Kolby Branch watched his brother Kyle’s Oklahoma Sooners upset No. 2-seeded Georgia Tech one week ago.
The Georgia Bulldogs won the Athens Regional the day prior, which allowed Branch and his teammate Tre Phelps to be in the stands in Atlanta alongside Branch’s parents, Kari and Rusty.
Fast forward one week and both Branch brothers have punched their tickets to Omaha.
“You don’t think about that as kids, man. You kind of just play around the backyard thinking about it, but you don’t really think it could happen. And then you get into it, you’re like, ‘Man, we’re pretty good. We can do it, go accomplish it,’” Branch said.
Georgia clinched its spot in the College World Series on Sunday, sweeping Mississippi State at home. Oklahoma, which is in the same bracket as Georgia, defeated Kansas on Monday to secure its spot in Omaha.
Although both brothers playing in the CWS at the same time is one “dream come true” for Branch, the senior shortstop has another.
“I go to bed at night thinking about how I can win a national championship, how we can win a national championship,” he said Friday.
He is one of four players on this 2026 roster — along with Phelps, Paul Farley and Luke Wiltrakis — who were part of the heartbreaking 2024 Georgia baseball postseason.
With eventual first-round MLB draft pick Charlie Condon at the helm, the 2024 Bulldogs looked destined for a deep Omaha run. However, NC State bested Georgia in the super regional, ending the season shy of a College World Series berth.
When Branch transferred from Baylor prior to the 2024 season, his main goal was to bring a national championship back to UGA — the first since 1990.
Branch has started all 63 games for the Bulldogs this year. He is batting .297, has hit 19 home runs and has 58 RBIs. He leads the team in doubles with 18.
After Georgia took Game 1 of the super regional, Branch had a standout Game 2, going 3-for-4 with a double, two home runs and two RBIs.
“Having Kolby as kind of our main leader is great because you know he’s always, you know, calm, cool and collected, not too emotional, and kind of gets us going in the right direction,” catcher Daniel Jackson said ahead of the series against Mississippi State.
After Jackson blasted a two-run home run in the top half of the 10th to give UGA the lead in Game 2, Justin Byrd finished things off in the bottom half with a game-sealing strikeout. Branch, like the rest of his teammates, corralled the pitcher’s mound before all running out to the centerfield wall to celebrate.
As the team made their way back to the dugout, Branch, joined by Phelps, proudly lifted the super regional trophy high in the air.
It was “a full circle moment,” as Branch put it postgame on Sunday.
Branch and the Bulldogs will play Texas on Saturday night, the game immediately following Kyle Branch’s Sooners vs. Alabama.
Luckily for the Branch brothers’ parents, they are no longer also juggling the baseball schedule of younger brother Carson, whose high school team won the Texas 5A DII State Championship on Saturday. Carson was named tournament MVP.
“Just a special moment for me and my family, and I couldn’t be happier,” Kolby Branch said.
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