University of Georgia Athletics
2026 Baseball Roster
Joey Volchko
- Position:
- RHP
- Height:
- 6-4
- Weight:
- 225
- Class:
- Junior
- B/T:
- R/R
- Hometown:
- Visalia, Calif.
- Prev School:
- Stanford
2026 (Junior/Georgia): Ace of the starting rotation for one of the best teams in school history as the Bulldogs posted a 53-14 mark, tied for third at the College World Series, won the SEC regular season and tournament titles and ranked a consensus No. 3 in the final top 25 polls
*Named a 3rd Team All-American by the NCBWA
*Selected to the CWS All-Tournament Team after dominating complete game 7-1 win over No. 5 Texas with career-high 15 strikeouts, the most ever by a Bulldog in a CWS game
*Posted a team-best 11-2 record, 3.68 ERA in 18 starts covering 95.1 innings with 119 strikeouts and 46 walks, the 11 wins and 18 starts tied for first in the SEC
*No decision in start vs. #14 Miss. State in Super Regional (5 IP, 7H, 4 ER, 2BB, 6K)
*Beat Long Island with six hitless innings, one unearned run and 10K to earn NCAA Athens Regional All-Tournament honors
*Beat #14 Miss. State at SEC Tournament (5 IP, 7H, 2R, 1BB, 1K)
*Notched 2-1 road win over #4 Auburn (5 IP, 3H, 1R, 3BB, 6K)
*Six shutout innings, 5H, 2BB, 9K in 4-0 win over Mizzou
*No decision @ #17 Ole Miss and left up 8-4 (5.2 IP, 3H, 4R, 5BB, 10K)
*Allowed 3R on one hit and two walks in the 1st inning at #14 Arkansas in a 6-3 loss, final line was 5 IP, 5H, 5R, 4ER, 4BB, 8K
*Beat #5 Miss. State in Starkville by going 5 IP, 8H, 2R, 1BB, 3K as State was riding a 20-game home winning streak
*Beat South Carolina 5-2 with season-high 6.2 IP, allowed 2R, 7H with 4BB and 6K
*Lifted at #21 Texas A&M after 1.2 IP, 2R, 4BB, 1K in eventual 9-4 win
*Beat Oakland 16-6 in a run-rule 7 inn. game ((5 IP, 8H, 3R, 1BB, 5K) that featured four infield choppers or slow-rollers for hits by the Grizzlies
*Beat Samford 11-1 in a run-rule 7-inning contest (6 IP, 3H, 1R, 2BB, 8K)
*Opening Day starter in 13-1 win (run-rule 7 inn.) over Wright State, 4 IP, 2H, 1ER, 2BB, 5K
*Preseason 2nd Team All-America by Baseball America, 3rd Team by PG
*Named to SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll
*Posted a 3-4 mark and a 6.01 ERA in a team-high 70.1 innings with 56 strikeouts and was a part of a pair of shutouts
*Tallied a season-high six strikeouts three times against Xavier, at No. 4 North Carolina and at Boston College
*Went 5.0 innings with six strikeouts and only two runs allowed against Xavier for a win
*Got the win at No. 4 North Carolina after hurling 5.1 scoreless innings with six strikeouts to clinch a road series
*Collected six strikeouts and allowed no runs across 6.0 innings to pick up a win a Boston College
*Named to Baseball America Preseason All-America second team and Perfect Game Preseason All-America third team
*Ranked No. 5 among Perfect Game Preseason Top 101 Sophomores
*Listed as No. 36 among D1Baseball Preseason Top 150 Starting Pitchers
2024 (Freshman/Stanford): Went 2-1 with a 5.70 ERA and one save as Stanford finished 22-33 under coach David Esquer
*Tallied 53 strikeouts over 42.2 innings in 20 appearances, including six starts
*Averaged 11.18 strikeouts per game and limited the opposition to a .256 average
*Made eight appearances, including one start, and struck out eight batters in 7.2 innings during Pac-12 play
*Struck out two batters in an inning of work in his collegiate debut versus Cal State Fullerton
*Made his first career start at Creighton, striking out seven and allowing two runs over four innings
*Converted first career save at No. 5 Oregon State
*Allowed one unearned run on one hit with a career-high 11 strikeouts over six innings in a start versus Santa Clara to register first career victory
*Got the start and earned a victory over No. 6 Oregon State in the Pac-12 Tournament, tossing six shutout innings and allowing two hits with nine strikeouts
*Spent the summer of 2024 playing for the USA Collegiate National Team, making one start and allowing one run on one hit with seven strikeouts over four innings in a 2-1 victory over select members of the Coastal Plain League
High School: A 2023 graduate of Redwood (Visalia, Calif.) where he played under coach Mike Firenze
*Guided team to 2023 D1 Central Section semifinal
*Member of 2023 Tulare County Sports Team of the Year
*Named a 2023 Baseball America first team All-American
*Named the Pagmeter Player of the Year and Fresno Bee Large School Player of the Year in 2023
*Cal Hi Sports first team All-State and East Yosemite League MVP in 2023
*Ranked No. 37 overall prospect on the Baseball America High School Top 500
*Posted a 0.59 ERA with 135 strikeouts in 59 innings as a senior
*Hit .442 with eight home runs, eight doubles and 38 RBI in his final season
*Ranked No. 8 right-handed pitcher in California (No. 19 player overall) according to Perfect Game plus overall No. 30 right-hander in the nation and No. 109 player overall)
*Also competed in basketball
Personal: Born June 21, 2005
*Son of Sandy and Randy Volchko
*Father played basketball at Westminster College
*Has one brother, Jack
*Holds dual citizenship in the United States and Canada
