THE FLATS – A national-best three Yellow Jackets have been named on the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award preseason watch list, USA Baseball announced today. Junior CF Drew Burress (Houston County, Ga./Houston County HS), junior C Vahn Lackey (Suwanee, Ga./Collins Hill HS) and junior 2B Jarren Advincula (Santa Clara, Calif./Cal/ Archbishop Mitty HS) each earned a spot on the 55-player list for best amateur baseball player in the nation for the 2026 season. Georgia Tech is the only program in the nation with three players on the watch list.
Key dates for the 2026 Golden Spikes Award include:
Midseason Watch List – April 2
Semifinalists – May 14
Finalists – June 10
Winner – June 29
Fan voting will again play a part in the Golden Spikes Award in 2026. Following the semifinalist announcement, baseball fans can vote for their favorite players on GoldenSpikesAward.com to help determine the finalists and winner. The 2026 Golden Spikes Award winner will be announced during a presentation on MLB Network.
Burress enters his third season on The Flats with the hopes of proving himself to be one of the greatest to ever wear the White & Gold. He is coming off a sophomore campaign in which he was named 1st Team All-American by five different publications, joining Kevin Parada (2022), Joey Bart (2018), and Mark Teixeira (2000) as the only to do so in program history. He was the only player from a Power 4 conference with at least 60 RBI (62), 20 doubles (23), 50 walks (53), 15 HR (19) and 70 runs (77) and led the ACC in extra base hits (43), doubles (23), finishing 2nd in the conference in home runs (19) and runs scored (77). He became the fastest Yellow Jacket in program history to reach 30 and 40 career homeruns and his 23 doubles were the most by a GT player in the BBCOR era (since 2011). The Houston County man enters his junior year as the only Division I player with a career slugging percentage over .750 (.756), also the best in program history with a minimum of 300 ABs (446), nearly half a point above second place, College Baseball Hall of Famer, Mark Teixeira (.712). His 44 career home runs are currently 10th-most in program history and just 13 shy of the program record, set by Jason Varitek (57) from 1991-94. Burress is a unanimous 1st-Team preseason All-American, earning the recognition from Perfect Game, D1 Baseball, Baseball America and the NCBWA earlier this year.
Lackeyenjoyed a breakout 2025 season, earning himself the moniker of best catcher in college leading into 2026. He slashed .347 avg./.421 OBP/.500 Slug. with a team-high 77 base hits including 14 doubles, one triple and six home runs for 42 RBI and 45 runs scored last season while also leading all Division I catchers with 18 stolen bases on 21 attempts. He delivered multiple hits in 45% of his games played (27-of-60) and ranked third among DI catchers in both batting average (.347) and hits (77). He worked with the Georgia Tech pitching staff to hold opponents to 8.84 hits-per-nine innings, the lowest mark in over a decade while helping lower the team ERA by 1.57 runs compared to 2024, the largest decrease of any Power 4 team to make a Regional last season. Over the summer, he was named one of two catchers for the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team, becoming the fifth Tech catcher to represent on the international stage, joining GT legends Kevin Parada, Matt Wieters, Mike Nickeas and Jason Varitek. Lackey has been named a 1st-Team All-American by both Baseball America and Perfect Game headed into the 2026 season and was a 2nd-Team honoree by D1 Baseball and the NCBWA.
Advincula joined the Yellow Jackets in the offseason after an All-ACC season at California in which he slashed .342 avg./.410 OBP/.506 Slug. His 81 hits ranked second among all second basemen in the nation and he led the Golden Bears in hits (81), doubles (17), at bats (237), stolen bases (13), multiple-hit games (26), three-hit games (11) and total bases (120). Known as one of the toughest outs in the conference last season, Advincula joins a potent Tech lineup as the second-best 2nd baseman in the nation. He is a consensus 2nd-Team preseason All-American, after earning the recognition from Perfect Game, D1 Baseball, Baseball America and the NCBWA earlier this year.
2026 Georgia Tech Baseball
Georgia Tech Baseball is preparing for its most anticipated season in decades. The Yellow Jackets are a consensus top-5 ranked team, ranked as high as No. 2 in the nation, and are the preseason ACC favorites as determined by the league’s coaches. Tech has set a program record for the most season tickets ever sold and enter the season with five preseason all-Americans, including a program record three 1st Team preseason all-Americans: CF Drew Burress, C Vahn Lackey and RHP Mason Patel
2026 will be the first season for new Head Coach James Ramsey. Since Ramsey took over the offense in 2019, Georgia Tech leads the ACC in batting average (.308), OPS (.918), OBP (.408), hits (3,961), doubles (796) and SAC Flies (208) and is second in runs (2,937), triples (84), home runs (547), RBI (2,709) and slugging (.510) with more to come in 2026.
First pitch for the highly anticipated 2026 season is scheduled for Friday, Feb. 13 at 4 p.m. when the Yellow Jackets host Bowling Green for a three-game series at Mac Nease Baseball Park at Russ Chandler Stadium.
2026 Season Tickets
Season tickets for Georgia Tech’s 2026 regular season home schedule, including five ACC home series and a collection of non-conference games, are on sale now. Visit ramblinwreck.com/tickets to purchase. For complete information on 2026 baseball tickets, including premium membership options, please visit the official Georgia Tech Baseball Tickets page.
2026 Single Game Tickets
Single game and mini plans for the 2026 regular season are on sale now featuring tickets for individual games and mini plans such as the Hattie B’s ACC Saturday Pack and the Midweek Pick ‘Em Plan. Purchase your tickets today to watch the defending ACC Regular Season Champions strive for more trophies in 2026!
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.
For the latest information on the Georgia Tech baseball team, follow us on X (@GTBaseball), Facebook, Instagram (@gt_baseball) or visit us at www.ramblinwreck.com.
