Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Overall Rank: #28
Conference Rank: #8 ACC
Until 2017, Coach Danny Hall has never had a losing record during his Division I coaching tenure that dates back to 1988. The Yellow Jackets have only failed to make the NCAA Tournament four times since Coach Hall took over the program in 1994 and two of those have come in the last four years. The program has been down a little lately, but this group returns plenty of talent and should get back to the NCAA Tournament.
2017: 27-28, 11-19
2017 Postseason: None
Coach: Danny Hall
Key Departed Players:
Trevor Craport, UTL, .336 BA, 5 HR, 30 RBI
Ryan Peurifoy, OF, .295 BA, 7 HR, 33 RBI
Coleman Poje, OF, .275 BA, 11 HR, 36 RBI
Key Returning Players:
Wade Bailey, IF, .347 BA, 6 HR, 38 RBI
Austin Wilhite, OF, .338 BA, 1 HR, 25 RBI
Joey Bart, C, .296 BA, 13 HR, 43 RBI
Kel Johnson, OF/1B, .269 BA, 10 HR, 40 RBI
Xzavion Curry, P, 5.23 ERA, 82.2 IP, 74 SO
Jared Datoc, P, 3.77 ERA, 57.1 IP, 51 SO
Jake Lee, P, 6.10 ERA, 51.2 IP, 30 SO
Projection:
Georgia Tech’s problem last year was on the mound where the team ranked 13th in the ACC with a 5.36 ERA. The good news is the regular starting trio of Xzavion Curry, Ben Schniederjans, Jonathan Hughes and Jake Lee are all back. So is reliever Jared Datoc, who went 6-1 with a 3.77 ERA. Georgia Tech must get better, but at least this staff has plenty of experience. The offense had to attempt to pick up the slack last year and for the most part that will likely be the case again in 2018. Much of the pressure will fall on the shoulders of junior catcher Joey Bart. He hit 13 homeruns with 43 RBIs last season and is garnering plenty of preseason recognition. Bart may get the attention, but Kel Johnson and Wade Bailey both have powerful bats as well and Austin Wilhit is a very promising sophomore who hit .338 as a freshman. With a decent lineup and an experienced rotation, Georgia Tech should get back to the tournament. If things go well, this is a group that could pull off a few surprises along the way too.
Projected Postseason: NCAA Baseball Tournament
Madness 2018 Draft Rankings:
#13 Joey Bart
