Four Georgia Tech baseball stars named All-Americans

ATLANTA — Georgia Tech’s record-breaking baseball season continued to earn national recognition Thursday as the Yellow Jackets placed a nation-leading four players on D1 Baseball’s All-America teams, including three first-team selections.

Outfielder Drew Burress, catcher Vahn Lackey and third baseman Ryan Zuckerman were named first-team All-Americans, while second baseman Jarren Advincula earned second-team honors. No other program had more first-team position players than Georgia Tech, which claimed three of the 10 first-team spots.

The honors cap one of the finest seasons in school history after the Yellow Jackets won the ACC regular-season and tournament championships, advanced to the College World Series and finished among the nation’s elite.

Burress continued to cement his legacy as one of the greatest players in Georgia Tech history.

The Houston County product became the first Yellow Jacket to earn first-team All-America honors in each season of his collegiate career and now owns a school-record 12 first-team All-America selections from the sport’s major publications, surpassing former Tech great Jason Varitek.

Burress also became just the second player in program history to be a unanimous first-team All-American by all six major organizations in the same season, joining Kevin Parada in 2022.

The junior hit .358 with a .473 on-base percentage and a .657 slugging percentage while setting Georgia Tech’s career home run record with 60. He added 22 doubles, three triples and 16 home runs this season while scoring a career-high 82 runs.

Behind the plate, Lackey developed into one of the nation’s premier catchers.

The Suwanee native batted .397 with 20 home runs, 78 RBIs and 85 runs scored while capturing ACC Defensive Player of the Year honors. His .397 batting average led all Division I catchers, and his powerful throwing arm continued to discourage opponents from attempting to steal bases.

Lackey also helped guide Georgia Tech’s pitching staff to the lowest ERA in ACC conference games.

Zuckerman earned the first first-team All-America honor of his career after enjoying a breakout season at third base.

The Pennsylvania native slugged 23 home runs, tied for the fifth-highest single-season total in school history, while batting .345 with 79 RBIs and 71 runs scored. He also earned ACC Tournament Most Valuable Player honors after homering three times during the conference championship.

Advincula, despite landing on the second team this time, completed one of the most remarkable offensive seasons in college baseball.

The Santa Clara, California, native led all Division I players with 111 hits and batted .434, tying Jay Payton for the highest single-season batting average in Georgia Tech history among players with at least 200 at-bats.

Advincula recorded at least one hit in 57 of 61 games and produced the second-longest hitting streak in program history at 29 games while striking out only 16 times in 256 at-bats.

The quartet spearheaded one of the nation’s most explosive offenses and helped Georgia Tech produce one of its most successful seasons in decades.

The Yellow Jackets finished with four first-team All-Americans for the first time since 1994, matching a program record established by Jason Varitek, Nomar Garciaparra, Jay Payton and Brad Rigby.

The latest honors further underscore what was already evident throughout the spring: Georgia Tech fielded one of the nation’s deepest and most talented teams, with four players now recognized among college baseball’s very best.