RANKINGS
EVENTS
I COMMITTED
COLLEGE
ABOUT
The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets have a young roster that features just three seniors but 11 promising freshmen.
Two of those who have really stepped up are pitcher Blake Neleman and catcher Emma Kauf who give Head Coach Aileen Morales a great battery to build around for the next several years.
On Friday, the duo was instrumental in Georgia Tech defeating #15 Virginia Tech on the road, 6-4, as Emma homered twice and Blake threw her sixth complete game of the season.
Kauf hit a solo home run to open the scoring in the second inning then blasted a two-run shot in the fifth to give Georgia Tech (13-20, 7-16 in the ACC) a 6-2 lead. She also singled and scored in the fourth inning to finish 3-for-3 with three RBIs and three runs scored.
With her two homers, the freshman backstop is tied for the team lead with eight on the season and is also second in batting with a .366 average and RBIs with 26 while her .683 slugging percentage is also tops for the Yellow Jackets.
As a freshman in 2020, a season that was shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Emma started all 23 games and showed her versatility as 16 were at catcher, two at third base, two in left field, two at DP and one in right field.
The talented athlete from Lincoln, Nebraska—she played her prep ball at Lincoln Southwest High— finished ninth in the ACC with six home runs and led the team in slugging percentage (.566) home runs (6), stolen bases (7) and hits (21), and tied for the team lead with 15 runs scored.
Her college success shouldn’t come as a surprise, however, based on Emma’s record-setting career prior to moving east to play in the ACC.
Scroll down to read more about Emma’s accomplished high school and club careers!