Kyle Bakker Class: Junior Hometown: Omaha, Neb. High School: Millard West Height / Weight: 6-9 / 255 Position: Pitcher

All-America southpaw who commands a presence on the mound with his 6-9, 255 pound frame ... The tallest player in the ACC ... A first-team preseason All-America selection by Baseball America ... Emerged as the "ace" of the Tech staff in 2002, leading the Yellow Jackets to the College World Series in his hometown of Omaha, Neb. ... Enters the 2003 season as one of the top starting pitchers in the nation and has the potential to be an early round draft pick in June’s Major League draft ... Spent the summer of 2002 with Team USA, posting a 3-2 record and a 2.14 ERA in six starts; helped the team capture the silver medal at the FISU World Championships in Messina, Italy.

Enters the 2003 season as the top command pitcher in Georgia Tech history; his 1.65 career walks per nine innings ratio is nearly a full walk better than second place Kris Wilson (2.44, 1995-97) ... Has tremendous deception on the mound and has excellent command of the strike zone ... A 37th-round draft pick by the Philadelphia Phillies in 2000.

2002: A second-team All-America pick by Baseball America and a third-team selection by Collegiate Baseball and the NCBWA ... A second-team all-Atlantic Coast Conference selection ... Named to the all-NCAA Atlanta Regional Tournament team after a three-hit shutout performance against Coastal Carolina ... Went 13-2 in 19 starts this season, and is 17-3 in 24 career starts ... Eleven of his 17 career wins have come against teams that won games in the NCAA Tournament in 2001 ... Named ACC pitcher of the week after tossing seven shutout innings in the season opener at Georgia Southern (2/9) ... Allowed one earned run in 7.0 innings in second start of season vs. Tennessee Tech (2/15) ... Named to the all-tournament team at the Baseball at the Beach Tournament after holding Coastal Carolina (2/22) scoreless for 7.0 innings on three hits while striking out a career-best 11 batters ... Registered 4 K’s in the first inning against Coastal Carolina to tie a Tech record ... Struck out six batters and allowed only one earned run in 7.0 innings of work against Gardner-Webb (3/23) ... Allowed only one earned run while striking out five batters in 8.0 innings of work against NC State (3/29) ... Pitched the first complete game of his career vs. Maryland, picking up his ninth win of the season by allowing five runs while striking out seven ... Picked up his tenth win of the season against UNC (5/17) by allowing just two earned runs while striking out four ... Tossed a complete game, three-hit shutout against Coastal Carolina (5/31) in the opening round of the 2002 NCAA Tournament ... Followed that performance by allowing just two earned runs on six hits to lead Tech to a 14-3 victory over FAU (6/7) in the 2002 Super Regional ... Led the team in ERA (3.14), wins (13), innings pitched (134.2), strikeouts (115), and games started (19) ... Walked one batter or less in 11 of 19 starts ... Career in the NCAA Tournament: 3-0 record in 3 (starting) appearances, one complete game, 0.74 ERA, 24.0 IP, 15 hits, three runs, two earned runs, three walks, 21 strikeouts, opponents batting .170.

2001: Stepped into the No. 3 spot in the starting rotation during the last month of the regular season ... One of only two lefties on the Georgia Tech staff ... Began the season as the primary southpaw out of the bullpen, but immediately shined when given the opportunity as a starting pitcher ... Went 4-0 in his first four starts of the season, picking up victories over teams who all advanced to the NCAA Regionals (Georgia Southern, Auburn, Clemson and Florida State) ... Led the Tech staff in strikeout-to-walk ratio (5.4/1) and strikeouts per nine innings (9.73) ... Allowed just one home run in 45.1 innings (the most innings of any Tech freshman) ... Held opponents to a respectable .268 batting average, including just a .222 mark to left-handed batters ... Began the season in the bullpen, making 11 straight relief appearances before joining the starting rotation ... Posted a 3.38 ERA in 13.1 IP out of the bullpen and a 2.53 ERA in 32 IP as a starter ... Led the Tech staff with three holds out of the bullpen (entering the game in a save situation, not giving up the lead, then leaving before the end of the game) ... Struck out five batters in two innings of relief at Georgia State (Apr. 1) ... Made his first career start against Georgia Southern on Apr. 11, striking out a career-high 11 batters in six innings ... Went eight innings and allowed just one run on five hits against Auburn (Apr. 17) ... Tossed eight innings and did not allow an earned run to Clemson (Apr. 22) ... Allowed just one unearned run in six innings against Florida State (Apr. 29) with eight K’s ... Suffered his first loss of the year at North Carolina (May 13), allowing four runs in four innings before leaving the game with tightness in his left arm ... Had a streak of 18 innings without allowing an earned run snapped in the loss at UNC ... Was the starting pitcher in an exhibition game against the Atlanta Braves (Mar. 1) and tossed two shutout innings against a starting lineup that included Chipper Jones, Andruw Jones, B.J. Surhoff and Javy Lopez ... Did not appear in the postseason.

High School: A four year letterwinnner for coach Frank Ryan at Millard West HS ... Tabbed as the 63rd best high school prospect in 2000 by Baseball America ... Named the Gatorade Player of the Year in Nebraska in 1999 and 2000 ... A first-team all-state pick in 1999 and 2000 ... Posted a combined 24-0 record for his high school and summer teams as a junior ...Went 10-0 with an 0.57 ERA and 105 strikeouts in 61 innings for Millard West ... Went 14-0 with a 1.28 ERA and 148 strikeouts in 93 innings in summer ball ... . Named to the American Baseball Coaches Association all-America team ... Also a three-year starter on Millard West’s basketball team ... Averaged 24.7 points and nine rebounds a game as a junior ... A First-team all-state pick in basketball in 1999 and a second-team selection in 2000.

Personal: Full name is Kyle Evan Bakker ... Born October 21, 1981 ... Son of Larry and Donita Bakker ... Majoring in Management.

Career Statistics

Year       ERA   W-L   App  GS  CG SHO/CBO  SV     IP    H    R   ER   BB   SO  2B  3B  HR    BF  B/Avg  WP HBP SFA SHA

2001....  2.78   4-1    16   5   0   0/0     0   45.1   49   21   14    9   49  14   1   1   196   .268   2   1   1   2
2002....  3.14  13-2    19  19   3   1/1     0  134.2  132   58   47   24  115  18   0  15   569   .250   3   6   3   9

TOTAL...  3.05  17-3    35  24   3   1/1     0  180.0  181   79   61   33  164  32   1  16   765   .255   5   7   4  11