ATLANTA — Detroit Tigers rookie Justyn-Henry Malloy began his professional career with the Atlanta Braves as a sixth-round pick in the 2021 draft, but when he finally arrived at Truist Park, home of the Braves, he didn't have his former organization on his mind.

He was thinking about his second college team — Georgia Tech.

"It's always nice to be back to a city where things started to turn around for my career," said Malloy, a 24-year-old designated hitter who has played 14 games since making his MLB debut. "I go from benchwarmer somewhere to starter somewhere, and then I turn into a professional. I'm happy to be here."

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Georgia Tech head coach Danny Hall — who welcomed Malloy in his transfer from Vanderbilt for the 2021 season — visited his former player on the field before the Tigers' first of three games against the Braves, then he watched Malloy in the big leagues as a fan in the stands.

"As hard as it was to leave a national championship program, I knew that was my best chance at becoming a professional," Malloy said. "I needed everyday at-bats. I needed to feel comfortable somewhere. Atlanta is where I found it, Georgia Tech is where I found it. Danny Hall gave me that opportunity, and I guess I just never looked back. It was the best decision I've ever made."

Malloy, who wasn't drafted out of high school, spent the 2019 and 2020 seasons at Vanderbilt. The Commodores topped Michigan to win the 2019 College World Series championship as part of establishing themselves as one of the best college baseball programs, based on wins and losses, in the past decade.

Malloy always had standout on-base skills, but he played 14 games as a freshman benchwarmer on the 2019 title team and started just seven of 18 games as a sophomore in the 2020 season cut short by the coronavirus pandemic.

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So, Malloy decided to leave Vanderbilt. He entered the transfer portal ahead of the 2021 season.

"It's kind of taking that leap of faith," Malloy said.

Malloy credits Chance Huff, a right-handed reliever in the Washington Nationals' farm system, for putting Georgia Tech in his mind. Huff transferred from Vanderbilt to Georgia Tech in the same transfer cycle, ahead of Malloy departing. The friends were talking during the pandemic when Huff suggested Malloy join him at Georgia Tech.

Behind the scenes, Malloy's advisor — Bobby Barad of Excel Sports Management — took advantage of his preexisting relationship with Hall, calling the Georgia Tech coach to see if there would be any interest in Malloy.

"The thing that stood out was he had a really good eye at the plate," Hall said.

It was the first year of the so-called "one-time transfer" rule in Division I football, men's and women's basketball and baseball, meaning athletes — for the first time — were allowed to transfer without sitting out a year.

Malloy wanted to stay at a Power Five program.

"Georgia Tech is a great school," Hall said. "We've had great success. I've been here 31 years. We've had 34 major-league players. We've had success not only winning baseball games, being a really good, competitive team in the ACC and being nationally ranked, but we've also got some guys that when baseball ends, Georgia Tech sets them up for great success in life."

Malloy handled the transfer from Vanderbilt in the SEC to Georgia Tech in the ACC like a true professional.

He never spoke a bad word about Vanderbilt.

"You transfer from Vanderbilt to Georgia Tech, there are going to be questions about why he did it," said Malloy's father, Henry. "He found a way to deliver the message that it was a better move for him without being negative."

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At Georgia Tech, Malloy — who studied history, technology and society but didn't have a backup plan to baseball — flourished as an everyday player in 2021. He hit .308 with 11 home runs, 46 walks and 40 strikeouts across 56 games, receiving 259 plate appearances. His .436 on-base-percentage ranked 12th in the ACC.

Although Georgia Tech lost to Vanderbilt in a NCAA tournament regional, Malloy was rewarded for his personal performance — and his decision to transfer — when the Braves selected him with the No. 187 overall pick in the 2021 draft.

"He always has a smile on his face," Hall said. "He has a lot of joy about him. And he was a worker. He just wanted to get better. He was working hard on the defense, working hard on the hitting. He was a great teammate."

Junior-year success at Georgia Tech catapulted Malloy from recent transfer into a draft prospect, which led to the Braves selecting him in 2021. Malloy advanced three levels, from High-A to Triple-A, in the 2022 season, and then the Braves traded him to the Tigers for right-handed reliever Joe Jiménez in December 2022.

Malloy made his MLB debut with the Tigers on June 3. Two weeks later, the rookie returned to the region where his baseball career took off, with Truist Park sitting about 11 miles to the north of the Yellow Jackets' home at Russ Chandler Stadium.

Playing for the Tigers in Atlanta wasn't about revenge against the organization that traded him, but it was about coming back to the place that helped him achieve his lifelong goals.

"I know the journey he's been on," Hall said, "and he made that journey work. He owned it. He had the courage to leave a place like Vanderbilt, bet on himself and bet on us to keep developing him and giving him an opportunity to play more, and he made it work."

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers' Justyn-Henry Malloy reflects on career-changing move