University of Tennessee Athletics
Tennessee Ranked No. 8 in Final National Polls
June 28, 2005 | Baseball
June 28, 2005
After a stellar 2005 campaign that was highlighted by a berth in the NCAA College World Series, the Tennessee baseball team posted a consensus top-10 finish in the final national collegiate baseball rankings. The Volunteers' overall record of 46-21 earned them a final ranking of No. 8 in three of the four polls, marking UT's highest year-end ranking since 2001.
Tennessee was listed at No. 8 in the final Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball and National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) polls. Despite earning a spot among the field of eight at the CWS, Tennessee earned a final ranking of No. 9 in the Sports Weekly/ESPN Top 25 Coaches' Poll.
Listed below are some other noteworthy facts about the 2005 Diamond Vols:
- Tennessee made its fourth all-time appearance in the NCAA College World Series and the third under head coach Rod Delmonico.
- Delmonico guided UT to its ninth 40-win season of his 16-year tenure. He has averaged 40.8 wins over the past 13 seasons and now ranks tied for fifth on the SEC's all-time coaching wins list (634 victories).
- In the final 2005 Southeastern Conference statistics, Tennessee led the league in batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, runs scored, hits, RBIs, doubles, triples, total bases and stolen bases. The Vols turned in a second-place overall conference finish after being picked to finish fifth in the Eastern Division by league coaches in the preseason.
- Offensively, the 2005 Vols set new single-season school records for hits and doubles.
- Tennessee's pitching staff set a new single-season school strikeout record with 568 in 2005, crushing the old mark of 545.
- Six Vols combined to receive 13 different All-America honors in 2005, including consensus first-teamer Luke Hochevar, second-teamer Eli Iorg, third-team selection Chase Headley and Freshman All-Americas James Adkins, J.P. Arencibia and Julio Borbon.
- SEC Pitcher of the Year Luke Hochevar's 15 wins in 2005 tied for the most in the NCAA and also tied for first in UT's single-season record book.
- Headley became Tennessee's fifth all-time Academic All-America honoree and the fourth to earn first-team status. On the field, Headley led the SEC in batting average, on-base percentage, runs scored and walks.
- With 14 homers, Arencibia set a new UT freshman home run record (breaking Todd Helton's mark of 11 homers in 1993).
- Five Vols were selected in the 2005 MLB Draft. All five players were selected in the first 13 rounds, while Iorg and Hochevar were both supplemental first-round picks.
