Danny Hall named ACC coach of the year

Hall becomes just the third coach in ACC history to earn coach of the year honors five times, joining Virginia’s Brian O’Connor and Florida State’s Mike Martin.

In his final season coaching Tech, Hall led the Jackets to the 10th regular season ACC title in program history. It was the Jackets’ eighth regular-season championship since Hall took over in 1994, tied with North Carolina for the most in the ACC.

This is the 11th time in the Hall era that Tech has had at least six players on all-conference teams and the most since a program-record eight in 2005.

Hernandez becomes the seventh Jackets player to win freshman of the year, joining Burress (2024), Matt Wieters (2005), Micah Owings (2003), Mark Teixeira (1999), Nomar Garciaparra (1992) and Jason Varitek (1991). The Cumming native leads all Power 4 freshman with 60 RBIs, just eight away from tying the Tech freshman record (68) set by Wieters in 2005.

Hernandez played in 54 games this season, only missing one due to injury. He reached base in each of his first 17 games, launching a grand slam for his first-career home run, one of two grand slams he’d hit on the year. Hernandez was named first team in the designated/utility roles since he started in six different spots this year: second base (26), right field (10), first base (7), left field, designated hitter (4) and pitcher (1). He is the only underclassman in Division I with 10+ home runs (13) and multiple saves (2).

Tech is now tied with North Carolina for the most freshman of the year awards in ACC history. Since the conference first began awarding them back in 1991, Tech and North Carolina are the only programs with more than five.

Burress becomes the first Jackets player to earn back-to-back first-team All-ACC honors since Tristin English in 2018 and 2019. The sophomore finished the regular season with an ACC-leading 23 doubles and became the first Jacket in 24 years to record consecutive 70-run seasons (Richard Lewis in 2000 and 2001). He leads the ACC with 40 extra-base hits and is the only player in Division I with at least 50 RBIs (57), 20 doubles (23), 45 walks (46), 15 home runs (16) and 60 runs (70) this season.

Lodise earned his spot on the second team after posting a .328 batting average with a 1.102 OPS, 20 doubles, a team-high three triples and 14 home runs for 37 extra base hits, the second most in the ACC behind only Burress. He led the Tech defense with 126 assists this season and was the only Jacket to record three home runs in a single game when he went off for three homers and a triple in Tech’s 18-7 win over Notre Dame (March 21).

The Brunswick native is sixth among Power 4 players with 20 doubles, helping contribute to his 56 RBIs. He leads the team with 1.12 RBIs per game while also scoring 1.22 runs per game, the third best in the ACC.

Lackey finished with a .350 batting average (the highest on the team among players with at least 150 ABs), 71 hits (second on the team behind only Burress), 39 runs and 36 RBIs. He led the team with eight hit-by-pitches, posting a .425 on-base percentage while starting in all 55 regular-season games (45 as catcher, 10 at third base).

The Suwanee native led the Yellow Jackets in stolen bases (17-for-20) while allowing 25 stolen bases against him, successfully stopping 12 of 37 attempts (32.4%).

Patel earned his first-career All-ACC honor. The Knoxville, Tennessee, native holds a 2.85 ERA over 19 appearances and became the first Jacket pitcher this century to win each of his first six starts, finishing with an 11-1 record, tied for the most wins of any Power 4 pitcher despite not starting a single game.

He pitched the first 22.2 innings of the season without allowing a run and has posted career-bests in wins (11), saves (5), innings pitched (60), strikeouts (57) and opponent’s batting average (.207).

Jones collected third-team All-ACC honors after transitioning into a starting role this season after serving as Georgia State’s closer last season, starting 14 games with a 7-2 record and a 3.80 ERA over 64 innings. He has struck out a team-high 68 batters while holding opponents to a .227 average against.

Daniel finished the regular season with a .321 batting average, 15 doubles, two triples and six home runs for 28 RBIs and 48 runs scored. He started in 49 of the 55 regular-season games and totaled a .922 OPS and stole four bases.