OAKLAND, Calif. – Former Georgia Tech baseball standout and fourth-round pick Kyle McCann (Suwanee, Ga./Lambert) was named to the Oakland Athletics’ Opening Day roster before making his Big League debut on Saturday.
In front of friends and family, McCann debuted in Oakland’s 12-3 loss to Cleveland at the Coliseum. McCann went 0-for-2 officially, but scored his first MLB run and notched an RBI with two walks on the day. Of the 21 pitches McCann saw, he swung at only three located outside of the zone.
One of seven Yellow Jackets drafted in 2019, McCann becomes the third member of that team to make it to the Major Leagues, joining Xzavion Curry (Cleveland) and Amos Willingham (Washington). He also joins an illustrious group of Big League catchers from a program donned “CatcherU” – a list that includes Joey Bart, Jason Varitek, Mike Nickeas and Matt Wieters.
In four seasons in Oakland’s farm system, McCann worked his way to be a terrific asset to the Athletics’ organization. The 26-year-old was considered one of the club’s top 30 prospects in 2020 and 2021 before surging at the plate in 2023. McCann played 97 games last season in Triple-A Las Vegas, hitting .270 with 17 doubles and 17 home runs for 57 RBI.
In this year’s Spring Training, the Suwanee, Ga. native slashed .231/.375/.500 and hit two home runs.
McCann was the All-American catcher on The Flats in 2019 for Georgia Tech, hitting .299 over 62 starts to record 66 hits, 12 doubles, a triple and a team-leading 23 home runs for 70 RBI. The Dick Howser Trophy finalist was instrumental in leading Georgia Tech to a 43-19 record and No. 3 National Seed in the NCAA Tournament where Atlanta played host to the NCAA Regional.
The three-year letterwinner played in 164 games at Tech with 149 starts, also playing first base for the Jackets during his career. He hit .276 overall with 23 doubles, 47 home runs and 136 RBI, earning multiple all-ACC honors and all-Region honors.
McCann’s appearance on Saturday continued Georgia Tech’s storied tradition of producing professional talent, making him the 75th Major Leaguer in program history and 33rd player to make the Big Leagues under head coach Danny Hall.
Alexander-Tharpe Fund
The Alexander-Tharpe Fund is the fundraising arm of Georgia Tech athletics, providing scholarship, operations and facilities support for Tech’s 400-plus student-athletes. Be a part of the development of Yellow Jackets that thrive academically at the Institute and compete for championships at the highest levels of college athletics by supporting the Annual Athletic Scholarship Fund, which directly provides scholarships for Georgia Tech student-athletes. To learn more about supporting the Yellow Jackets, visit atfund.org.
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