THE FLATS – A program record five Yellow Jackets have been awarded First-Team All-Southeast Region honors, the American Baseball Coaches Association/Rawlings announced today. Jarren Advincula (Santa Clara, Calif. / Archbishop Mitty HS), Drew Burress (Houston County, Ga. / Houston County HS), Carson Kerce (Marietta, Ga. / Pope HS), Vahn Lackey (Suwanee, Ga. / Collins Hill HS) and Ryan Zuckerman (Yardley, Pa. / Pennsbury HS) were all named to the first team, tying 2000 for the most All-Region winners in program history.
Burress becomes just the third Yellow Jacket to ever be named First-Team All-Region for the third consecutive year, joining GT legends Jason Varitek (1992-94) and Andy Burce (1989-91) with the distinction. Lackey has earned his second All-Region selection and his first on the first team, joining a long list of multi-All-Region catchers from GT, including Kevin Parada, Joey Bart, Matt Wieters, Bryan Prince and Jason Varitek. This is also the second All-Region award for Advincula, and his first on the first team, after being named 2nd team All-West Region in 2025 while playing at California. This is the first career All-Region honors for both Zuckerman and Kerce.
The Yellow Jackets’ five first teamers are tied with UCLA for the most in the nation. No other program in the southeastern region has more than three first team selections. All First-Team representatives will be considered for the ABCA All-American Team, which will be announced Friday morning (June 12).
Advincula became the best hitter in the nation when he joined the Yellow Jackets, 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.
The First-Team All-ACC 2nd Baseman can now add all-southeast region to his list of accolades, with plenty more sure to come as more postseason awards are announced in the coming weeks.
Burress produced his third First-Team All-Region season, slashing .358 avg / .473 on-base / .657 slug over 61 games while also playing his typical plus defense in center field. He set the GT home run record, hitting 60 homers over three seasons, breaking the record set over four seasons by 1994 Golden Spikes Award winner Jason Varitek. He delivered a career-high 82 runs scored, becoming the first Yellow Jacket in program history to record three-consecutive 70 run seasons. He hit 41 extra base hits (22 doubles, three triples and 16 home runs), becoming the only Power 4 player this century to record three-straight 40 extra base hit seasons.
Burress 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).
Kerce 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 3rd among registered shortstops.
This is Kerce’s first career all-region honor after setting career highs in every offensive category: runs (70), hits (91), doubles (29), triples (4), home runs (11) and RBI (51). He finishes his GT career with the 10th most doubles ever recorded (54) and led the team with at least three hits in 15 games.
Lackey becomes the seventh Yellow Jacket catcher in the last 32 years to earn a First-Team All-Region selection. He 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 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.
Zuckerman secured his first career all-region honor after powering his way into the GT record books this spring. Zuckerman led the most potent offense in BBCOR era history in home runs, posting 23, tied with Kyle McCann (2019) for the fifth most ever recorded on The Flats. He led the team with 24-multi RBI games while setting career highs in average (.345), runs (71), RBI (79), hits (80), walks (37), home runs (23), slugging % (.720) and on-base % (.438). His 79 RBI ranked eighth in the nation and the 11th most in a single season in school history.
He was excellent on the defensive side of the ball as well, posting a 15.99 defensive runs saved for the season, the 13th best mark in college baseball. He was named ACC Tournament MVP after hitting three home runs in three games and was named First-Team All-ACC, his first ever all-conference honor.
All five Yellow Jackets move onto the next phase of the ACBA All-American process. The Georgia Tech record for ABCA All-Americans is three, from both 1994 and 1990.
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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