ATLANTA — Georgia Tech outfielder Drew Burress continues to make his claim as one of the best freshmen nationally, earning first-team freshman all-America honors, the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association announced Monday.
Burress is the 41st freshman all-American in program history.
Burress, a native of (Houston County, Ga./Houston County), led Georgia Tech in a myriad of categories, including average (.381), home runs (25) and RBI (67), becoming the 12th Yellow Jacket to win Tech’s triple crown. Burress is the first to accomplish the feat since Matt Gonzalez in 2016. His 25 home runs set the Tech freshman record and fell one shy of tying the single-season record (Kevin Parada, 2022).
In addition to his team-leading average, the ACC Freshman of the Year finished with 15 doubles and three triples and drew more walks (58) than strikeouts (37) for a .512 on-base percentage and an OPS of 1.333. He also finished 8-for-10 in stolen bases and set the Georgia Tech record for most assists by an outfielder, gunning down 10 base-runners from center field this season.
Burress led all Division I freshmen in six statistical categories to finish the regular season (home runs, home runs per game, slugging, total bases, walks and walks per game), while ranking Top 3 nationally in 11 categories. He also led ACC freshmen in eight categories to wrap up the year (runs and on-base percentage), while also ranking second in RBI, RBI/game and batting average to earn first-team all-conference honors.
In just his first year , Burress has racked up a plethora of accolades. In addition to all-conference and ACC Freshman of the Year honors, Burress was also named a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award and the Dick Howser Trophy.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2024/6/1247361/techs-burress-named-freshman-all-american