Shortstop Kyle Lodise is a leader for Yellow Jackets in offense, energy

Lodise leads the Yellow Jackets (30-14) into this weekend’s series against Western Carolina at Russ Chandler Stadium pacing Tech in home runs (14), slugging (.767), hits (58) and total bases (122), and is second in doubles (18), RBIs (47) and on-base percentage (.464). Those numbers have been a dream come true for coach Danny Hall and assistant coach James Ramsey, who took a flyer on a kid who was looking to challenge himself after two fine seasons at Division II Augusta.

The production from Lodise has been as valuable as his presence in the clubhouse in being the catalyst for a team heading to the postseason and still hopeful to host an NCAA Regional.

“He’s one of those guys, he always has a lot of energy, and it’s kind of infectious energy. He just kinda gets guys going,” Hall said. “And if he’s going good, then I would say we’re probably gonna go good. He just kind of has that effect on everybody.”

Lodise, 21, has baseball in his blood. His grandfather, the late Frederick John Lodise, was a diehard fan of the New York Yankees and a knuckleball pitcher who Kyle said once made the Yankees’ 40-man roster. His younger brother, Jordan Lodise, is considered one of the top prospects in Georgia and is committed to play for Central Florida. His cousin Alex Lodise is a junior shortstop at Florida State.

Tech’s Lodise is driven to one day make an MLB roster, but being a 5-foot-10, 150-pound high school player not so long ago didn’t garner him a lot of attention when it came to scouts or recruiters. With just a few scholarship offers to Division II programs and junior colleges, Lodise ended up at Augusta after graduating from Brunswick High School.

Lodise was named the Peach Belt Conference freshman of the year in 2023 and was a second team all-conference selection in 2024. After 98 career starts with the Jaguars he finished with a 1.044 OPS.

With the goal of professional baseball still planted at the forefront of his mind, Lodise went into the transfer portal in May 2024.

“I went and saw him in the Cape (Cod Baseball League) and came back out of there thinking, ‘OK, this guy will hit.’ I wouldn’t have said he could hit the way he’s hit (for Tech),” Hall said. “But the biggest thing for me was can he play shortstop? I was convinced once I saw him play a couple games, he could definitely do that.”

Because if there was a knock on Lodise it was his defense. He made 16 errors and had a fielding percentage of .922 in 2024 and was charged 14 errors in 2023 to finish with a fielding percentage of .930. Lodise didn’t shy away from this part of his game and said his work with instructor Ramon Orozco really helped solidify that part of his game.

Lodise only has four errors this season and his fielding percentage has risen to .971.

“Obviously it scares you, just being honest,” Ramsey said on initially given Lodise his shot in the middle of the Tech infield. “You look at D2 players going to the D1 level and how many of those guys have come in and manned a premium position of shortstop?

“It’s been incredible to see the consistency of how well he’s played. The biggest thing is, just in every way in the game, he’s held his own consistently every time he’s been out there.”

Lodise said he came to Atlanta in mid-May 2024 before the Jackets took a trip to Florida State. He met with Hall and Ramsey, and Tech center fielder Drew Burress who had already been sending daily text messages to Lodise urging him to join Tech’s roster for the 2025 season.

Lodise announced his decision to transfer to Tech a couple weeks later before heading to the Cape Cod League to play summer ball. He said the latter decision was really the foundation for his 2025 success in understanding what it takes to play high-level baseball consistently.

Hall and Ramsey said there was certainly an adjustment period for Lodise during fall practice and into winter conditioning. But once the lights came on in February, Lodise has been on a tear.

Save for a five-game stretch in April when Lodise missed time because of injury, the 5-foot-11, 170-pounder has hit in 32 of the 39 games he’s played and had a 15-game hitting streak (Feb. 22-March 16). On March 21, Lodise cranked three home runs at Notre Dame.

He was also named to the Brooks Wallace Award (nation’s top shortstop) watch list and was a midseason All-American.

All that has helped make Lodise a surefire MLB draft pick in July.

“I’m taking it one day at a time. I’m primarily focused about giving Georgia Tech and Danny Hall what they deserve, that’s a Super Regional and Omaha (College World Series) — especially for (Hall’s) last year,” Lodise said. “You never really know with the draft, it’s a day-by-day, minute-by-minute kind of thing. Obviously, this is the prime situation and time for me with the most leverage. So if I’m in a good position I would love that opportunity, obviously.”

Lodise said his motivation is to continue to reap the rewards of his hard work and to set a positive example for his younger brother. And before he decides on his baseball future later this summer, he has 11 regular-season games remaining with the Jackets ahead of the ACC tournament and then an NCAA Regional (Tech is a virtual lock to make the field of 64) to continue to prove his worth.

So far, so good in that regard.

“I think that I’ve always known that I’m a really good player. I know that my tools are there. It’s just how can I bring that out on a consistent basis?” Lodise added. “I’ve kind of had some quirky injuries and stuff through this year, but the stretches that I’ve been healthy it’s been exactly what I thought I could do.”