Bleav In Georgia Tech: Previewing the 2026 Baseball Season For the Yellow Jackets

How good can this Georgia Tech team be in 2026?

May 31, 2025; Oxford, MS, USA; Georgia Tech Yellowjackets outfielder Drew Burress (8) fields the ball during the first inning against the Murray State Racers. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

The 2026 baseball season for Georgia Tech begins tomorrow and it is one of the most highly anticipated seasons in program history.

Georgia Tech baseball enters 2026 with its highest expectations in decades. A preseason consensus Top-5 team for the first time since 2003, the reigning 2025 ACC Regular Season Champion Yellow Jackets are out for more hardware in 2026. Georgia Tech was named 2026 Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball preseason favorites by the league’s 16 head coaches for the first time since 2004.

What is the ceiling for this team? What are the strengths and weaknesses? On today's episode of Bleav in Georgia Tech, we break down this team and talk about the expectations for the season.

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Massive expectations

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), the No. 4 from the USA Today Coaches Poll is the highest since 2003 (No. 2) and the No. 5 ranking from D1 Baseball was the best Tech has received since the publication began doing
preseason rankings in 2014.

The Jackets boast three preseason 1st Team All-Americans, the most from any GT team since the turn of the century, CF Drew Burress, C Vahn Lackey and RHP Mason Patel. GT is tied for the most preseason All-Americans in the nation (five), also 2B Jarren Advincula and UTL Alex Hernandez. For the first time since 1994, Georgia Tech is under new leadership as James Ramsey became the 13th head coach in program history, following the retirement of the ninth winningest coach in NCAA history, the Hall of Famer, Danny Hall. Ramsey has been an assistant coach on staff 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)

The excitement for this season has been palpable on The Flats, leading to the most Season Tickets sold in program history. GT leads the nation with three players listed on the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award Watch List: CF Drew Burress, C Vahn Lackey and 2B Jarren Advincula Redshirt Junior relief pitcher Carson Ballard was chosen to continue the legacy of GT Hall of Famer Jim Poole and wear his No. 21 jersey. He is the fourth Jacket to dawn the No. 21 as a part of this tradition, begun by Jack Rubenstein in 2023 and carried on by Ben King in 2024 and John Giesler in 2025.

For the first time in program history, Georgia Tech will have their team captain wear a “C” on his jersey. That honor goes to Drew Burress who is just 13 home runs away from tying Georgia Tech’s career home runs record, set by Jason Varitek from 1991-94. For the first time since 2022, Georgia Tech will be starting a true freshman on Opening Weekend when Cooper Underwood takes the hill on Sunday. The 2025 Prep Baseball Georgia Player of the Year was selected by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 12th round of the 2025 MLB Draft but chose to come to Tech instead. The Jackets are expected to own one of, if not the best offense in the nation this season as they return eight of the nine batters that started in Game 1 of the 2025 Oxford Regional, while adding in two of the best bats in the ACC from last season, in Jarren Advincula (California) and Ryan Zuckerman (Pittsburgh).

On the pitching side, Tech returns 60% of innings pitched from Last year, including Friday night starter Tate McKee and National Stopper of the Year Finalist and All-American Mason Patel. Tech also added in 2024 National Champion Dylan Loy (Tennessee) and weekend starter Justin Shadek (Rutgers) from the portal as well as three very talented freshmen: Cooper Underwood, Charlie Willcox and Jamie Vicens.

Georgia Tech had 12 players ranked in D1 Baseball’s preseason position rankings including being the only team in the nation with six position players listed in among the top 15 and eight position players in the top 50 of their respective position groups. GT will take on Bowling Green for the first time since 2014. Tech leads the all-time series 4-3 and has won three straight. The Jackets have been very successful in recent years on Opening Weekend, sweeping the opening series in each of the
last four seasons - since 2022.