THE FLATS – Junior C Vahn Lackey (Suwanee, Ga.) has been named a semifinalist for the 2026 Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher of the Year Award, the Wichita Sports Commission announced this week. Lackey, who was just named the Atlantic Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Year, is the most feared catcher in college baseball this season, consistently getting runners out on the base paths, either by catching them stealing or with back-picks, while also becoming one of the best hitters in the nation.
Georgia Tech is one of three programs with multiple Buster Posey Award winners (Kevin Parada in 2022 and Joey Bart in 2018), alongside Florida State and Southern California. This is the second time Lackey has been named a semifinalist, joining Joey Bart as the only Tech catcher to be a multi-time semifinalist for the award.
Lackey has been a vital member of the Yellow Jackets’ back-to-back ACC Championship winning seasons. He posted an 8.97 defensive runs saved this season with six caught stealings and five back-pick outs recorded. He was the backbone of a pitching staff that led the ACC with a 4.36 ERA and 136 runs allowed in conference play, while also leading the most potent offense in BBCOR era history in both on-base percentage (.518) and slugging percentage (.747) over the 54-game season. His .747 slugging percentage is currently the ninth highest in program history for a single season and the second highest recorded in the 21st century, behind only Burress’ .821 slug season in 2024.
Lackey also earned his first-career 1st team all-conference honor, officially being named the best catcher in the ACC this season. He set career highs in every offensive category: batting average (.402), OPS (1.265), runs (72), hits (78), doubles (16), triples (3), home runs (15), RBI (69), slugging (.747), on-base (.518) and walks (43). He leads all Power 4 catchers in batting average and on-base and is one RBI shy of becoming the fourth catcher in program history to record a 70 run/70 RBI season, joining Kevin Parada (2022), Matt Wieters (2006) and Jason Varitek (1993 & ’94), all first-round picks.
Lackey and the Top-seeded Yellow Jackets have a double-bye in this week’s ACC Tournament and open postseason play on Thursday at 3 p.m. against No. 8-seeded Virginia, No. 9-seeded NC State or No. 16-seeded Duke. The single-elimination tournament will be held at Truist Field in Charlotte, N.C. For more information on the 2026 ACC Baseball Championship, including tickets and schedule, 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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