THE FLATS – Georgia Tech’s golf program signed three prospective student-athletes to letters-of-intent during the November signing period, a pair of top-100 junior players in Hiroshi Tai of Singapore by way of Windermere, Fla., and Aidan Tran of Fresno, Calif., as well as an Atlanta-area prospect in Brady Rackley.
Tai, who served a two-year stint in the Singapore navy following high school graduation, will enroll at Tech in January, while Tran and Rackley will join the program next fall.
“Overall, this is one of the best classes we’ve ever signed,” said head coach Bruce Heppler. “Given what they’ve done in golf, how they are academically and the kind of people they are, I feel really good about this group. We’re really happy with who we were able to sign. We’ll lose a bunch of guys in the next couple of years, and they’ll have a chance to come in behind those guys and be successful. It’s an important group, and I’m excited about the possibilities. They fit what we’re doing and see the value of being a part of this program.”
Hiroshi Tai, Singapore/Windermere, Fla. (Windermere Prep)
Ranked as high as No. 45 in his high school graduation year of 2020, Tai will enroll at Georgia Tech in January following a two-year military service commitment to his home city-state of Singapore. Tai rose as high as No. 40 in the Junior Golf Scoreboard (No. 11 in his class), and No. 521 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking.
Tai began his climb up the rankings in 2017, finishing fourth in the Junior Orange Bowl International Championship and sixth in the Jones Cup Junior Invitational. In 2018, he won AJGA Junior in San Jose, finished 13th in the AJGA Polo Junior Classic and 27th in the AJGA Rolex Tournament of Champions, all major events. In 2019, he earned a top-15 finish at the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship, was 15th at the Southeast Asian Games and 19th at the Terra Cotta Invitational.
Born in Hong Kong, Tai and his family have lived in Florida since middle school. On the high school level at Windermere Prep in the Orlando, Fla., area, he finished sixth in the 2019 Florida High School Athletic Association State Championship and led Windermere to a third-place team finish in Class 1A.
Coach Heppler on Hiroshi Tai – “Hiroshi was a highly accomplished junior player when he graduated high school and entered the military in his home country. He’s played a lot of national golf, and he’s an incredible student, which is a great match for both of us. We’re fortunate that we had what he was looking for. He’s had really good instruction, and his fundamentals are really good and simple. From an early age he was very competitive, and he got bigger and stronger and continued to progress within his class. He tried to work on his game when he had shore leave, but his fundamentals were so good that I’m not worried about him getting back to his form. He’ll enroll in January and be around our program for a semester and all summer and be ready to help us in the fall. The things that he learned about perseverance, toughness, grit, discipline, will be invaluable as he goes to college and competes. He has followed us throughout his military service, and he has as much enthusiasm for coming here as anyone we’ve ever signed.”
Aidan Tran, Fresno, Calif. (Clovis North High School)
Ranked as high as No. 51 in the Class of 2022 according to the American Junior Golf Association, Tran comes to Georgia Tech with three victories and seven other top-10 finishes in AJGA events since 2018, including a 10-stroke victory this year in the AJGA Junior at san Jose. He also earned a top-10 finish at the AJGA Ping An Bank Open Championship and reached the round of 32 at the California Amateur Championship after tying for 12th place in stroke play. Tran previously won the 2020 AJGA Longbow Golf Club Open and the 2018 AJGA Mahoning Valley Hospital Foundation Junior All-Star event. He is ranked No. 22 in his class in the Golfweek/Sagarin Boys Index, and No. 43 by the Junior Golf Scoreboard.
On the high school level, he won the California Interscholastic Federation Central Section Championship in 2021. Committed to Tech before he ever played a high school match, Tran set a Clovis North high school tournament record with a bogey-free 63 in his very first competition as a ninth-grader.
Coach Heppler on Aidan Tran – “Aidan is a very talented golfer, and brilliant. His school work is off the charts. His family lived on the East Coast for a while, and he reached out to us. He asked us a lot of questions and was engaged in the conversation as much as his parents. He was knowledgeable about our program. His results were pretty good at a young age, and he played phenomenally well when we first saw him play in California. His golf swing is like Tiger Woods. We made him an offer right then, and he stuck to his commitment even after other big programs got in on him. He’s as prepared academically as anyone we’ve ever recruited. He was invited to five AJGA events this summer, and he turned all of them down because he had two siblings still playing, and he gave up his own golf to get them to tournaments. He’s very unselfish. He’s gotten bigger and stronger, and he’s got good rhythm in his swing. He’ll have a good career here.”
Brady Rackley, Atlanta, Ga. (The Lovett School)
A four-year varsity player, Rackley led The Lovett School to both state and region championships while finishing 2nd as an individual in the state championship last spring (2021). In his 2020-21 season, Rackley had two tournament wins and 10 top 5 performances, was named to the Longhorn Invitational all-tournament team and placed fourth in the Georgia Junior Tour Championship. In addition, Rackley was awarded a spot on the 2021 all-State golf team and selected as the 2021 Bobby Jones award recipient for his success on and off the course. In addition to his performance on the course, Rackley has compiled a 98.86 weighted grade-point average and is an Eagle scout.
Coach Heppler on Brady Rackley – “I’m excited to have Brady as part of this class. He’s a big, strong and athletic young man with a world of upside. He grew up loving Georgia Tech, and typically through the years, guys like him who want to be here turn out to have positive experiences. He’s a phenomenal student. He’s a team-oriented young man, and has been involved in some state championship-level golf teams at Lovett.”
Georgia Tech, which won two of four fall tournaments, finished the 2021 fall season ranked No. 21 by Golfstat, No. 17 in the Golfweek/Sagarin Index and No. 16 in the Bushnell/GCAA coaches poll.
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ABOUT GEORGIA TECH GOLF
Georgia Tech’s golf team is in its 27th year under head coach Bruce Heppler, winning 67 tournaments in his tenure. The Yellow Jackets have won 18 Atlantic Coast Conference Championships, made 29 appearances in the NCAA Championship and been the national runner-up four times. Connect with Georgia Tech Golf on social media by liking their Facebook page, or following on Twitter (@GTGolf) and Instagram. For more information on Tech golf, visit Ramblinwreck.com.
