THE FLATS – Recognized as part of the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performance on the field and in the classroom, Georgia Tech baseball juniors Michael Guldberg (first team) and Luke Waddell (second team) were named 2020 Academic All-Americans, the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) announced Thursday.
The Yellow Jackets earned multiple selections for the first time in program history as the pair join just four representatives from the Atlantic Coast Conference.
An industrial engineering major with a 3.90 grade-point average, Guldberg became the second student-athlete in program history to earn multiple first-team honors (L.J. Yankosky, 1997-98) and the fifth Yellow Jacket all-time to receive multiple selections overall. He joins four repeat selections nationally from 2019 on this year’s list but is the only repeat selection among Power 5 schools.
Georgia Tech’s 2020 captain, Waddell earned Academic All-America second-team honors after posting a 3.86 GPA in his third year of the business administration program. He joins fellow Georgia Tech shortstops Nomar Garciaparra (1993-94), Derek Dietrich (2009-10) and Jacob Esch (2011) on the all-time award list.
On the field for the shortened season (16 games), Guldberg amassed a whopping .450 batting average to lead the ACC, garnering 27 hits (five doubles) in 60 at-bats, striking out just three times total for the stretch. The Marietta, Ga. native was the last in Power 5 and one of the final three hitters in all of Division I to not record a strikeout. “The Machine” reached base at a 52.1 percent clip and was 3-of-3 for stolen bases, while also managing a perfect fielding percentage in left field.
For Waddell, it was another stellar year as one of the nation’s top shortstops and table setters. From the leadoff spot, Waddell hit .300 through 16 games, recording 18 hits, including four extra-base knocks, for nine RBI. He drew seven walks to average a .419 on-base percentage during his junior campaign. Of the Loveland, Ohio native’s nine RBI, none proved more clutch than the go-ahead run in the eighth inning of Game 2 during the ACC’s opening weekend against Virginia Tech.
The banner year in the classroom continues for Georgia Tech baseball as it posted a program-record 3.40 team GPA – one of eight sports to record program bests.
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