THE FLATS – Three Yellow Jackets were named to the College Baseball Foundation All-America team, it was announced today. Jarren Advincula (Santa Clara, Calif. / Archbishop Mitty HS), Drew Burress (Houston County, Ga. / Houston County HS) and Vahn Lackey (Suwanee, Ga. / Collins Hill HS) each earned a space on the team. Georgia Tech is one of four programs to lead the nation with three selections, along with UCLA, Texas and Oregon State.
This marks the fifth 1st Team All-America selection for both Advincula and Burress having both been given the honor by Perfect Game, NCBWA, Baseball America and the ABCA. They become the first teammates in program history to earn five-time status in the same season, joining Mark Teixeira (2000), Joey Bart (2018), Kevin Parada (2022) as the only Yellow Jackets ever to accomplish the feat. Burress becomes the first Jacket in program history to earn five or more 1st Team All-America selections across multiple seasons after doing so last season (2025).
This is the fourth 1st Team selection for Lackey, along with Perfect Game, ABCA and Baseball America. He is the fourth catcher from Georgia Tech to be a four-time 1st teamer, joining Jason Varitek (1993, ’94), Joey Bart (2018) and Kevin Parada (2022). He was also named 2nd team All-America by NCBWA, giving him five overall All-American selections this season.
Lackey, Advincula and Burress become the second trio in program history to be named 1st Team All-America from four different publications, joining Varitek, Nomar Garciaparra and Jay Payton from 1994.
Burress cemented himself as one of the greatest Yellow Jackets in history, joining Jason Varitek (1992-94) as the only GT student athletes to earn 1st Team All-America status across three different seasons. He is the only player in Georgia Tech’s 131-year history to be a 1st Team All-American in every season of his college career. Burress, who earlier this year became the first outfielder in college baseball history to be named a three-time Golden Spikes Award semifinalist, has now been named a 1st team All-American 11 times in his career: 2024: NCBWA / 2025: NCBWA, ABCA, CBF, Perfect Game & D1 Baseball / 2026: NCBWA, Perfect Game, ABCA and Baseball America, CBF, with one more publication still to be announced. Burress is only the second Jacket ever to earn double digit 1st Team honors, tied with Varitek (11) for the program record.
Burress slashed .358 avg / .473 OBP / .657 slug over 61 games in 2026 while also playing his typical plus defense in center field. He set the GT home run record, hitting 60 homers over three seasons, breaking the record set over four seasons by 1994 Golden Spikes Award winner, Jason Varitek. He delivered a career-high 82 runs scored, becoming the first Yellow Jacket in program history to record three-consecutive 70 run seasons. He hit 41 extra base hits (22 doubles, three triples and 16 home runs), becoming the only Power 4 player this century to record three-straight 40 extra base hit seasons.
He holds the GT BBCOR era records for the most runs (232), RBI (189), doubles (61), home runs (60) and total bases (503). He is just the fourth Jacket to ever collect 500 total bases – also Andy Bruce (506: 1988-91), Tony Plagman (513: 2007-10) and Jason Varitek (610: 1991-94).
Advincula becomes the most decorated 2nd baseman in program history with his fifth 1st Team All-America selection. This year, he became the best hitter in the nation, leading Division I with 111 hits, tied with Tennessee’s Christian Moore (2024) for the most hits by a Power 4 player in the BBCOR era and the most since 2008. He owns Tech’s first 100 hit season since 2005 and the third most single season hits in school history behind only Jay Payton (129) and Nomar Garciaparra (117) in 1994. He recorded at least one hit in 57 of his 61 games in White & Gold, finishing with the 2nd longest hitting streak in program history (29 games).
He tied Jay Payton for the best single season batting average with at least 200 at-bats in program history (.434). That .434 average is the 2nd highest ever recorded by a Power 4 player in the BBCOR era (J.J. Wetherholt – .449 at WVU in 2023). His 16 stolen bases were the most on the team while only recording 16 strikeouts in 256 at bats, the toughest player to strike out in the ACC and the 2nd hardest in Power 4. His 4.99 WAR was the best among infielders in college baseball this season and sixth overall.
Advincula has now tied Teixeira (2000) for the most 1st team selections ever by a Yellow Jacket infielder, still with one more publication yet to announce.
Lackey delivered an incredible 2026 season, slashing .397 avg / .519 OBP / .772 slug. over 61 games with 20 home runs, 78 RBI and 85 runs scored while also earning the ACC Defensive Player of the Year award. He is second in the nation with a 5.66 WAR and his 1.39 runs-per-game were the most in Power 4. His .397 average is the highest among Division I catchers this season and his 1.291 OPS is Top 10 in the country as he rocketed up draft boards to become the most coveted catcher in the draft class.
He led the most potent offense in the BBCOR era in runs scored (85), slugging % (.772), on-base (.519) and walks (50) while stealing 15 bases for the second year in a row. Lackey’s 85 runs scored this season are the sixth most in program history and the most by any Yellow Jacket since 2000 while driving in 78 RBI, the 12th most in a single season. His .772 slugging is tied with Mark Teixeira (2000) for the second highest slugging percentage of any Yellow Jacket this century, behind only Drew Burress’ freshman season (.821).
Behind the dish, Lackey is the most feared arm in college baseball, catching six attempted base stealers and catching five more with back picks. Teams don’t test Lackey often in the run game, only attempting to steal in the most optimal of times against him, due to his reputation. Defensively, Lackey helped guide the GT pitching staff to the ACC ERA title this season with a 4.36 ERA, the lowest in the conference during league games.
Full Steam Ahead
Full Steam Ahead is a $500 million fundraising initiative to achieve Georgia Tech athletics’ goal of competing for championships at the highest level in the next era of intercollegiate athletics. The initiative will fund transformative projects for Tech athletics, including renovations of Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field (the historic home of Georgia Tech football), the Zelnak Basketball Center (the practice and training facility for Tech basketball) and O’Keefe Gymnasium (the venerable home of Yellow Jackets volleyball), as well as additional projects and initiatives to further advance Georgia Tech athletics through program wide-operational support. All members of the Georgia Tech community are invited to visit atfund.org/FullSteamAhead for full details and renderings of the renovation projects, as well as to learn about opportunities to contribute online.
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