THE FLATS – Junior catcher Vahn Lackey (Suwanee, Ga./Collins Hill HS) has been named to the 2026 Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher of the Year Award Midseason Watch List, the Wichita Sports Commission announced today. Lackey, a 2025 semifinalist for the award, is hoping to become Georgia Tech’s third winner in the last eight years, alongside Kevin Parada in 2022 and Joey Bart in 2018. GT is one of three programs with multiple Buster Posey Award winners.
Lackey currently leads the Yellow Jackets offense, the best in the country, in almost every category this season: avg (.416), runs (37), home runs (11), RBI (38), slugging (.851) OBP (.532) and stolen bases (7-for-7). He has already hit more home runs in 2026 than he did in his previous two seasons combined.
He is ranked in the top five of the ACC in batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, home runs, RBI and total bases.
Behind the plate, Lackey has caught three runners attempting to steal and has picked off two runners with back-picks to first base. He leads the team in putouts (166) and carries a .994 fielding percentage.
Earlier this season, vs. West Georgia on March 10, Lackey made GT history by becoming the first player in recorded history to play eight different defensive positions in a single game, every position but pitcher. He went 3-for-4 at the plate, finishing a single shy of the cycle on his way to being named Buster Posey Award catcher of the week, Perfect Game National Player of the Week and ACC Player of the Week.
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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