Georgia Tech baseball to compete in Live Like Lou Jax Classic in 2027
Georgia Tech baseball will head to the Sunshine State next season.
The Yellow Jackets will take part in the fourth annual Live Like Lou Jax Classic at VyStar Ballpark in Jacksonville, Florida, from Feb. 26-28, 2027. The early-season tournament will see the Yellow Jackets face Cincinnati, Illinois and Tennessee in a round-robin format.
The event is partnered with the Live Like Lou Foundation, a nonprofit named after former New York Yankees star Lou Gehrig aimed at raising funds for ALS research.
Ryan Holloway, founder and chief executive officer for Peak Events — the tournament’s organizer — said in a news release that the company’s goal is to continue building one of the premier early-season events in college baseball, while also “helping advance Live Like Lou’s mission to leave ALS better than we found it.”
Three of the four teams that will meet in Jacksonville made last season’s NCAA Tournament. None advanced past the regional round.
Both Cincinnati and Tennessee finished their 2026 seasons 38-22. The Bearcats opened the Starkville Regional with a win before dropping its final two games, while the Volunteers were stunned in the Chapel Hill Regional and went 0-2 in the NCAA Tournament in the first season under coach Josh Elander.
Tennessee won the 2024 Men’s College World Series and advanced to the Fayetteville Super Regional in 2025, falling to Arkansas in two games. Former coach Tony Vitello left the Volunteers for the San Francisco Giants last October.
The Fighting Illini missed the NCAA Tournament in 2025 and 2026. It most recently appeared in an NCAA Regional in 2024, where it went 1-2 in the Lexington Regional after winning the Big Ten regular season crown.