Sept. 5, 2007
ATLANTA – Matt White, a former pitcher and first-round draft pick of the San Francisco Giants, has joined the Georgia Tech baseball coaching staff, head coach Danny Hall announced Wednesday.
White, the seventh overall selection in the 1996 Major League Baseball Draft, has been tabbed the volunteer coach for the 2008 baseball season. He will assist the Yellow Jacket coaching staff with the development of the Georgia Tech outfielders.
“Matt was a great pitcher whose professional career was cut short by shoulder surgeries,” Hall said. “Every guy in our program has the dream to play professional baseball and Matt is a guy fresh out of 10 years of baseball that has seen the ups and downs of it.
“He was a high draft pick that is currently in school trying to get a college degree because he wants to be a college baseball coach. I think he’s going to bring a lot of experience and enthusiasm to our program and we are excited to have him in the program.”
A former Georgia Tech commitment, White signed with Tampa Bay in November, 1996, and spent 10 years with the Devil Rays’ organization before eventually retiring from professional baseball last summer.
“It’s great to finally be in a Georgia Tech uniform,” White said. “I had the opportunity coming out of high school to attend Georgia Tech, but the professional avenue came available and I had to take it at the time.
“I’m just glad that Coach Hall was gracious enough to give me the opportunity to get my coaching career started at Georgia Tech, and I’m very excited about it.”
Prior to being drafted, White was tabbed the 1996 High School Player of the Year by both USA Today and Baseball America, the Gatorade National Baseball Player of the Year, the National Senior High School Player of the Year and the USA Baseball National Amateur Junior Player of the Year. He was also named a first team prep All-American by the Baseball Coaches Association and tabbed the Pennsylvania Gatorade Player of the Year in 1996.
Over the last year, White has served as the summer pitching coach and community coach for the Milton High School baseball team in Alpharetta, Ga.
A 1996 graduate of Waynesboro Area High School where he had a career 0.65 ERA, White is actively pursuing his degree in wildlife management from the University of Georgia. He is married to the former Kristin Schmit, an assistant attorney general in Atlanta, and the couple resides in Milton, Ga.
