THE FLATS – Georgia Tech baseball continues the legacy of former Yellow Jacket standout and Major League Baseball relief pitcher Jim Poole, who passed away from ALS in October of 2023, by designating a student-athlete each year to wear his No. 21 jersey. The student-athlete selected must exemplify Poole’s characteristics both on and off the field.
This year, senior infielder John Giesler becomes the third Yellow Jacket to earn the honor, continuing the tradition begun by Jack Rubenstein in 2023 and Ben King last season.
“I am excited that John Giesler will wear number 21 this year,” Head Coach Danny Hall said. “Jim Poole was part of an era in Georgia Tech Baseball that established us as a national power. Jim’s prowess on the mound and in the classroom set the bar high for future Yellow Jacket players and teams. John exemplifies those same character traits of excellence on the field and in the classroom. As a two-time Captain he is the ultimate “Tech Man” to honor Jim’s legacy.”
Giesler, a sixth-year senior from Marietta, Ga. (Walton HS) will wear No. 21, having shown a longstanding commitment to Poole’s ideals – self-determination, a strong academic work ethic, and high moral fiber on and off the field. Giesler is a five-time member of the ACC Academic Honor Roll, a two-time academic all-district honoree and earned Academic All-America (3rd Team) in 2023. He is currently pursuing a master’s degree in real estate development.
On the diamond, Giesler is entering his second season as team captain. He is a career .308 hitter for the Yellow Jackets and set career highs in doubles (17), home runs (10) and RBI (43) last season while delivering a .990 fielding percentage in 41 games in the corner infield. He will be a key piece of the Jackets’ offense again in 2025 as Tech strives for its 36th NCAA Regional berth and fifth in Giesler’s career in White and Gold.
“Simply put, this is the greatest honor I have ever been given,” Giesler said. “From knowing Jim and knowing who he was as a person, I don’t feel deserving but I am incredibly honored. I will do everything I can this year to wear this number with respect and honor him and his family the best I can.”
Giesler discussed wearing the No. 21 and his hopes for the 2025 season on last week’s episode of Tech Talks, presented by EGP Document Solutions
ABOUT JIM POOLE
Poole arrived on The Flats in 1985 and had an immediate impact, as Georgia Tech baseball would win the first of four-straight ACC Tournament Championships. During his four years, he pitched in 120 games and struck out 263 batters in 188 innings. He still ranks first in the Tech record book with 22 career saves, including 10 as a junior and nine as a senior. He was named all-ACC his last two seasons. Poole would be enshrined into the Georgia Tech Sports Hall of Fame just nine years later in 1997.
A stellar worker in the classroom, Poole elected not to turn professional after being selected in the 34th round of the 1987 MLB Draft by the LA Dodgers, and returned to Georgia Tech for his senior year, recording a 2.03 ERA and 113 strikeouts in only 71 innings. Once again, the LA Dodgers would call his name in the 1988 MLB Draft, this time taking him in the ninth round. He would return to graduate from the Institute with a degree in electrical engineering in 1990.
Poole played 11 years in the major leagues, predominantly with the Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians, and San Francisco Giants. In 431 games played, he finished with 22 victories and a 4.31 ERA, as well as 256 strikeouts and four saves. He helped pitch Cleveland to two American League Championship Series (1995, 1998), making it to the 1995 World Series where he would face the Atlanta Braves.
Following his retirement at the end of the 2000 season, Poole returned to Georgia Tech to join the Alexander-Tharpe Fund as a fundraiser and supporter of the baseball program. He then began serving as the pitching coach at Johns Creek High School in 2010, teaching many young men about pitching mechanics, while also conveying his personal pitching philosophy.
He later joined the business world as a Personal Wealth Advisor for the Baseball Division of BIP Wealth.
After being diagnosed with ALS in 2021, Poole worked tirelessly to raise awareness for the disease. In addition to serving on MLB ALS boards, he also worked with Georgia Tech, who together hosted an ALS Awareness Day during the 2022 baseball season, with Tech wearing Jim Poole shirts and both teams wearing honorary wristbands. Professional players also wore the shirt. Tech later designated the number 21 each year to be worn by a student-athlete who exemplify Poole’s ideals – self-determination, a strong academic work ethic, and high moral fiber on and off the field.
Every 90 minutes, someone is diagnosed with ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease, with an estimated 30,000 people living with ALS in the United States at any given time. Primarily affecting people between the ages of 40 and 70, ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. There is no known cure.
For more information about ALS, visit www.ALS.org.
GEORGIA TECH BASEBALL TICKETS
Be there for all the action as tickets for Georgia Tech baseball’s 2025 season are now on sale! Opening Day is slated for Friday, Feb. 14 against the Old Dominion Monarchs so secure your seats now at one of the country’s premier collegiate baseball venues, Mac Nease Baseball Park at Russ Chandler Stadium! The Yellow Jackets will host more than 30 home games this season, including five ACC series. For more information on the 2025 season, click HERE!
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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