THE FLATS – Highlighted by 29 home games and six Atlantic Coast Conference series, 15th-ranked Georgia Tech baseball announced its 50-game schedule for the 2021 regular season on Tuesday.
The preseason No. 15 Yellow Jackets return perhaps one of its deepest rosters in recent history as it prepares to defend its Coastal Division Championship from 2019 after the 2020 season was cut short due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Six of eight position players in the field return for Tech, including 2020 freshmen all-Americans Drew Compton, Stephen Reid and Dalton Smith, alongside preseason second-team all-American Luke Waddell, Colin Hall and Austin Wilhite in the field.
On the mound, the Jackets are even deeper, returning all but one of its weekend rotation from last year (Cort Roedig, Zach Maxwell) and regaining the services of Brant Hurter, Tech’s 2019 ERA leader who missed last season recovering from injury. Also returning are Luke Bartnicki, Sam Crawford, Andy Archer, and Hugh Chapman.
2021 Schedule Highlights:
- Six home series against teams that rank in the nation’s major preseason top-25 polls (No. 2 Louisville, No. 5 Virginia, No. 17 Auburn, No. 9 Florida State, No. 12 Georgia, and No. 25 Clemson);
- Features 10 teams overall ranking in the nation’s major preseason top-25 polls (NC State, Louisville, Wake Forest, Duke, Virginia, Auburn, Florida State, Georgia, Clemson and Miami);
- Hosts six Atlantic Coast Conference series, including No. 2 Louisville (March 5-7) and ninth-ranked Florida State (April 23-25), who both advanced to the College World Series in 2019;
- Features a rematch of the 2019 ACC Championship Game to finish the regular season as Tech hosts North Carolina on May 20-22;
- Features five series against five 2019 NCAA Super Regional teams overall (Duke, Louisville, Florida State, North Carolina and Auburn);
- Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate: The Yellow Jackets will play archrival UGA twice in 2021, traveling to Athens on April 27 before hosting No. 12 Georgia on May 18.
- Also hosts in-state foes Mercer (Feb. 24), Georgia Southern (March 17), and Kennesaw State (April 30-May 1);
- Also hosts SEC foe Auburn – who currently ranks 17th nationally – on April 13 at Russ Chandler Stadium;
- Plays nine teams ranked in the top-50 in RPI last season, including five in the top 25.
