GT Picked To Finish 4th In ACC Coastal By Baseball America

With the 2020 college baseball season just a couple weeks away, the fine folks over at Baseball America released their 2020 ACC Preview this morning - including preseason team and player projections. Their own Carlos Collazo is predicting the #19 (#21 by Baseball America) Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets to finish in the middle of the Coastal pack at 4th place. This comes a season after the Yellow Jackets (43-19, 19-11 ACC) captured the division crown, their first time since 2011.

"The Yellow Jackets lost six players to the 2019 draft, including key members to the lineup (Kyle McCann, Tristin English, Chase Murray) and pitching staff (Connor Thomas, Xzavion Curry). The team will need several freshmen to step into prominent roles this spring, including catcher Jake Holland—who will look to follow in the footsteps of Georgia Tech’s long track record of backstops—first baseman Drew Compton and righthander Zach Maxwell. Fortunately, shortstop Luke Waddell is back to anchor the lineup, as is a strong outfield group that includes Michael Guldberg, Colin Hall and Baron Radcliff. Pitching depth and team power will be a question mark for this club, but it should be strong defensively and on the bases, while redshirt senior righthander Jonathan Hughes improved significantly over the summer and fall."

The #5 Miami Hurricanes are projected to capture the Coastal, while the #2 Louisville Cardinals are projected to win the Atlantic Division.

FULL PROJECTIONS:

Atlantic:

1. Louisville

2. Florida State

3. NC State

4. Wake Forest

5. Clemson

6. Boston College

7. Notre Dame

Coastal:

1. Miami

2. Duke

3. North Carolina

4. Georgia Tech

5. Virginia

6. Virginia Tech

7. Pitt

Shortstop Luke Waddell and outfielder Baron Radcliff were also named as two of the Top 20 ACC prospects in the 2020 MLB Draft, with Waddell at 12th and Radcliff at 18th. Waddell was also tabbed as the ACC player with the "Best Strike Zone Discipline".

Freshman RHP Zach Maxwell was named to the "Top 10 ACC Newcomers" list, landing at #4.

Full Baseball America 2020 ACC Preview

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