7 Jackets Receive Postseason ACC Honors

THE FLATS – Georgia Tech was well represented in this year’s ACC honors with head coach Danny Hall earning ACC Coach of the Year for the fifth time and Alex Hernandez garnering ACC Freshman of the Year honors, the conference office announced on Monday.

In total, seven players were named to all-conference teams: Drew Burress (1^st Team), Hernandez (1^st Team & All-Freshmen Team), Kyle Lodise (2^nd Team), Vahn Lackey (2^nd Team), Mason Patel (2^nd Team), Brady Jones (3^rd Team) and Caleb Daniel (All-Freshman Team).

Coach Hall becomes just the third coach in ACC history to earn Coach of the Year honors for the 5^th time, joining UVA’s Brian O’Connor and the legendary Mike Martin (FSU). Coach Martin holds the conference record with seven while Hall is tied with O’Connor at five.

In his final season on The Flats, Coach Hall led the Jackets to the 10^th regular season ACC title in program history (Hall’s sixth outright title). It was the Jackets 8^th regular season championship since Coach Hall took over in 1994, tied with North Carolina for the most in the ACC.

This season, Georgia Tech (39-16, 19-11 ACC) owns its best record in 15 years (tied with 2019 for the best since 2010). The Jackets finish the regular season with a 26-9 record at home (.743 winning %) – the best home record since 2010 (31-6) – and a 13-6 record on the road (.684 winning %) – the best road record since 2004 (14-3). GT owns one of the most potent offenses in the Power 4, leading the nation’s top four conferences in doubles (141) and among the Top 5 in batting average (3rd – .317), hits (4th – 582), on-base percentage (4th – .418), slugging percentage (5th – .534) and runs/game (5th – 8.4). On the pitching side, the Jacket arms have only allowed 8.53 hits-per-nine this season – the fewest since 1994 – Head Coach Danny Hall’s first season on The Flats. The GT bullpen boasts a season ERA of 4.31, the lowest in nine seasons (since 2016 – not counting 2020 season).

Tech is Top 20 across Division I in the following statistical categories: SAC flies (1st – 39), Doubles (3rd – 141), batting average (13th – .317), slugging % (14th – .534) and hits (17th – 582). GT leads the ACC in doubles (141), doubles per game (2.56), average (.317), hits (582), SAC flies (39) and slugging % (.534)

This is the 11th time in the Danny Hall era that Tech has had six players on all-conference teams, the first since 2022 and the most since a program record eight in 2005.

Alex Hernandez becomes the 7th Yellow Jacket to win Freshman of the Year, joining GT legends Drew Burress (2024), Matt Wieters (2005), Micah Owings (2003), Mark Teixeira (1999), Nomar Garciaparra (1992), and Jason Varitek (1991). The Cumming, Ga. native leads all Power 4 freshman with 60 RBI, just eight away from tying the GT freshman record (68) set by Weiters in 2005.

He played in 54 games this season, only missing one due to injury. He reached base in each of his first 17 games, launching a grand slam for his first-career homerun, one of two grand slams he’d hit on the year. Hernandez was named 1^st team as the DH/Utility since he started in six different spots this year: 2^nd Base (26), Right Field (10), 1^st Base (7), Left Field (7), DH (4) and pitcher (1). He is the only underclassmen in Division I with 10+ home runs (13) and multiple saves (2).

Georgia Tech is now tied with North Carolina for the most freshman of the year awards in ACC history. Since the conference first began awarding them back in 1991, GT and UNC are the only programs with more than five.

Burress becomes the first Yellow Jacket to earn back-to-back 1^st Team all-ACC honors since Tristian English in 2018-19. The sophomore finishes the regular season with an ACC leading 23 doubles, tying the Georgia Tech record in the BBCOR era (since 2011) while scoring five times as the leadoff hitter, becoming the first Yellow Jacket in 24 years to record consecutive 70 run seasons (Richard Lewis in 2000 and ’01). He leads the ACC with 40 extra-base hits and is the only player in Division I with at least 50 RBI (57), 20 doubles (23), 45 walks (46), 15 HR (16) and 60 runs (70) this season.

Lodise earned his spot on the 2^nd team after posting a .328 batting average with a 1.102 OPS, 20 doubles, a team-high three triples and 14 home runs for 37 extra base hits, the second most in the ACC behind only Burress. He led the Georgia Tech defense with 126 assists this season and was the only Yellow Jacket to record three home runs in a single game when he went off for three HRs and a triple in Tech’s 18-7 win over Notre Dame (March 21).

The Brunswick, Ga. native is sixth among Power 4 players with 20 doubles this season, helping contribute to his 56 RBI. He leads the team with 1.12 RBI-per-game this season while also scoring 1.22 runs-per-game, the third best in the ACC. His OPS is sixth-best in the conference as he saw his draft stock rise throughout his year on The Flats, becoming one of the most sought-after prospects in the upcoming 2025 MLB Draft.

Lackey has been a key contributor in the Jackets ACC regular season championship lineup, batting in the heart of the order and finishing with a .350 batting average (the highest on the team among players with at least 150 ABs) 71 hits (2nd on the team behind only Drew Burress), 39 runs and 36 RBI. He led the team with eight hit-by-pitches, posting an ultra-impressive .425 on-base percentage while starting in all 55 regular season games (45 as catcher, 10 at 3^rd base).

The Suwanee native led the Yellow Jackets in stolen bases (17-for-20 – 85 percent) while allowing 25 stolen bases against him, successfully stopping 12 of 37 attempts (32.4 percent).

Patel was nothing short of dominant all season, earning his first-career All-ACC honor. The Knoxville, Tenn. native holds a 2.85 ERA over 19 appearances and became the first Yellow Jacket pitcher this century to win each of his first six starts, finishing with an 11-1 record, tied for the most wins of any Power 4 pitcher despite not starting a single game. He is now tied for the 13th most wins in a single season in GT history, the most since Kyle Bakker posted 13 wins in 2002. Patel is one on only four pitchers across Division I with double-digit wins and the only pitcher in Division I with at least eight wins and five saves.

He pitched the first 22.2 innings of the season without allowing a run and has posted career-bests in wins (11), saves (5), innings pitched (60.0), strikeouts (57) and opponent’s batting average (.207), the fourth lowest in the ACC.

Jones collected third-team all-ACC honors and is playing his best baseball when it matters most. The junior transfer from Georgia State, transitioned into a starting role this season after serving as the Panthers’ closer last season, starting 14 games with a 7-2 record and a 3.80 ERA over 64.0 innings. He has struck out a team-high 68 batters while holding opponents to a .227 average against, the 10^th lowest in the ACC.

He has completed at least five innings in eight consecutive starts, the longest streak by any Tech pitcher this season, and lowers his season ERA to 3.80 as he aims to be the first GT starter with an ERA under 4.00 since current major leaguer Brant Hurter did so back in 2021 (3.90 over 15 starts). His 3.80 ERA is the lowest of any Tech starter with 10+ starts since current major leaguer Connor Thomas posted a 3.11 ERA over 16 starts back in 2019.

Freshman Caleb Daniel was a staple in the middle of the Tech lineup all season, settling into the everyday left fielder and finishing with a .321 batting average, 15 doubles, two triples and six home runs for 28 RBI and 48 runs scored, the 7^th most among Power 4 freshmen. He started in 49 of the 55 regular season games with a .922 OPS and four stolen bases.

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 Wake Forest, No. 9-seeded Miami (Fla.) or No. 16-seeded California. The single-elimination tournament will be held at Durham Bulls Athletic Park in Durham, N.C. For more information on the 2025 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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