Daniel Jackson, the North Springs High School graduate who set NCAA records at the University of Georgia, was drafted 37th overall by the Colorado Rockies on Saturday, July 11, in the 2026 MLB Draft.

The 6-foot-2, 200-pound catcher became the first in NCAA Division I history to hit at least 25 home runs and steal at least 25 bases in the same season, finishing 2026 with 32 homers and 26 steals. He batted .379 with a school-record 87 RBIs, led all of Division I in runs scored (88) and total bases (212), and became just the third player in SEC history to win the conference's Triple Crown.

"Golden Spikes Award winner, first catcher in Division I history to have 25 home runs and 25 stolen bases, so he's really super-talented," Rockies assistant general manager Tommy Tanous told MLB.com.

Jackson won the Golden Spikes Award as the nation's top amateur player, the Dick Howser Trophy, and the Buster Posey Catcher of the Year Award. He was a consensus first-team All-American and the second Georgia Bulldog in three years to win the Golden Spikes, following Charlie Condon in 2024.

That Condon connection runs deeper than the trophy case. Jackson played in the same travel ball organization as Condon and hit with him after his freshman fall at Georgia. Condon was drafted third overall by the Rockies in 2024 and is currently at Triple-A Albuquerque as Colorado's No. 2 prospect.

Jackson's path to this point was anything but linear. He started his college career at Wofford before transferring to Georgia, where he became a full-time catcher for the first time in 2026. His sophomore season in Athens produced a .240 average with 14 home runs. Jackson told MLB Network he considered that year the worst version of himself, and said he wrote "30/30" on a whiteboard before the 2026 season started. He fell four steals short of that goal but still set the Division I record for a catcher.

Jackson also powered Georgia to its first College World Series appearance since 2008, hitting a 10th-inning home run against Mississippi State to clinch the trip to Omaha. The Bulldogs finished third at the CWS with a school-record 53 wins.

Before all of it, Jackson was known around North Springs as a "warning track demon" who didn't hit his first home run until halfway through his senior year of high school. Rockies general manager Paul DePodesta said the organization had Jackson high on their board and believes he can have a long career in the big leagues. The Rockies have not announced his minor-league assignment.

Jackson's father, Dan Jackson, told the Athens Banner-Herald before the draft: "You'd think when you clean up every college award, you'd clearly be a top 10. I think whoever gets him is going to get the best pick in the draft and I'm not just saying that because I'm his Dad."