Several Gators Collect SEC Baseball Awards
Tuesday, May 19, 2009 | Baseball
University of Florida first baseman Preston Tucker (Tampa, Fla.) was named as the SEC Co-Freshman of the Year with LSU right-hander Matty Ott in a vote of the league's 12 head baseball coaches announced on Tuesday. Sophomore second baseman Josh Adams (Jacksonville, Fla.) and senior outfielder Avery Barnes (High Springs, Fla.) were chosen first-team All-SEC and junior right-hander Billy Bullock (Balm, Fla.) earned second-team recognition. Junior outfielder Matt den Dekker (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) was named to the SEC All-Defensive Team for the second year in a row.
A unanimous choice on the league's All-Freshman squad, Tucker had a spectacular debut to his collegiate career by leading the SEC in league play with 40 runs batted in. Named the SEC Freshman of the Week three times during the campaign (March 30, April 13, April 27), the Tampa native is hitting .338 overall and paces the Gator offense with a Florida rookie record of 71 RBI, 11 home runs and 11 doubles. Tucker had a .350 batting average, a .545 slugging percentage, 23 runs and 14 extra-base hits during conference action in helping the Orange and Blue to its first Eastern Division title since 2005.
Adams became the first Gator to earn first-team All-SEC accolades in consecutive seasons since Brad Wilkerson accomplished the feat in 1998. He has drawn a team-leading 34 walks and is second on UF in batting average (.341), RBI (46) and doubles (nine) and is third in total bases (103), runs (51) and homers (seven). Adams was second on the club in SEC play with a .359 clip and had 30 RBI, 28 runs, five doubles and three round-trippers. He batted .500 (6-for-12) and drove in seven runs last weekend against Kentucky.
On the strength of SEC-bests in batting average (.382), hits (50) and runs (40) in league play, Barnes earned first-team honors after picking up second-team kudos last year. He is the first UF outfielder to garner All-SEC in back-to-back campaigns since Ben Harrison was a second-team choice in both 2003 and 2004. Barnes belted a team-high six homers and was 8-for-11 on stolen-base attempts and also ranked third on the Gators with 19 RBI in the 30 league contests. He leads Florida in batting average (.360), hits (77), runs (63), and triples (six) and rates second in slugging percentage (.561), total bases (120), stolen bases (13) and sacrifice hits (five). In addition, Barnes has notched career highs in RBI (38) and homers (eight). His 12 triples are third on the school's all-time list.
Bullock was voted as one of the two relievers on the All-SEC team after collecting seven saves during conference activity. He had a 1-2 league ledger with a 2.29 earned run average in 15 appearances, with 22 strikeouts in 19.2 innings. The righty was the first Gator reliever to earn All-SEC since Connor Falkenbach in 2005. Bullock is 2-2 overall with a 1.51 ERA and has registered 42 K in 41.2 innings while limiting opponents to a .220 batting average. His 11 saves are second in the SEC and two shy of the single-season school record shared by Danny Wheeler (1994) and Josh Fogg (1998).
den Dekker was named to the league's All-Defensive Team again after committing just one error in 164 overall chances, with five assists. The center fielder covers a lot of territory and has made spectacular plays look routine throughout his career.
Alabama outfielder Kent Matthes was selected as the 2009 SEC Baseball Player of the Year, LSU's Louis Coleman was named SEC Pitcher of the Year and the duo of Tucker and Ott was named SEC Co-Freshmen of the Year. The coaches also tabbed LSU skipper Paul Mainieri as SEC Coach of the Year, while Ben Jones of Auburn was named the SEC Baseball Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Matthes tied the Alabama single-season record with his 27th home run of the season in the series finale at Auburn on May 16. Doug Duke also hit 27 home runs in 1986. Matthes hit an opposite-field, solo home run in the second inning to jump-start the UA offense with a 1-0 lead. He also became the school's all-time leader with his 23rd outfield assist in the series opener against the Tigers last week. Matthes carries a .362 batting average into Hoover and leads the SEC with a .883 slugging percentage.
Coleman went 10-2 on the mound for LSU with a 2.99 ERA to lead the league in wins. He also struck out 105 batters this season while walking only 19 in 90-plus innings pitched. His teammate Ott led the SEC in saves with 12 on the year while holding a 2.18 ERA.
Under Mainieri, LSU claimed the 14th SEC title in school history last weekend, as the Tigers won two of three games at Mississippi State to end the regular season. The 2009 SEC regular-season crown is LSU's first since 2003.
Jones carries a 3.84 grade point average in mechanical engineering. He is a two-time Academic All-SEC selection (2007, 2008) and ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District 4 First Team selection in 2008 and 2009. Jones is one of only two position players in the SEC to be named to a district first team. He is also Auburn's 2008-09 Male Student- Athlete of the Year.
Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own players, thus a unanimous selection earned 11 of the 12 first-team votes. The complete 2009 All-SEC Team follows:
SEC Player of the Year: *Kent Matthes, Alabama
SEC Pitcher of the Year: *Louis Coleman, LSU
SEC Co-Freshmen of the Year: Preston Tucker, FLORIDA & Matty Ott, LSU
SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Ben Jones, Auburn
SEC Coach of the Year: Paul Mainieri, LSU
*unanimous selection
First Team
1B – Rich Poythress, Georgia
2B – Josh Adams, FLORIDA & Ross Wilson, Alabama
3B – Jake Smith, Alabama
SS – Brian Harris, Vanderbilt & Josh Rutledge, Alabama
C – Blake Forsythe, Tennessee
OF – *Kent Matthes, Alabama
OF – Avery Barnes, FLORIDA
OF – Jordan Henry, Ole Miss
DH – Blake Dean, LSU
P – *Louis Coleman, LSU
P – Austin Hyatt, Alabama
RP – Matty Ott, LSU
Second Team
1B – Nick Eibert, South Carolina
2B – Chris Bisson, Kentucky
3B – Joseph Sanders, Auburn
SS – Bobby Haney, South Carolina & Chris Wade, Kentucky
C – Justin Dalles, South Carolina
OF – Steven Liddle, Vanderbilt
OF – DeAngelo Mack, South Carolina
OF – Ryan Schimpf, LSU
DH – Bryce Massanari, Georgia
P – Scott Bittle, Ole Miss
P – Drew Pomeranz, Ole Miss & Anthony Ranaudo, LSU
RP – Billy Bullock, FLORIDA
All-Freshman Team
1B – *Preston Tucker, FLORIDA
2B – Riley Reynolds, Vanderbilt
3B – Colby May, Georgia
SS – Zach Osborne, Tennessee
OF – Jackie Bradley, Jr., South Carolina
OF – Taylor Dugas, Alabama
OF – Mikie Mahtook, LSU
DH – Aaron Westlake, Vanderbilt
P – Nolan Belcher, South Carolina
P – Nick Routt, Mississippi State
RP – *Matty Ott, LSU
All-Defensive Team
P – Trevor Holder, Georgia
1B – Rich Poythress, Georgia
2B – Ross Wilson, Alabama
SS – Bobby Haney, South Carolina & Brian Harris, Vanderbilt
3B – Jake Smith, Alabama
C – Micah Gibbs, LSU
OF – Matt den Dekker, FLORIDA
OF – Whit Merrifield, South Carolina
OF – Trent Mummey, Auburn
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