Five Gators Earn SEC Baseball Accolades
Monday, May 18, 2015 | Baseball
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Five members of the Gator baseball team were recognized in the league's annual awards in a vote of the league's 14 head baseball coaches announced on Monday. No. 7 Florida (40-15/19-11 SEC) was the runner-up in the Eastern Division and opens play at the 2015 SEC Tournament on Wednesday night as the No. 4 seed against the winner of Tuesday night's contest between No. 5 seed Arkansas (33-20) and No. 12 seed Tennessee (24-25).
Freshman catcher Mike Rivera, freshman catcher/designated hitter JJ Schwarz and senior third baseman Josh Tobias were chosen second-team All-SEC, the trio of second baseman Dalton Guthrie, Rivera and Schwarz collected All-Freshman Team recognition and sophomore center fielder Buddy Reed was chosen to the league's All-Defensive Team.
The first Gator freshman catcher to be chosen All-SEC since Mike Stanley in 1982, Rivera is hitting .271 with 33 RBI, 25 runs, 12 walks and seven doubles and boasts a .996 fielding percentage (one error in 283 chances). Schwarz has a .286 clip and leads Florida in slugging percentage (.583), RBI (54) and homers (14). He was named the Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week on April 13 after a seven-homer barrage in a four-game span. Enjoying his best season with the Orange and Blue, Tobias has paced the squad in batting average both overall (.366) and in league contests (.357). He has committed just one error all year on the hot corner in 106 chances, has scored 42 runs, totaled 34 RBI, chipped in with 22 extra-base hits (12 doubles, five homers, five triples) and is 9-for-11 on the basepaths. Tobias became UF's first All-SEC pick at third base since Austin Maddox (2010).
Florida had three Freshman Team selections for the second year in a row, giving Kevin O'Sullivan 18 recipients during his tenure. Guthrie earned the nod at second base, Rivera was chosen at catcher and Schwarz was in the designated hitter/utility spot. The Gators' leadoff hitter who has a .298 overall average, to go along with 45 runs, 21 RBI and 13 doubles, Guthrie joins Adam Davis (2004) and Josh Adams (2008) as UF second basemen who have collected All-Freshman honors.
A standout in center field, Reed became the first Gator to be named to the All-Defensive Team since shortstop Nolan Fontana and catcher Mike Zunino collected the honor in 2012. He joins Matt den Dekker (2008-10) as the only outfielders in school history to receive the honor.
The complete 2015 All-SEC Team follows:
SEC Player of the Year: Andrew Benintendi, Arkansas
SEC Pitcher of the Year: Carson Fulmer, Vanderbilt
SEC Freshman of the Year: Alex Lange, LSU
SEC Coach of the Year: Paul Mainieri, LSU
SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Seth Heck, Mississippi State
First-Team All-SEC
C: Kade Scivicque, LSU
1B: Kyle Martin, South Carolina
2B: JaVon Shelby, Kentucky
3B: Conner Hale, LSU
SS: Alex Bregman, LSU
OF: Andrew Benintendi, Arkansas
OF: Andrew Stevenson, LSU
OF: Christin Stewart, Tennessee
DH/UT: Mitchell Nau, Texas A&M
SP: Carson Fulmer, Vanderbilt
SP: Alex Lange, LSU
RP: Zach Jackson, Arkansas
Second-Team All-SEC Team
C: Mike Rivera, FLORIDA
1B: Chris Chinea, LSU
2B: Max Schrock, South Carolina
3B: Josh Tobias, FLORIDA
SS: Dansby Swanson, Vanderbilt
OF: Kyle Barrett, Kentucky
OF: Nick Banks, Texas A&M
OF: Logan Taylor, Texas A&M
DH/UT: JJ Schwarz, FLORIDA
SP: Grayson Long, Texas A&M
SP: Cole Lipscomb, Auburn
*RP: Breckin Williams, Missouri
*RP: Wyatt Short, Ole Miss
Freshman All-SEC Team
C: Mike Rivera, FLORIDA
1B: Evan White, Kentucky
2B: Dalton Guthrie, FLORIDA
3B: Will Toffey, Vanderbilt
SS: Ryan Gridley, Mississippi State
OF: Keegan McGovern, Georgia
OF: Trey Harris, Missouri
OF: Jeren Kendall, Vanderbilt
DH/UT: JJ Schwarz, FLORIDA
SP: Tanner Houck, Missouri
SP: Keaton McKinney, Arkansas
RP: Kyle Wright, Vanderbilt
SEC All-Defensive Team
C: Kade Scivicque, LSU
1B: Evan White, Kentucky
2B: Kyle Overstreet, Alabama
3B: Bobby Wernes, Arkansas
SS: Alex Bregman, LSU
OF: Andrew Stevenson, LSU
OF: Mark Laird, LSU
OF: Buddy Reed, FLORIDA
P: Carson Fulmer, Vanderbilt
* - Denotes a tie in voting. Ties are not broken.
