THE FLATS – A program record five Yellow Jackets have been named preseason All-America by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, it was announced today. Junior center fielder Drew Burress (Houston County, Ga./Houston County HS) and RHP Mason Patel (Knoxville, Tenn./Georgia State/The Webb School) were both named 1st Team All-American while junior catcher Vahn Lackey (Suwanee, Ga./Collins Hill HS) and junior infielder Jarren Advincula (Santa Clara, Calif./Cal/ Archbishop Mitty HS) earned 2nd team honors. Sophomore utility, Alex Hernandez (Cumming, Ga./ Forsyth Central HS).
The five All-American selections mark the most in program history for Georgia Tech and Patel’s first preseason All-America nod, giving GT three preseason first-team All-Americans for the first time this century. Georgia Tech, Texas and TCU lead the list with five all-Americans each, with Tech leading the way among Atlantic Coast Conference teams.
Burress enters his third season on The Flats with the hopes of proving himself to be one of the greatest to ever wear the White & Gold. He is coming off a sophomore campaign in which he was named 1st Team All-American by five different publications, joining Kevin Parada (2022), Joey Bart (2018), and Mark Teixeira (2000) as the only to do so in program history. He was the only player from a Power 4 conference with at least 60 RBI (62), 20 doubles (23), 50 walks (53), 15 HR (19) and 70 runs (77) and led the ACC in extra base hits (43), doubles (23), finishing 2nd in the conference in home runs (19) and runs scored (77). He became the fastest Yellow Jacket in program history to reach 30 and 40 career homeruns and his 23 doubles were the most by a GT player in the BBCOR era (since 2011). The Houston County man enters his junior year as the only Division I player with a career slugging percentage over .750 (.756), also the best in program history with a minimum of 300 ABs (446), nearly half a point above second place, College Baseball Hall of Famer, Mark Teixeira (.712). His 44 career home runs are currently 10th-most in program history and just 13 shy of the program record, set by Jason Varitek (57) from 1991-94. Burress is now a unanimous 1st-Team preseason All-American after already earning the recognition from Perfect Game, D1 Baseball and Baseball America earlier this year.
Patel delivered one of the most dominant seasons by a pitcher in Georgia Tech history last year, appearing in 23 games, all out of the bullpen and finishing with 70.0 innings pitched, a 3.34 ERA and an 11-2 record and five saves. He became the first Tech pitcher to be named All-American by the NCBWA since 2019 and the first to be named to one of the first two All-American teams by the NCBWA since 2016. His 11 victories set a program record, as he became the first Yellow Jacket to record at least 11 wins in a single season without ever starting a game, that win total was tied for 7th-most in the nation and 2nd in the ACC. He was the only pitcher in the nation to collect double-digit wins and at least five saves and the first relief pitcher to do so from a Power 4 conference since Kevin Kopps’ Golden Spikes Award winning season in 2021 (Arkansas). He became the first Yellow Jacket pitcher in the 21st century to win each of his first six appearances, finishing with the 13th-most wins in a single season in GT history and the most since Kyle Bakker in 2002. Patel pitched his first 22.2 innings of the season without allowing a run and posted career-bests in wins (11), saves (5), innings pitched (70.0), strikeouts (64) and opponent’s batting average (.223). His 1.9 WAR was fifth in the nation among pitchers according to 6-4-3 charts as he became the first Tech pitcher since at least the turn of the century to be a part of the winning outcome in each of his first eight appearances (seven wins and one save). This is his first preseason All-American selection.
Lackey enjoyed a breakout 2025 season, earning himself the moniker of best catcher in college leading into 2026. He slashed .347 avg./.421 OBP/.500 Slug. with a team-high 77 base hits including 14 doubles, one triple and six home runs for 42 RBI and 45 runs scored last season while also leading all Division I catchers with 18 stolen bases on 21 attempts. He delivered multiple hits in 45% of his games played (27-of-60) and ranked third among DI catchers in both batting average (.347) and hits (77). He worked with the Georgia Tech pitching staff to hold opponents to 8.84 hits-per-nine innings, the lowest mark in over a decade while helping lower the team ERA by 1.57 runs compared to 2024, the largest decrease of any Power 4 team to make a Regional last season. Over the summer, he was named one of two catchers for the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team, becoming the fifth Tech catcher to represent on the international stage, joining GT legends Kevin Parada, Matt Wieters, Mike Nickeas and Jason Varitek. Lackey has now been named a 1st-Team All-American by both Baseball America and Perfect Game headed into the 2026 season and was a 2nd-Team honoree by D1 Baseball and the NCBWA.
Advincula joined the Yellow Jackets in the offseason after an All-ACC season at California in which he slashed .342 avg./.410 OBP/.506 Slug. His 81 hits ranked second among all second basemen in the nation and he led the Golden Bears in hits (81), doubles (17), at bats (237), stolen bases (13), multiple-hit games (26), three-hit games (11) and total bases (120). Known as one of the toughest outs in the conference last season, Advincula joins a potent Tech lineup as the second-best 2nd baseman in the nation according to Baseball America. He is now a consensus 2nd-Team preseason All-American, after earning the recognition from Perfect Game, D1 Baseball and Baseball America earlier this year.
Hernandez enters his sophomore campaign after being named ACC Freshman of the Year, 1st-Team Freshman All-America by four publications and All-ACC 1st Team in 2025. He set the Georgia Tech record for most RBI by a freshman, finishing with 69, breaking the 20-year-old record set by Matt Wieters. He led all Power 4 freshmen with those 69 RBI and became the 7th Yellow Jacket to be named ACC Freshman of the Year. He was the second of back-to-back ACC Freshman of the Year from Tech (also Burress) marking just the second time GT has achieved that and first since Nomar Garciaparra (1992), and Jason Varitek (1991). Hernandez started 48 games in the cleanup spot and slashed .335 avg./.415 OBP/.609 Slug. He led the Jackets in at bats (230), hits (77 – tied with Vahn Lackey) and RBI (69) finishing with 47 runs scored, 11 doubles, two triples and 16 home runs. Listed as a second baseman in the Perfect Game All-Americans list, Hernandez started in six different spots last year: 2nd Base (27), Right Field (14), 1st Base (7), Left Field (7), DH (4) and pitcher (1) becoming the only underclassman in Division I with 50+ RBI (69) and multiple saves (2). This is the second preseason all-American nod he has received this year.
2026 will be the first season for new Head Coach James Ramsey. Since Ramsey took over the offense in 2019, Georgia Tech leads the ACC in batting average (.308), OPS (.918), OBP (.408), hits (3,961), doubles (796) and SAC Flies (208) and is second in runs (2,937), triples (84), home runs (547), RBI (2,709) and slugging (.510) with more to come in 2026.
First pitch for the highly anticipated 2026 season is scheduled for Friday, Feb. 13 at 4 p.m. when the Yellow Jackets host Bowling Green for a three-game series at Mac Nease Baseball Park at Russ Chandler Stadium.
2026 Season Tickets
Season tickets for Georgia Tech’s 2026 regular season home schedule, including five ACC home series and a collection of non-conference games, are on sale now. Visit ramblinwreck.com/tickets to purchase. For complete information on 2026 baseball tickets, including premium membership options, please visit the official Georgia Tech Baseball Tickets page.
2026 Single Game Tickets
Single game and mini plans for the 2026 regular season are on sale now featuring tickets for individual games and mini plans such as the Hattie B’s ACC Saturday Pack and the Midweek Pick ‘Em Plan. Purchase your tickets today to watch the defending ACC Regular Season Champions strive for more trophies in 2026!
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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