Jackets Lead the Nation with Four D1 Baseball All-Americans

THE FLATS – Georgia Tech baseball was awarded the most All-Americans in the nation and the most 1^st team honorees as D1 Baseball published it’s 2026 All-America teams today. Drew Burress (Houston County, Ga. / Houston County HS), Vahn Lackey (Suwanee, Ga. / Collins Hill HS) and Ryan Zuckerman (Yardley, Pa. / Pennsbury HS) were each named to the 1^st team with Jarren Advincula (Santa Clara, Calif. / Archbishop Mitty HS) earning a place on the 2^nd team. Tech holds three of the 10 first team spots for position players, the only program with multiple representatives.

This was the program-record-breaking 12^th career 1^st team selection for Burress, passing Jason Varitek’s 11 selections over four years (1991-94). He joins Kevin Parada (2022) as the only Jackets to be named unanimous 1^st team All-Americans across six different major publications in the same season: Perfect Game, NCBWA, Baseball America, ABCA, College Baseball Foundation and D1 Baseball. He was also named 1^st Team Academic All-American earlier this week, becoming the first Yellow Jacket to ever be a unanimous 1^st teamer in both.

This was also the first 1^st team selection for Zuckerman, who becomes Tech’s fourth 1^st team All-American of 2026 and the 22^nd  of program history. GT has set a new record with four 1^st team All-American position players in the same season and matched the overall record with four 1^st team recipients, set back in 1994: Nomar Garciaparra (SS), Jay Payton (OF), Brad Rigby (P) and Jason Varitek (C).

Lackey has earned his fifth 1^st team selection of the season, giving GT three players with at least five 1^st team selections for the first time in school history (also Burress & Advincula). He is the third catcher from Georgia Tech in the last nine years to be a five-time 1^st teamer, joining Joey Bart (2018) and Kevin Parada (2022). He was also named 2^nd team All-America by NCBWA, giving him five overall All-American selections this season.

Burress is now the most decorated Yellow Jacket of all time, with his 12^th 1^st team All-America selection. He is the only player in Georgia Tech’s 131-year history to be a 1^st Team All-American in every season of his college career. Burress is the first outfielder in college baseball history to be named a three-time Golden Spikes Award semifinalist and holds Georgia Tech’s all-time home run record with 60.

Burress slashed .358 avg / .473 OBP / .657 slug over 61 games in 2026 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 – also Andy Bruce (506: 1988-91), Tony Plagman (513: 2007-10) and Jason Varitek (610: 1991-94).

Lackey delivered an incredible 2026 season, slashing .397 avg / .519 OBP / .772 slug. over 61 games with 20 home runs, 78 RBI and 85 runs scored while also earning the ACC Defensive Player of the Year award. He is second in the nation with a 5.66 WAR and his 1.39 runs-per-game were the most in Power 4. His .397 average is the highest among Division I catchers this season and his 1.291 OPS is Top 10 in the country as he rocketed up draft boards to become the most coveted catcher in the draft class.

He led the most potent offense in the BBCOR era in runs scored (85), slugging % (.772), on-base (.519) and walks (50) while stealing 15 bases for the second year in a row. Lackey’s 85 runs scored this season are the sixth most in program history and the most by any Yellow Jacket since 2000 while driving in 78 RBI, the 12th most in a single season. His .772 slugging is tied with Mark Teixeira (2000) for the second highest slugging percentage of any Yellow Jacket this century, behind only Drew Burress’ freshman season (.821).

Behind the dish, Lackey is the most feared arm in college baseball, catching six attempted base stealers and catching five more with back picks. Teams don’t test Lackey often in the run game, only attempting to steal in the most optimal of times against him, due to his reputation. Defensively, Lackey helped guide the GT pitching staff to the ACC ERA title this season with a 4.36 ERA, the lowest in the conference during league games.

Zuckerman secured his fourth All-American selection of the award season and his first-career 1st team honor. He powered his way into the GT record books this spring, leading the most potent offense in BBCOR era history in home runs (23) tied with Kyle McCann (2019) for the fifth most ever recorded on The Flats. He led the team with 24-multi RBI games while setting career highs in average (.345), runs (71), RBI (79), hits (80), walks (37), home runs (23), slugging % (.720) and on-base % (.438). His 79 RBI ranked eight in the nation and the 11th most in a single season in school history.

He was excellent on the defensive side of the ball as well, posting a 15.99 defensive runs saved for the season, the 13th best mark in college baseball. He was named ACC Tournament MVP after hitting three home runs in three games and was named First-Team All-ACC, his first ever all-conference honor. He becomes the first 3rd baseman from Georgia Tech to earn 1st team honors since Mark Teixeira in 2000.

Advincula was named to the 2nd team for the first time this season, going down as a five-time 1st team All-American at second base. He is the most decorated 2nd baseman in program history with five 1st Team All-America selections. He became the best hitter in the nation, leading Division I with 111 hits, tied with Tennessee’s Christian Moore (2024) for the most hits by a Power 4 player in the BBCOR era and the most since 2008. He owns Tech’s first 100 hit season since 2005 and the third most single season hits in school history behind only Jay Payton (129) and Nomar Garciaparra (117) in 1994. He recorded at least one hit in 57 of his 61 games in White & Gold, finishing with the 2nd longest hitting streak in program history (29 games).

He tied Jay Payton for the best single season batting average with at least 200 at-bats in program history (.434). That .434 average is the 2nd highest ever recorded by a Power 4 player in the BBCOR era (J.J. Wetherholt – .449 at WVU in 2023). His 16 stolen bases were the most on the team while only recording 16 strikeouts in 256 at bats, the toughest player to strike out in the ACC and the 2nd hardest in Power 4. His 4.99 WAR was the best among infielders in college baseball this season and sixth overall.

Advincula is tied Teixeira (2000) for the most 1st team selections ever by a Yellow Jacket infielder.

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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