ATHENS – May 1 marks the start of the final SEC stretch as Georgia baseball tries to separate itself from the conference’s middle pack with the NCAA Tournament looming.

And the No. 9-ranked Bulldogs (36-11, 12-9 SEC) might have a leg up on the league with a very sweepable weekend ahead and a pair of winnable series to follow.

UGA can effectively clinch an NCAA Tournament spot with a sweep at Missouri this weekend. The sweep would give Georgia its 15th SEC win, which coach Wes Johnson has described as the ‘golden ticket’ to the tournament in the past.

SEC sweeps are typically hard to come by on the road, but this one seems more likely considering every conference opponent has swept the 0-21 Tigers this season.

A sweep could also move Georgia as high as second place in the conference standings with much of the SEC fighting under top-ranked Texas.

SEC standings help seed the conference tournament, but the real competition is about boosting NCAA Tournament resumes. Georgia, a preseason top-10 team with self-claimed College World Series expectations, is looking for more than 15 wins.

The Bulldogs are hunting another top-eight national seed like they earned last season, clinching home field advantage through the regional and super regional rounds.

UGA clinched the No. 7 national seed last season with a 17-13 SEC record. The Bulldogs were one of five SEC teams to earn a national seed, though the other four had 19 or more SEC wins.

Another 17-13 SEC record would not guarantee a national seed for Georgia, especially if that meant losing its last two series after sweeping Missouri. The Bulldogs finish the season with a trip to No. 18 Alabama before hosting a resurgent Texas A&M.

UGA’s No. 2 RPI ranking – similar to the strength of record metric used in college football – is likely its biggest resume booster. Six of Georgia’s seven SEC opponents so far this season were ranked in the top 15.

The Bulldogs are currently projected to finish with the No. 10 overall seed, according to D1Baseball’s most recent Field of 64. Georgia would host the first-round regional on track to play at Clemson in the super regional.

Hosting that second-round super regional is a massive advantage. Six of the eight super regional hosts advanced to the College World Series last season.

Indeed, every win Georgia can add over 15 will only make its postseason path to Omaha easier. SEC wins, especially in May, can speak volumes to a tournament selection committee trying to rank top-10 teams with no head-to-head competition.

The SEC will try to break its own NCAA record of 11 teams in the tournament, its total from last season.

An expectation for 12 SEC teams is very realistic, especially with the additions of No. 1 Texas and No. 21 Oklahoma.

SEC teams typically need at least 13 conference wins to give themselves a chance. Only three out of 17 eligible 12-win SEC teams have made the tournament since 1999, according to a recent ESPN broadcast.

Five SEC teams made the tournament with 13-17 records last season, including Florida, which won Oklahoma State’s regional as a No. 3 seed and shocked Clemson in the super regionals to make the College World Series.

Missouri is the only SEC team that can’t hit 13 wins, though other SEC bottom feeders South Carolina (5-16) and Mississippi State (7-14) are not in great positions.

Georgia is in a great position to make its second NCAA Tournament in as many seasons under Johnson. It’s something the Bulldogs have talked about since the preseason, but Johnson isn’t worried about his team losing focus down the stretch.

“You look over there and you’ve got Henry Hunter, Nolan McCarthy, Slate Alford, Kolby Branch,” Johnson said. “These guys are vets in this league, and they know the minute you take your eyes off of right here, right now, that’s gonna beat you and you don’t play well.”

The Bulldogs are eyeing massive goals before the 2025 season is over, but the next step includes at least two more wins in Columbia this weekend. Georgia will face Missouri at 7 p.m. on Friday (stream: SEC Network+).