After wrapping up an ACC regular-season title on Saturday with a win at Duke and then being well-represented among the ACC postseason awards and All-ACC teams, Georgia Tech is quickly preparing to open the ACC Tournament as the No. 1 seed on Thursday at 3 p.m. following a double-bye in the tournament.

Prior to heading to Durham, N.C. for the tournament, Georgia Tech head coach Danny Hall and standout players Drew Burress and Kyle Lodise met with the media on Tuesday to discuss the up-and-down regular season it was, what they expect in the ACC Tournament, their resume for being a regional host, goals for the postseason and more.

Hall, who was named the ACC Coach of the Year for the fifth time in his career on Monday and is set to retire after the season after 32 years at Tech, started Tuesday's media with an opening statement.

"I think great year for for us, you know, playing a 30-game schedule in the conference and getting through that schedule and coming out in first place, that's a tremendous accomplishment," said Hall. "It's hard to do, and I couldn't be more proud of certainly these guys (Burress and Lodise), but our whole team. And as I always say, great players make great coaches. And we're very fortunate that we have a lot of great players, including these two guys right here. The series kind of started Thursday night (at Duke) with USA Baseball coming over and telling both these guys that they're finalists for the National Player of the Year award. So that's kind of how the weekend started. And then we finished it just in great fashion by winning Saturday against a really, really good Duke team. And then some other things fell our way and here we are ACC champs. That's something that can never be taken taken lightly for sure. But it's something that can never be taken away from the guys that put a lot of hard work and effort into making this a great regular season."

Burress, who was named to the All-ACC First Team on Monday as a sophomore, was asked about his teammate Alex Hernandez being named ACC Freshman of the Year following Burress winning that same award last season and what it means for them to be mentioned along with Jason Varitek and Nomar Garciaparra, who were the last two Jackets to accomplish that feat in 1991 and 1992.

"Yeah, I mean that's obviously a great company to be in," said Burress. "Anytime you're mentioned in the same sentences as guys like that, I mean, you've got to kind of feel like you accomplished something. But I think I've said it once or twice this year just to the coaches and guys around the school...I don't think there's a better place or a better position to be in than a freshman at Georgia Tech offensively. Especially the last three, four or five years. I mean we've really had a history of guys coming in and doing well."

Burress was asked about his comments back during the preseason about having such high expectations for the team despite a lot of youth on the roster.

"We've got a really talented team, and we knew that all along. But we also knew that we were young," said Burress. "And that's one of those things that sometimes you lose games, and you almost want to use it as an excuse that 'oh yeah, we're young, we're learning.' But at this point of the year, I really think probably the last 15-20 games, we we kind of decided that's not an excuse anymore. We're talented. We're better than these teams are. So we're planning on beating them. And being young has nothing to do with it. And I think like I said, these last few games where we've kind of come out of the rough stretch that we had, and we we've really used that to our advantage."

Lodise was asked about the time he missed with an upper-body injury in April and then getting back and finally feeling all the way back by producing.

"I mean I felt like I was ready to go for a long time. But I know the biggest issue is being here for when it matters, which is the playoffs," said Lodise. "So I mean, I felt like I was ready to go when I stepped back on the field at Miami. With any time off, especially at this level, you know it's going to be some time to get back rolling and stuff. But I mean, most important part now is just winning games. That's what matters."

Both Burress and Lodise were asked about the impact that Hall has had on them as players and people after choosing to come to play for him at Georgia Tech.

"Coach Hall has been a huge mentor for me," said Burress. "I talked about it with my dad when when I was trying to choose where I wanted to go to school. And this that was one of his main points was when you get to college, you're not calling your mom and dad when you're in trouble or when something happens. You're calling the coaches. And I mean, Coach Hall...he is that guy. I mean he's the guy that you'd want to have as a dad. He has led this group with not only humility, but I mean, he's obviously one of the most legendary coaches of all time. And just being able to learn from him and talk to him throughout the the the last couple years has has helped me a ton."

"He (Burress) hit on a bunch of points, but for me, like one of the things that I really liked about Georgia Tech was the balance of age and wisdom with a younger coaching staff as well," added Lodise. "So, you know, you've got a lot of guys like Ramsey that are young and have a lot of energy and stuff and where you have a lot of wisdom like Coach Hall. Having this guy (Hall) who knows and has seen a lot of baseball around here to just kind of throw his hand around your shoulder and give you some comfort, it's very reassuring."

Burress and Lodise were asked about the recent change in the lineup with Burress moving up to the leadoff spot and Lodise hitting third. Burress said Coach Hall made the decision to make the switch and he likes it because it is harder for pitchers to pitch around him in the leadoff spot. He said he gets more pitches to hit so he just wants to keep building on it and keep the momentum going.

Lodise said he felt it was good for him as well because he felt like he was pressing a bit when he came back from injury and the move down helped to take the pressure off him some and let him do what he does best, which is drive runners in. He said he has had plenty of opportunities to do that with guys like Burress getting on base ahead of him.

