ATHENS -- Job one is done, and now the fun work begins.

Georgia baseball’s 15th SEC win on Sunday should be enough to make the NCAA Tournament when the selection committee sets the field in 20 days.

Fans can take a breath of relief knowing their team will return to the tournament. That’s never a given in college baseball.

But the No. 6-ranked Bulldogs (39-11, 15-9 SEC) are on the hunt for more. UGA is now in the chase for a top-eight national seed, which would clinch home-field advantage through the first two rounds of the tournament.

That’s what Georgia accomplished last year, when its 17-13 SEC record warranted the No. 7 national seed. The Bulldogs won the first-round Athens Regional and hosted N.C. State in the Athens Super Regional with a College World Series berth on the line.

The visiting Wolfpack handled business in Athens that weekend, leaving Georgia with an unsatisfied hunger for more in 2025.

Returning leaders were very clear about one expectation for this season: making UGA’s first College World Series trip since 2008.

That path is significantly easier for teams that earn national seeds. In fact, 55 percent of College World Series participants in the last five tournaments were national seed holders.

Tournaments also tend to be more physically taxing than the average weekend series, giving the hometown team another leg up. And the power of a partisan crowd shouldn’t be overlooked, especially in a ballpark like Foley Field where Georgia is 27-3 this season.

The Bulldogs are certainly in the running for a national seed with two regular season series and the SEC Tournament left.

UGA is tied for third in college baseball’s top conference and holds the No. 1 RPI ranking, basically indicating the top strength of record in the country.

Georgia is a top-eight team in the eyes of the national media. The Bulldogs topped two national top 25 polls on Monday and are ranked No. 6 by D1Baseball, the poll used for ESPN broadcasts.

But the Bulldogs need to keep proving it, starting with their series at No. 23 Alabama this weekend. A series win isn’t needed, but it could go a long way in wrapping up a national seed.

Two wins in Tuscaloosa would mark 17 SEC wins, which is what Georgia had last season. The Bulldogs would return home for their final regular season series against Texas A&M in a good position to host the first two rounds.

The truth is there is no magic number to earn a national seed, but 19 wins in the SEC is usually plenty. Every SEC team with at least 19 conference wins earned a national seed since 2018.

The SEC has only had five teams finish with 18 wins in that span, but three have earned national seeds.

Considering its impressive RPI ranking -- especially if it finishes at No. 1 -- Georgia ought to feel good about its national seed chances if it can get three more SEC wins in the next six games.

Much like basketball’s March Madness bubble, it’s a comparison game between resumes. RPI, conference affiliation and record are some of the top criteria considered.

Georgia holds the country’s top RPI in the country’s top conference. The Bulldogs just need a few more wins to bring playoff baseball back to Athens.

Georgia does not have a midweek game this week. The Bulldogs return to action at 7 p.m. on Friday at Alabama’s Sewell-Thomas Stadium (stream: SEC Network+).