Competitive Success Continues to Rise on The Flats

THE FLATS – Headlined by 12 teams qualifying for postseason play, Georgia Tech athletics enjoyed an abundance of competitive success in 2025-26.

Georgia Tech’s football (Pop-Tarts Bowl), volleyball (NCAA Tournament), men’s cross country (NCAA Regional), women’s cross country (NCAA Regional), women’s basketball (WBIT), men’s swimming and diving (NCAA Championships), women’s swimming and diving (NCAA Zones), baseball (NCAA Regional finalist), softball (NCAA Regional finalist), golf (NCAA Regional), men’s outdoor track and field (NCAA Championships) and women’s outdoor track and field (NCAA Regional) teams all earned postseason berths in 2025-26. Highlights included:

Football

• Finished No. 22 in final College Football Playoff rankings – first CFP top-25 finish since 2014
• Finished No. 24 in final US LBM coaches poll – first time ending a season nationally ranked since 2014
• Finished tied for second in the Atlantic Coast Conference – highest overall conference finish since 2014
• Became the only team to finish in the top four of the ACC standings each of the last three seasons – 2023 (fourth), 2024 (fourth) and 2025 (second)
• Won nine regular-season games for only the 16^th time in Georgia Tech’s 133-season football history
• Started 8-0 for only the sixth time ever and first time since 1966
• Started 5-0 in ACC play for the first time ever
• Rose to as high as No. 7 in the national rankings – highest regular-season ranking since 2009

Baseball

• ACC regular-season and tournament champions – first ACC team to sweep both titles since 2013
• 50-11 record – best winning percentage since 1971
• Ranked as high as No. 2 nationally
• Fielded the best offense in the modern era of college baseball

Golf

• Finished the season ranked No. 22 nationally
• Made 28^th-consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance

Volleyball

• Earned sixth-straight NCAA Tournament berth

Softball

• Made consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances for the first time since 2011-12
• Advanced to NCAA Regional final for the first time since 2010

Men’s Swimming and Diving

• Tied for 34^th at NCAA Championships

In addition to the team achievements, several Yellow Jackets had exemplary individual seasons. Individual honors included:

• Three Yellow Jackets being selected in the first round of the Major League Baseball (Vahn Lackey – No. 3 overall, Minnesota Twins and Drew Burress – No. 8 overall, Athletics) and National Football League (Keylan Rutledge – No. 26 overall, Houston Texans) drafts. The three first-round draft picks are Georgia Tech’s most across all sports (MLB, NFL, NBA, WNBA and PVF/MLV) since 2011 and just one shy of its all-time record, set in 2007 and 2010.
• In all, 10 Yellow Jackets were drafted – Lackey, Burress, Jarren Advincula (second round – Los Angeles Angels), Carson Kerce (second round – Arizona Diamondbacks), Alex Hernandez (fifth round – A’s), Parker Brosius (ninth round – Atlanta Braves), Tate McKee (10^th round – Tampa Bay Rays) and Porter Buursema (16^th round – Miami Marlins) in the MLB Draft and Rutledge and Jordan van den Berg (sixth round – Chicago Bears) in the NFL Draft. The 10 total draft selections are Georgia Tech’s most since 2022 and match its highest total since 2010.
• 10 Yellow Jackets earned all-America recognition, including six first-teamers – Rutledge (football), Burress, Lackey, Advincula and Ryan Zuckerman (baseball) and Max Fowler (1-meter diving). The remainder of Tech’s all-America honorees include Aidan Birr (football – third team), Kerce (baseball – third team), van den Berg and Haynes King (football – honorable mention).
• King was named ACC Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year (Georgia Tech’s first since 2009) and finished 10^th in voting for the 2025 Heisman Trophy, becoming only the seventh player in Tech history to finish in the top 10 in Heisman balloting. He became the first Yellow Jacket to finish in the top 10 in Heisman voting since Calvin Johnson also placed 10^th in 2006 and only the third Jacket to finish in the top 10 in the last 47 years.
• Fowler was named ACC Diver of the Year after winning the ACC championship in 3-meter diving for the second-consecutive year, while also placing second in the conference on the 1-meter board.
• Track and field’s Billy Carlton (outdoor 3000-meter steeplechase) and Kendall Ward (indoor high jump) both earned bronze medals at the 2026 ACC Championships.
• A total of 29 Yellow Jackets earned all-ACC recognition, including 15 first-team honors.
• 13 Jackets across four sports (volleyball, golf, baseball and softball) were named all-region.

Several individuals also earned distinction for their combined achievements on the field and in the classroom:

• Four Yellow Jackets were named academic all-America – three first-teamers: Burress, van den Berg and Hiroshi Tai (golf) and a second-teamer: Kerce.
• 32 Jackets earned academic all-district recognition.
• 108 Yellow Jackets were named to their sports’ all-ACC academic teams.

“Competitive success is at the heart of our priorities,” Georgia Tech vice president and director of athletics Ryan Alpert said. “Our student-athletes achieved great things in 2025-26, one of the best overall years in the history of Georgia Tech athletics. Tech student-athletes, coaches and staff continue to elevate us to among the most comprehensively excellent programs in all of college athletics. We’d also like to recognize our fans and the entire Georgia Tech community. Our competitive success would not be possible without your support. We’re grateful for what you helped us achieve in 2025-26, and look forward to continuing to grow together in 2026-27 and beyond. It’s a great time to be a Yellow Jacket!”

This is the second in a series of 2025-2026 year-in-review recaps that will be published over the coming weeks. For more on Tech athletics’ achievements and momentum heading into 2026-27, be sure to follow the Yellow Jackets on X, Facebook and Instagram.

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.