Lackey, Burress Drafted in the Top 10 of the MLB Draft

THE FLATS – Vahn Lackey (Suwanee, Ga. / Collin Hill HS) and Drew Burress (Houston County, Ga. / Houston County HS) headlined a busy first day of the 2026 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, held in Philadelphia, Pa. Four Yellow Jackets heard their names called in the first two rounds with Lackey going 3rd overall to the Minnesota Twins before Burress was drafted 8th overall by the Athletics. The duo becomes the first pair of Tech teammates in program history to be drafted in the Top 10 of the same draft together, capping program altering careers for both Tech Men.

Additionally, Jarren Advincula (Santa Clara, Calif. / Arch Bishop Mitty HS) was drafted with the 45th overall pick in the 2nd round by the Los Angeles Angels with Carson Kerce (Marietta, Ga. / Pope HS) going just eight picks later, at No. 53 overall in the 2nd round, to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Georgia Tech now boasts 14 1^st round picks, with Lackey and Burress becoming the first since Kevin Parada went 11^th overall in 2022. Lackey is the fifth GT catcher to be drafted in the first round, giving Tech the most catchers drafted in the first round of any program in the nation and solidifying its standing as #CatcherU. Lackey becomes the 2^nd Top 3 pick in program history, joining Bart (No. 2 in 2018). Lackey and Burress are now the sixth and seventh Top 10 picks out of GT, joining Bart, as well as Matt Wieters (No. 5 in 2007), Mark Teixeira (No. 5 in 2001), Ty Griffin (No. 9 in 1988) and Kevin Brown (No. 4 in 1986).

Lackey and Burress become just the 15^th pair of teammates in MLB Draft history to be drafted in the Top 10 of the same year and the fourth pair of teammates ever to accomplish that at an ACC school, joining Kris Benson and Billy Koch of Clemson (1996), Pavin Smith and Adam Haseley of Virginia (2017) and Chase Burns, Nick Kurtz and Seaver King of Wake Forest (2024).

In total, four Yellow Jackets heard their names called today, giving Georgia Tech 233 draft picks in its history, 14 1st round picks and 38 players taken in the first three rounds.

Vahn Lackey, Round 1, Pick 3, Minnesota Twins

Drew Burress, Round 1, Pick 8, Las Vegas A’s

Jarren Advincula, Round 2, Pick 45, Los Angeles Angels

Carson Kerce, Round 2, Pick 53, Arizona Diamondbacks

Vahn Lackey came to Georgia Tech as an unranked prospect and over the course of three years, developed into the best catching prospect in his class. Lackey played 157 games for the Yellow Jackets in his three years, winning three ACC championships, multiple all-conference honors, a spot on the 2025 Academic All-ACC team, the 2026 ACC Defensive Player of the Year award, the 2026 Johnny Bench Award, 1st team All-America and now, the second highest drafted player in Georgia Tech history.

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.

Drew Burress solidified his place as one of the greatest Yellow Jackets in history with his No. 8 overall selection. The Houston County product enjoyed the greatest college career of the modern era, becoming the first outfielder to ever be named a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award three different times. He was named 1^st team All-America 12 times over his three seasons, a program record, while earning his degree in Business Administration from the Scheller College of Business and earning 1^st Team Academic All-America in the process. 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 and holds GT’s all-time home run record with 60.

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) and is the only Power 4 player this century to record three-straight 40 extra base hit seasons. He started all 179 games over his three seasons, ending his career with a .357 average and a 1.204 OPS over 700 at bats.

Jarren Advincula made a historical impact in his one year on The Flats. After transferring into the program from Cal for the 2026 season, Advincula produced the most decorated single season ever recorded by GT second baseman, earning 1^st team All-America status across five different publications, tied with Mark Teixeira (2000) for the most 1^st team selections ever earned by a Tech infielder in a single season. In his one season at GT, Advincula 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.

Carson Kerce closes out his three year career at Georgia Tech by going 53^rd overall to the Angels in the 2^nd round. He worked his way through the Tech infield over his time on The Flats, starting as a 2^nd baseman as a freshman before leading the ACC in defensive runs saved as a 3^rd baseman in 2025 and blossoming into an All-American shortstop and program record holder for doubles in a single season in 2026. The Marietta, Ga. native played in 171 games for the Jackets over three years including all 121 games over his sophomore and junior seasons. He saw steady improvement over his time in the program, eventually finishing with a career .336 batting average, a .432 on-base percentage and a .535 slugging percentage for his career.

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 3^rd 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) in 2026. He finishes his GT career with the 10^th most doubles ever recorded (54) and led the team with at least three hits in 15 games. He has been awarded 3^rd team All-America status by both the ABCA and Perfect Game and was named an Academic All-American.

Rounds 5-20 of the 2026 MLB First-Year Player Draft will take place tomorrow, July 12 starting at 11:30 ET and can be followed at MLB.com, MLB.TV or MLB+.

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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