Why a national seed matters so much for Georgia baseball’s road to Omaha

“Fifteen (SEC wins) has never not got in the tournament, so you know that side of it,” Johnson said. “The majority of teams that make runs to Omaha do it on their home field for at least half of the deal, right?”

Earning a hosting bid with a top-16 seed offers a great start to the tournament. But hosting that second-round super regional against one of the hot teams in the country is arguably much more important. The past five NCAA Tournaments certainly have shown that.

National seed holders have made up 55% of College World Series bids since 2019. That number drops to only 12.5% for teams who earned seeds No. 9 through No. 16.

“Yeah, Florida last year was on the road, and I mean yeah, there’s always going to be that team,” Johnson said. “But the majority of the eight teams who get there, they either hosted a regional or hosted both because the majority of teams are built for their ballpark.”

Being built for the ballpark is a concept Johnson has talked about before. It’s a big reason Georgia hasn’t lost a series at home this year and is 27-3 at Foley Field.

The Bulldogs play in a “hitter-friendly” park, meaning Foley Field’s smaller size produces short home runs that would be fly outs in larger ballparks.

So, Johnson has tried to construct rosters with power hitters that don’t need a perfect swing to hit a home run. A strong fly ball often is enough at Foley Field, especially for a left-handed hitter pulling to the right-field wall only 315 feet away.

It’s a big reason the Bulldogs lead the country with 125 homers. Georgia is built to score on home runs as much as anything, and visitors have to beat the Bulldogs at their own game if they want to win at Foley Field.

That’s what happened in Georgia’s last series loss at home, the 2024 Super Regional against North Carolina State. The visiting Wolfpack mashed 10 homers in three games while the Bulldogs mustered only six homers, falling one win short of Omaha.

The comfort aspect of playing tournaments at home shouldn’t be overlooked, either.

The first-round regional usually is more taxing than the average weekend series, often demanding at least one doubleheader. Playing minutes from home against a team living out of a hotel room would figure to be a clear advantage for UGA.

That proved true for Johnson’s Bulldogs last season in their first-round regional win. Johnson knew it before his team even stepped on the field.

“One of the things I love about postseason baseball is that when you’re home, things are just different,” Johnson said before the 2024 Athens Regional. “When you’re home, there’s just a comfort level that guys get. They love our ballpark. Our guys love hitting here.”

Home-field advantage can be the biggest leg up a team can have, especially when only 16 teams remain in the Super Regionals. Talent margin shrinks, experienced teams tend to survive and every team is rolling on the momentum of a regional win.

Johnson went so far as to prioritize the national seed over any other accomplishment, including a conference championship.

“You talk to some of the old coaches who have done this a long time … and you really get them into a corner, is it about winning your conference and all these other accolades, or is it about being home, meaning you’re a national seed and you’re at home for those potential games?” Johnson said last Wednesday.

“They’re going to put national seed as their No. 1 goal, not winning the conference.”