Sept. 20, 2017
TUCSON, Arizona – Georgia Tech baseball’s 2017 recruiting class was ranked No. 15 in the nation by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, it was released today.
The Jackets’ most recent class was once again rated as one of the best in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) coming in behind only Clemson (No. 11), Miami (Fla.) (No. 13) and Florida State (No. 14) and continues to receive national recognition for their recruiting classes on an annual basis under head coach Danny Hall.
Coming off a disappointing 2017 season that was marred by injuries, the Yellow Jackets have once again retooled heading into the 2018 season.
“This is an outstanding class,” stated Coach Hall. “I think we’ve added pitching depth, we’ve added infield depth, we’ve got outfielders and we’ve got some good catchers so I think that this is a multi-faceted group. I think the fact that many of these young men were two-sport athletes gives us a chance to play guys at different positions, which can really add to the depth of the team, and I think that it increases their chances at getting playing time right away as a freshman.”
Continued Hall, “All told, I think it is a really, really good and competitive class. We’re extremely excited about this class. I think that the fact that we’ve put three really good classes in a row together gives us a chance to compete at a really high level not only in our league, but nationally.”
The 2017 class should provide the Yellow Jackets with depth on the mound, as well as in both the infield and the outfield, while adding a number of guys that can play multiple positions including behind the plate.
The 2017-18 freshmen class features 2017 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft selections Oscar Serratos (Lawrenceville, Ga./Grayson), Colin Hall (Alpharetta, Ga./Wesleyan School) and Baron Radcliff (Peachtree Corners, Ga./Norcross). Serratos will compete for playing time not only on the left side of the infield, but is also a power arm on the mound. Both Hall and Radcliff are big left-handed hitters that can play all three outfield positions.
The versatility of the freshman class continues with Joseph Mannelly (Atlanta, Ga./Marist School) and Cameron Turley (Dacula, Ga./Mill Creek), who can play multiple positions for Coach Hall and his staff in the field, as well as on the mound for what has become a very deep pitching staff for the Jackets.
Newcomers Luke Waddell (Loveland, Ohio/Loveland) and Michael Guldberg (Marietta, Ga./Walton) will add depth in the infield for the Yellow Jackets, while Cole Neuber (Alpharetta, Ga./Johns Creek) joins an outfield corp. that lost two starters from last year due to graduation.
On the mound, lefty Brant Hurter (Canton, Ga./Woodstock), as well as righties Jake Brace (Suwanee, Ga./North Gwinnett) and Hugh Chapman (Smyrna, Ga./Holy Innocents’ Episcopal) will all see playing time for the Yellow Jackets in 2018.
A complete rundown on the top-25 recruiting classes is featured in the Oct. 6 issue of Collegiate Baseball.
2017 NCAA Div. I Recruiting Results
by Collegiate Baseball
1. Vanderbilt
2. Florida
3. South Carolina
4. Arizona St.
5. Louisiana St.
6. Arkansas
7. Oklahoma St.
8. Auburn
9. Kentucky
10. Michigan
11. Clemson
12. Oklahoma
13. Miami, Fla.
14. Florida St.
15. Georgia Tech
16. Central Florida
17. Florida International
18. UCLA
19. U.C. Santa Barbara
20. Texas Christian
21. Texas A&M
22. North Carolina
23. Louisville
24. Mississippi St.
25. South Alabama
26. Virginia
27. Cal. St. Fullerton
28. Texas
29. Southern California
30. Coastal Carolina
31. Arizona
32. Stanford
33. San Diego St.
34. U.C. Riverside
35. Oregon
36. Oregon St.
37. New Mexico St.
38. East Carolina
39. Maryland
40. Cal. St. Northridge
Other Top Recruiting Classes: Minnesota, San Diego, Texas Tech., Rice, N.C. Wilmington, Memphis, Nevada, Mississippi, Baylor, Iowa, Louisiana-Lafayette, Washington, Missouri St., Hawaii, California, Dallas Baptist, Utah, Kansas, Winthrop, Duke, Southern Mississippi, Indiana, Cal Poly, Houston, U.C. Irvine, Middle Tennessee St., N.C. State, Ohio St., Kennesaw St., Georgia Southern, Sam Houston St., Alabama, Georgia, Stetson, Washington St., Wake Forest, Tulane, Marshall, Oral Roberts, St. Mary’s, Florida Gulf Coast, Creighton, Fresno St., Gonzaga, Bryant, Loyola Marymount, Missouri, Virginia Tech., Butler, Western Kentucky, Tennessee, St. John’s, Seton Hall, Florida Atlantic, Wichita St., Pepperdine, Georgia Southern, Kent St., Central Michigan, Ball St., Long Beach St., Western Michigan, Texas St., Nebraska, College of Charleston, Notre Dame, West Virginia, Stony Brook, Connecticut, Brigham Young, Grand Canyon, Seattle.
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