: 6-1
First Met: 1912 (Won game one and lost the second game)
Last Met: 2025 (Texas swept Georgia in Austin as Rylan Galvan hit a walk off home run in the Bottom 10th in game three of the series)
Post Season Meetings: 2-0 (Texas met twice in Omaha in 2004 with the Horns defeating the Dawgs in the second game of the tournament and then eliminating UGA before falling to Cal State Fullerton in the CWS Finals)

Georgia Metrics

Record: 51-12
RPI: 5
SOS: 16
Quad 1: 18-7
Quad 2: 6-2
Quad 3: 7-2
Quad 4: 20-1

Notable Games Played

USC Upstate (won 12-6)
Troy (lost 5-6)
Tennessee (won series 2-1)
at Texas A&M (won series 2-1)
South Carolina (swept 3-0)
at Mississippi State (swept 3-0)
Florida (lost series 1-2)
at Arkansas (won series 2-1)
Georgia Tech (lost 4-14)
at Ole Miss (won series 2-1)
Missouri (swept 3-0)
Troy (win 11-1)
LSU (swept 3-0)
at Auburn (won series 2-1)
Mississippi State (won 5-3)
Florida (won 8-7)
Arkansas (won 11-1)
Mississippi State (2-0 Super Regional)

Pitching Matchup

Texas LHP Dylan Volantis (10-1, 2.03 ERA, 15 starts, 88.2 IP, 26 BB, 126 K, .192 B/Avg) vs. Georgia RHP Joey Volchko (10-2, 4.07 ERA, 17 starts, 86.1 IP, 45 BB, 104 K, .244 B/Avg)

Wes Johnson on facing Texas’ Dylan Volantis:

“We play in the Southeastern Conference, so we face elite Friday-night starters every week—guys who have a chance to pitch in the big leagues. Volantis is another one. He has a chance to pitch in this game for a long time. We have to stick to a strong game plan, hunt specific zones and areas, and, honestly, hope he makes a mistake.”

Scouting Report on Volchko

Overall evaluation: high upside arm for the 2026 draft class. Big and physical with good arm speed, velocity, and spin characteristics. Since his time at Stanford and his season in Georgia, the biggest question has been, can he throw enough quality strikes and avoid walks to remain a starter at the next level.

Physical Profile: prototypical starter’s frame with broad shoulders, strong lower half and the ability to maintain innings volume. Better athleticism than one might expect from a guy his size allows him to generate premium velocity, generating excellent leverage down the mound with a high release slot. Volchko likes to operate with a high-tempo delivery that creates significant arm speed but can at times rush his delivery.

Pitch Arsenal:

Fastball: 94-97. Fastball is unique. Rather than a traditional four-seam, it acts more like a power cutter with heavy glove side movement. Generates uncomfortable at-bats because it appears straight before cutting late off the barrel. Movement suppresses quality contact but does not generate elite whiff rates and has limited carry through the top of the zone.

Slider: 89-92: Volchko has reworked this pitch into more of a sweeper that has increased in horizontal movement. Has strong whiff rates and is used as a chase pitch and a put away pitch against right-handed hitters.

Cutter: 93-95. Tends to blend with the fastball, but when located properly, operates as a bridge pitch between the fastball and slider. Used often against left-handed hitters to keep barrels off the sweet spot for weak contact.

Curveball: 83-86. Showed more than in 2026 than in years past. Has above average shape and gives hitters a different visual clue than the slider, but command is inconsistent.

Changeup: 89-92. Inconsistently used, but when used well, generates chase.