The next era of Georgia Tech baseball will begin soon. But for now, the program is in a bit of a flux.
Danny Hall coached his last game in a white and gold uniform Sunday, a 13-11 loss to Mississippi in the Oxford Regional in Oxford, Mississippi. The NCAA’s transfer portal for college baseball opened Monday and runs through July 1. And Tech athletic director J Batt left for Michigan State on Monday.
Hall still is the acting coach for the program, as his contract runs through June 30. His successor has not been named, and with Tech under the direction of an interim AD, news of who Tech hires as its next baseball coach could be delayed.
“I have made my preference for the coach known for a long time on who I think should be the coach. And I hope that that happens,” Hall said, referencing associate head coach and recruiting coordinator James Ramsey. “I think if these (players) had a vote, they’d vote the same way.”
Hall announced in March that the 2025 season would be his last at Tech. His Yellow Jackets teams won 1,244 games under his direction but struggled to advance in the postseason over the better part of the past two decades. Tech’s loss to Ole Miss over the weekend ran the program’s streak to 11 consecutive regional appearances without advancing to a Super Regional since playing in the College World Series in 2006.
But his last team at Tech was one to remember in a positive light.
It won the ACC’s regular-season title, had a formidable lineup that featured ACC freshman of the year Alex Hernandez, the 2024 ACC freshman of the year Drew Burress and five other players who hit over .300. Relief pitcher Mason Patel put together his best collegiate season, with 11 wins and a 3.34 ERA, and starting pitchers Tate McKee and Brady Jones provided stability in the weekend rotation.
Patel, starting pitcher Jaylen Paden and shortstop Kyle Lodise (likely to depart for professional baseball) will be Tech’s most significant losses going into the 2026 campaign, barring any transfer departures.
“I have no doubt that we’re gonna be one of, if not the best, team in the country from week one all the way out,” Burress said. “The amount of talent we have returning, the lineup we’ve been running out the last few days, the last couple weeks, only one guy won’t be returning. I don’t think there’s gonna be anywhere else anyone would rather be than Georgia Tech next year.”
The 2026 season will be the first for Tech without Hall in the dugout since 1993. The five-time ACC coach of the year built a program that made 25 NCAA Tournament appearances in his tenure, produced dozens of future MLB players, won 40 games in 16 seasons, 50 games in four seasons and had only one losing record.
Whomever Tech turns to next will be tasked with sustaining that consistent success.
“Georgia Tech has supported me and supported baseball for a long time. I hope that continues,” Hall said. “It’s tough times right now with everything going on in college athletics. But that would be my hope, that the baseball team still gets supported at a high level so that they can compete nationally. I fully expect that to happen.”
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