THE FLATS – Opening day of the Georgia Tech baseball season is just one week away and the preseason accolades continue to roll in for sophomore outfielder Drew Burress (Houston County, Ga.). He has been named 1st team preseason all-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and to the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List presented by Chinook Seedery it was announced today.
This is the latest in a string of preseason honors for Burress after being named preseason all-American by D1 Baseball (1st Team) and Perfect Game (1st Team) as well as being named the No. 1 sophomore in college baseball by Perfect Game and the preseason ACC Player of the Year by DI Baseball.
Burress and the Yellow Jackets begin the season on Friday, February 14 at 4 p.m. against Old Dominion. Click HERE for complete ticket information on the 2025 season.
Burress led Georgia Tech in a myriad of categories in 2024, including average (.381), home runs (25) and RBI (67), becoming the 12th Yellow Jacket to win Tech’s triple crown. Burress is the first to accomplish the feat since Matt Gonzalez in 2016. His 25 home runs set the Tech freshman record and fell one shy of tying the single-season record (Kevin Parada, 2022). He was named national freshman of the year by three major publications: Perfect Game, D1 Baseball and the National College Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) – joining Mark Teixeira in 1999 (Collegiate Baseball) and Derek Dietrich in 2008 (Rivals.com) as the only national freshmen of the year in program history.
His .821 slugging percentage from last season gives him the highest career slugging percentage in program history, with a minimum of 200 at bats in White & Gold. It was the 4th highest slugging percentage in a single season by a Yellow Jacket, the best since 1926 and the first .800+ slugging season in 45 years (Tommy Thompson (.811) – 1979).
In addition to his team-leading average, the NCBWA Freshman Hitter of the Year finished with 15 doubles. three triples and drew more walks (58) than strikeouts (37) for a .512 on-base percentage and an OPS of 1.333. He also finished 8-for-10 in stolen bases and set the Georgia Tech record for most assists by an outfielder, gunning down 10 base-runners from center field this season.
Burress led all Division I freshmen in six statistical categories to finish the regular season (home runs, home runs per game, slugging, total bases, walks and walks per game), while ranking Top 3 nationally in 11 categories. He also led ACC freshmen in eight categories to wrap up the year (runs and on-base percentage), while also ranking second in RBI, RBI/game and batting average to earn first-team all-conference honors.
The Golden Spikes preseason list includes 55 players across high school and college baseball. The Golden Spikes Advisory Board will maintain the award’s watch list on a rolling basis, allowing athletes to play themselves into consideration for the award based on in-season performance.
About Golden Spikes Award
Since 1978, USA Baseball has honored the top amateur baseball player in the country with the Golden Spikes Award. The Award, which is presented on ESPN annually, goes to the amateur baseball player who exhibits exceptional athletic ability and exemplary sportsmanship. The 2024 Golden Spikes Award winner was Charlie Condon from the University of Georgia. Winners of this prestigious award from the past 20 years include Major League Baseball All-Stars such as Adley Rutschman (’19), Andrew Benintendi (’15), Kris Bryant (’13), Mike Zunino (’12), Trevor Bauer (‘11), Bryce Harper (’10), Stephen Strasburg (‘09), Buster Posey (’08), David Price (’07), Tim Lincecum (’06), Alex Gordon (’05), and Jered Weaver (’04). Fans can follow the Golden Spikes Award on Instagram and Twitter @USAGoldenSpikes.
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 Twitter (@GTBaseball), Facebook, Instagram (@gt_baseball) or visit us at www.ramblinwreck.com.