Burress was asked about the mindset of the team going into the ACC Tournament and then the NCAA Tournament and if it has changed at all.

"No, not at all," said Burress. "I think that doing what we did this weekend with the odds that we had stacked against us...I think that it's even more of a reason we're the ones who go into this tournament and our goal is to win three games and come out, you know, ACC champions and play regional here in Atlanta. So I don't think it changes anything for both guys."

Burress was then asked about if it is something he and his teammates talk about, having a little more motivation to send out Coach Hall on a special run in his final year at Georgia Tech or if it's just business as usual trying to win games and keep the season going as long as possible.

"Yeah. I mean I think it's 100 percent a factor," said Burress. "I mean this man's been obviously such a legendary coach, and we want to send him out the the best way we can. So obviously once it gets this time of the year, it doesn't really matter what the circumstances are. You're always trying to win. But it really does add a little extra edge on top of what we're trying to do."

Lodise was asked about if the competition level was what he expected coming to Georgia Tech as a transfer from Augusta. He said it definitely has been what he expected and playing in the Cape Cod League last offseason definitely prepared him more for this level. He said that allowed him to get up to speed a little more instead of it being tougher if he would've come in cold without that experience.

Burress and Lodise were asked about how special it would be to host a regional in Hall's final year at Tech. Burress said it definitely would be, and he wants even more than that. He said he thinks Tech can do something special this weekend at the ACC Tournament and get even into the top 8 seed range to get the chance to possibly host a super regional as well.

"I think touching on what Drew said a little bit like that's been our goal," added Lodise> "It's written down there in our bathroom on the board. Like that's what we've been doing all year. That's what we've been working for all year, every workout we've been to. So I mean, I think that ever since he told us before the Clemson series that this is his last year, it's just been an emphasis on what we're trying to do here even more so."

Hall was asked if he thinks his team has done enough to be a regional host, and he had a direct answer.

"100 percent," said Hall. "I mean just how the ACC champion would not host a regional. I don't think there's any scenario where that would happen."

Hall was asked about if he and the coaching staff are preparing for a certain team, expecting Wake Forest, or how that process goes. He said Cal has been playing well, and Wake Forest has also. He said they are doing a little more work on Wake Forest just because they didn't play them this season, but it could very well be Cal on Thursday with the way they are playing well and with confidence right now.

Hall was then asked about what it says about this team to have so much youth and go through a tough stretch like it did in April but be able to bounce back and finish strong like it did. Hall said it's against the grain to have such a young team and not a lot of older players or transfers like they saw this past weekend at Duke. He said there have been a lot of different guys step up, including Burress, Hernandez, Lodise, several of the freshmen and transfers. He said it's been a good team effort and mix of guys stepping up at different times, including Kent Schmidt who has been an unsung hero as well.

Hall was asked about if he will stick with the same pitching rotation and usage for the ACC Tournament and NCAA Tournament. He said he expects McKee to throw on Thursday after pitching well early against Duke last Thursday and being on normal rest and then having options with Brady Jones or Jaylen Paden on Saturday as well as a guy Mason Patel to use when they need him most.

Hall was asked about having so many freshmen step up for this team this year and if he thinks that recipe along with the team's depth is enough to make a deep run into the postseason.

"I think you go into the year with freshman, but we've played so many games now...you've played 30 conference games, we've played some great non conference games. So those guys, they're not going to see anything moving forward they haven't already seen. And it is just going to come down to how we play. Like if we pitch good, play good defense and get some timely hits, we can compete with anybody in the country. And that's what it comes down to. It's just how are you going to perform now in the postseason?

"I would like to emphasize these guys set their goals at the beginning of the year," added Hall. "They wrote them in the bathroom, which is very unique. I've never seen that in 32 years, but that that was their expectation kind of going into the season. And so we've checked the box on one of those goals. The second part of it is to now to try to win the tournament, and you win the ACC tournament...Like I would never rule out that we wouldn't be a top 8 seed. Just because you win the regular season, now you kind of go in and whoever you have to beat to win an ACC championship in a tournament, that's going to carry a lot of weight. So I wouldn't rule that out as being a top eight seed, hosting a regional. But my point is I don't want this emphasis to be on me...These guys. I haven't thrown a pitch, I haven't stepped in the batter's box. I haven't made a play. It's our players and our coaches collectively have just done a great job to put us in this position."

Hall was asked if he had a favorite ACC Tournament memory, and he answered that without a doubt it was the 2002 tournament when his team won three games in one day. They beat UNC, Florida State and NC State with one of those games going to extra innings, and he doesn't believe that will ever be done again anywhere.

Hall was also asked about waving off the cooler bath last Saturday after the win at Duke to clinch the ACC regular-season championship and if he would allow his players to do that going forward if they win the ACC Tournament or a regional. He laughed and said he decided his assistant coach James Ramsey could have it on Saturday because he likes the cold plunge but that he would be happy to get one or two more because of what they would mean in the next few weeks.

Georgia Tech will open the ACC Tournament on Thursday at 3 p.m. against the winner of Wednesday's game between Cal and Wake Forest.