THE FLATS – A program record five Yellow Jackets have been named All-America, the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) and Perfect Game announced today. Jarren Advincula (Santa Clara, Calif. / Archbishop Mitty HS) and Drew Burress (Houston County, Ga. / Houston County HS) were named 1st team All-America by both publications, while Vahn Lackey (Suwanee, Ga. / Collins Hill HS) was awarded 1st Team All-America by Perfect Game and 2nd team by the NCBWA, Ryan Zuckerman (Yardley, Pa. / Pennsbury HS) earned 2nd Team honors from the NCBWA while Carson Kerce (Marietta, Ga. / Pope HS) was awarded 3rd team status by Perfect Game.
Burress cemented himself as one of the greatest Yellow Jackets in history, joining Jason Varitek (1992-94) as the only GT student athletes to earn 1st Team All-America status across three different seasons. He is the only player in Georgia Tech’s 131-year history to be a 1st Team All-American in every season of his college career. Burress, who earlier this year became the first outfielder in college baseball history to be named a three-time Golden Spikes Award semifinalist, has now been named a 1st team All-American eight times in his career: 2024: NCBWA / 2025: NCBWA, ABCA, CBF, Perfect Game & D1 Baseball / 2026: NCBWA & Perfect Game, with more still to be announced.
Burress slashed .358 avg / .473 on-base / .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).
Advincula earned his first All-America honors, becoming the 20th 1st team All-American in GT history. This year, 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.
Lackey earned his first career 1st Team All-America nod by Perfect Game, becoming the 21st 1st team All-American in program history. He 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 first ever All-American selection when he was named to the 2nd team by the NCBWA. He powered his way into the GT record books this spring, leading the most potent offense in BBCOR era history in home runs, posting 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.
Kerce was awarded his first ever All-America nod, earning 3rd team honors from Perfect Game. He put his name in the Georgia Tech history books by hitting a single season record 29 doubles this year and slashing .384 avg / .473 OBP / .679 slug (all career bests). He led the most potent offense in BBCOR era history with 44 extra base hits (program record 29 doubles, career high four triples and career high 11 home runs). His 29 doubles led the ACC and all of Power 4 while his 4.52 WAR ranked 19th in the nation, tied for 3rd among registered shortstops.
Kerce set career highs in every offensive category: runs (70), hits (91), doubles (29), triples (4), home runs (11) and RBI (51). He finishes his GT career with the 10th most doubles ever recorded (54) and led the team with at least three hits in 15 games.
The five All-America selections marks a new program record for a single season, surpassing the previous record (four) set in both 1999 (Mark Teixeira, Chuck Crowder, Heath Honeycutt and Scott Prather) and 1994 (Nomar Garciaparra, Jay Payton, Jason Varitek and Brad Rigby).
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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