Analyzing Experts' 2026 MLB Mock Drafts Ahead of SEC, ACC Baseball Tournaments
Some of the top prospects in college baseball will be on display at the ACC and SEC baseball tournaments.
The ACC tournament kicks off on May 19 in Charlotte. The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, with two top-10 prospects on their roster, are the top team in the ACC.
The SEC tournament, which is usually the toughest conference tournament to win, goes from May 19-24 in Hoover, Alabama.
A handful of top prospects will be scattered across the bracket, including a few potential top-10 selections.
Vahn Lackey, C, Georgia Tech
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Vahn Lackey is the best MLB draft prospect in either the SEC or ACC.
Lackey is widely considered to be the No. 3 overall player in the draft class behind UCLA's Roch Cholowsky and high-school shortstop Grady Emerson.
ESPN's Kiley McDaniel and The Athletic's Keith Law both have Lackey landing with the Minnesota Twins at No. 3 in their mock drafts.
Lackey ranks in the top five in the ACC in RBI, OPS, runs, hits and slugging percentage.
The Georgia Tech catcher seems like the easy pick for the Twins at No. 3. He can further convince Minnesota with a long run in the NCAA tournament.
Georgia Tech is on top of the ACC standings and should be at home for at least one round of the NCAA tournament. A deep run, powered by Lackey and others, is expected for the Yellow Jackets.
Drew Burress, CF, Georgia Tech
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Lackey's Georgia Tech teammate, outfielder Drew Burress, is also a projected top-10 pick.
Law projected Burress to land at No. 7 with the Baltimore Orioles, while McDaniel mocked him to Atlanta at No. 9.
Burress is one of three Georgia Tech players in the top five in OPS in the ACC. He has 13 home runs and 53 RBI.
Law mentioned that Baltimore is only "connected with bats" at this point in the pre-draft process, so the Orioles could be a landing spot to watch for Burress.
Atlanta is fascinating as well because it likely has seen Burress play more than most prospects since he is in the Braves' backyard.
Chris Hacopian, 2B, Texas A&M
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Chris Hacopian is in the running to be the top SEC player selected in the 2026 draft.
McDaniel placed him with the Athletics at No. 8 and Law mocked the Texas A&M second baseman to Washington at No. 11.
McDaniel did note that there is some variance with Hacopian's draft stock, though, as he wrote "there is some variance in the industry about Hapocian's upside and he could be selected up to a dozen picks after this if things don't fall his way."
Hacopian owns a .310 batting average, .958 OPS, 29 runs and eight doubles this season with A&M.
He was over 1.000 in OPS in his two previous seasons at Maryland. He's also one home run away from three straight 10-homer campaigns in power-conference baseball.
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Ryder Helfrick, C, Arkansas
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Ryder Helfrick is one of the better power-hitting prospects coming out of the collegiate ranks.
Helfrick belted 15 home runs so far this season at Arkansas to match his season total from a year ago.
Helfrick is currently projected as the No. 7 pick by McDaniel and the No. 12 selection by Law.
The top 12 is Helfrick's most likely landing spot because of his power.
He's put together two straight years with over 1.000 in OPS, over 45 runs and over 55 hits to go along with his home-run hitting power.
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