Oct. 1, 2015
THE FLATS – With fall practice underway and Opening Day just five months away, Georgia Tech Baseball’s current freshman class has been ranked No. 4 nationally by both Collegiate Baseball and Perfect Game.
It’s the highest a Tech freshmen class has been ranked since the Yellow Jackets inked the nation’s No. 1 classes in both 2002 and 1998. Collegiate Baseball has Tech’s current class ranked fourth overall and tops in the ACC, while Perfect Game has Tech fourth nationally — right behind fellow ACC foe North Carolina.
“Obviously this is a freshman class that we’re very excited about,” said head coach Danny Hall, who has inked four other top-10 ranked classes since landing the top-ranked class in 2002. “They’re coming in with high expectations. I can’t help but commend our coaching staff of Bryan Prince and Jason Howell for the tireless effort they put forth to find student-athletes that can compete at Georgia Tech both on the field and in the classroom.”
Tech’s 2015 incoming class features 11 scholarship players, with seven ranked among Perfect Game’s Top 350 and five in the Top 100. RHP Tristin English (Zubulon, Ga./Pike County) was rated eighth nationally after being drafted in the 39th round of the 2014 Major League Baseball draft. OF Brandt Stallings (Alpharetta, Ga./King’s Ridge) was slotted 18th nationally and sixth among outfielders. Perfect Game also lauded English and Stallings as the top two newcomers in the ACC.
C Joey Bart (Buford, Ga./Buford), RHP Keyton Gibson (Buford, Ga./Buford) and RHP Jonathan Hughes (Flowery Branch, Ga./Flowery Branch) qualified among the nation’s Top 100 and the ACC’s Top 20. MIF Carter Hall (Alpharetta, Ga./Wesleyan) and RHP Bobby Gavreau (Marietta, Ga./Sprayberry) also earned recognition as the ACC’s 42nd and 57th best first-year players.
English, Hall, Bart and Hughes were each selected in the MLB draft last June. After being chosen by Baltimore with the 68th overall pick overall, Hughes arrives on the Flats as the highest draft pick to enroll at Georgia Tech since Micah Owings in 2002.
Tech’s fall practice continues until the team’s annual White-Gold intrasquad series in mid-October. Opening Day is Friday, February 19, 2016. The 2016 schedule is expected to be announced soon.
Collegiate Baseball Top-Ranked Freshman Classes1. Florida2. South Carolina3. Mississippi State4. Georgia Tech5. Vanderbilt6. UCLA7. LSU8. Oregon9. USF10. Auburn
Perfect Game Top-Ranked Freshman Classes 1. Vanderbilt 2. Florida 3. North Carolina 4. Georgia Tech 5. Mississippi State 6. USF 7. Virginia 8. South Carolina 9. Louisville 10. UCLA
