Georgia Tech's Talent On Full Display in Latest D1 Baseball Positional Rankings

Georgia Tech is the preseason favorite to win the ACC and are seen as a real threat to make it to Omaha for the College World Series

May 31, 2025; Oxford, MS, USA; Georgia Tech Yellowjackets catcher Vahn Lackey (25) reacts after stealing second base during the first inning against the Murray State Racers. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

Georgia Tech is seen as a preseason top five team in the country and the ACC favorite heading into the 2026 season and this has a chance to be the most talented roster in the country.

Look no further than the D1 Baseball positional rankings. The Yellow Jackets had a total of 12 players named as one of the best at their position in the rankings, with their outfield leading the way.

Drew Burress – No. 1 - Outfield
Jarren Advincula – No. 2 - 2nd Base
Vahn Lackey – No. 2 - Catcher
Alex Hernandez – No. 11 - Outfield
Kent Schmidt – No. 13 - 1st Base
Carson Kerce – No. 15 - Shortstop
Ryan Zuckerman – No. 28 - 3rd Base
Caleb Daniel – No. 41 – Outfield
Tate McKee – No. 55 – Starting Pitcher
Mason Patel – No. 61 Starting Pitcher
Justin Shadek – No. 85 – Relief Pitcher
Charlie Willcox – No. 155 - Starting Pitcher

Best team in the country?

Georgia Tech and TCU are the only programs in the nation with all three of their outfielders listed in the Top 50 of these rankings. Similarly, Tech and LSU are the only programs to have a representative from each infield position listed among the Top 30. Tech leads the nation with eight players listed among the top 50 in their position, one more than the next closest programs (LSU and TCU) and two more than the next closest ACC rival (North Carolina and Louisville).

The Yellow Jackets having the highest rated player group in the nation from D1 Baseball should come as no surprise, considering D1 Baseball’s Aaron Fitt referred to the 2026 Georgia Tech lineup as “the best position player group…and it’s not even close,” after visiting for an intersquad scrimmage in the fall. Additionally, D1 Baseball’s Bradley Smart gushed over the talent in the Tech lineup when he said, "This position player group has a chance to be the best in the country. Full Stop."

In total, 12 players were selected as being among the best in their positions, including four pitchers. Charlie Willcox was one of four freshman pitchers to earn a spot in the Top 200 for starting pitchers, coming in at No. 155.

The excitement continues to build toward the 2026 season, leading to the most season tickets ever sold in program history and a program record 10 games selected for national broadcasts on either ACC Network or ESPN2.

Georgia Tech enters the 2026 season as a consensus Top-5 team and the preseason ACC favorites. The Jackets boast three preseason 1st Team All-Americans, the most from any GT team since the turn of the century, in CF Drew Burress, C Vahn Lackey and RHP Mason Patel and are tied for the most preseason All-Americans in the nation headed into the season (five), also 2B Jarren Advincula and UTL Alex Hernandez.

The Yellow Jackets were the highest ranked team in the conference across four different national preseason top-25 polls: No. 2 (Perfect Game), No. 4 (Baseball America), No. 4 (USA Today Coaches Poll) and No. 5 (D1 Baseball). The No. 2 preseason ranking is the fourth highest in program history and the highest since 2003, 2001 and 1994 when the Jackets were preseason No. 1. Tech earned its highest preseason ranking from Baseball America since 2006 (the last time GT reached the College World Series) and the No. 5 ranking from D1 Baseball was the best Tech has received since the publication began doing preseason rankings in 2014.

2026 will be the first season for new Head Coach James Ramsey, who has been serving as an assistant coach for the past seven seasons. Since Ramsey took over coaching 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.