By: Colin Lacy

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

As we hit mid-March on the calendar, most sports fans are filling out a bracket for the March Madness college basketball tournament, but in Atlanta the focus is solely on the diamond.

Georgia Tech baseball is off to a historic start at 17-3 and winning each of their first two ACC Series against Virginia Tech at home then on the road against #8 Clemson. The 17-3 mark on the year is the best start to a season since 2013.

When folks think about Ramblin Wreck Baseball, offense is the first thing that comes to top of mind and that’s still the case in 2026. The “Buzz Bombers” have scored 254 runs thru the first 20 games (12.7/game) which are the most runs in the first 20 games in program history.

Every Yellow Jacket has an average over .300 with 4 Jackets boasting an average over .400. Vahn Lackey has been off to a hot start after entering 2026 projected as a top 15 pick in the 2026 MLB Draft.

Lackey (who played all 8 defensive positions in one game last week against West Georgia) has already launched a career high 9 homeruns and driven in 31 this season.

Reigning ACC Freshman of the Year, Alex Hernandez has also followed suit in his sophomore campaign. “Herny” is hitting .449 and driven in 18 with 4 long balls.

The question around Georgia Tech in recent history has been the pitching. Well guess what, they’ve answered that too in 2026. Georgia Tech finds the team ERA under 4.00 two weeks thru conference play and are striking out just shy of 10 per game.

The pitching staff is anchored by Friday night starter Tate McKee. McKee has made every single game 1 start for the Jackets each of the last 2 years including 6 scoreless innings against the #8 Clemson Tigers this past weekend. Tate (who pitched on both sides of a 2-hour first-inning rain delay against Virginia Tech to open ACC play) sits at a 2.82 ERA through 5 starts and a 3-0 record.

The numbers for this squad are impressive, but off the field, the 2026 Jackets are just special.

First-year Head Coach James Ramsey made it quite clear early on in his official tenure as the head man at Georgia Tech that two important pieces of his philosophy were consistency in the coaching staff, and emphasis on the high school recruiting while sprinkling in transfer pieces.

As far as the coaching staff goes, Ramsey did just that. Matt Taylor stays in Atlanta as the pitching coach, Jason Richman as the director of pitching, and Josh Schulman remains as an assistant on staff.

Coaching veteran Scott Stricklin moves from Director of Ops into the vacant assistant position (with Ramsey being promoted to head coach). The consistency with the staff is huge for this Jackets team that has used the high school recruiting approach to build a core that has been together 2 and 3 years.

That said, Georgia Tech was able to add a few transfer portal pieces, but they have had to be the right fits. James Ramsey has talked about the importance of fitting not only into the lineup or rotation, but also the fit in the clubhouse. This is as close-knit of a college baseball clubhouse as you’ll find in the game.

The additions of Jarren Advincula (Cal transfer) and Ryan Zuckerman (Pitt transfer) have been impressive in the heart of the dangerous Jackets order but have been a puzzle-piece fit into the clubhouse as well. Zuckerman has talked about it feeling like a “kid in a candy store” of the feeling being in Atlanta part of this team.

Another big addition has been Dylan Loy who bolsters the pitching rotation from Tennessee and has secured the Saturday starter role in the rotation.

Getting to travel and be around this team day in and day out is special. I know it’s an overused term, but there’s no other way to describe it.

Talented players, elite coaches, unbelievably great people make for a special season on the Flats with hopes for Omaha on the horizon.