THE FLATS – For only the third time in program history, multiple Yellow Jackets have earned Academic All-America status, the College Sports Communicators (CSC) announced today. Juniors Drew Burress (Houston County, Ga.) and Carson Kerce (Marietta, Ga.) were named 1st team and 2nd team respectively for their efforts on the field and in the classroom throughout the 2025-26 academic year.
This is the third time that multiple Jackets have earned the honor in the same season, joining 2023 and 2020, while Burress becomes just the third Georgia Tech baseball player to ever earn 1st Team All-America and 1st Team Academic All-America in the same year, joining GT legends Mark Teixeira (2000) and Nomar Garciaparra (1994).
This is the first Academic All-America honor for both Burress and Kerce who both set Georgia Tech program records during the 2026 campaign while maintaining high academic standards in the classroom.
Burress graduated from the Scheller College of Business with a degree Business Administration, maintaining a 3.66 GPA while also solidifying his place as one of the best baseball players in Georgia Tech history. He slashed .358 avg / .473 OBP / .657 slug over 61 games 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 and became the first outfielder in college baseball history to be named a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award three times over a career. Burress has been named a 1st team All-American by four different publications this season (NCBWA, Baseball America, Perfect Game and the ABCA).
Kerce completed his third year on The Flats with an impressive 3.73 GPA from the Scheller College of Business while also establishing himself as the Georgia Tech doubles king. He put his name in the Georgia Tech history books by hitting a single season record 29 doubles this year and slashing .384 avg / .473 OBP / .679 slug (all career bests). He led the most potent offense in BBCOR era history with 44 extra base hits (program record 29 doubles, career high four triples and career high 11 home runs). His 29 doubles led the ACC and all of Power 4 while his 4.52 WAR ranked 19th in the nation, tied for 3rd among registered shortstops.
Kerce set career highs in every offensive category: runs (70), hits (91), doubles (29), triples (4), home runs (11) and RBI (51). He finishes his GT career with the 10th most doubles ever recorded (54) and led the team with at least three hits in 15 games. He has been awarded 3rd team All-America status by both the ABCA and Perfect Game.
Three more Yellow Jackets were named Academic All-District earlier this month by the CSC: Tate McKee, Carson Ballard and Jackson Blakely.
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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