University of Tennessee Athletics
Davis, Morgado Earn NCBWA Freshman Honors
June 09, 2008 | Baseball
Tennessee pitcher Bryan Morgado joined an elite club Monday when he became the program???s 35th All-America honoree. The left-handed strikeout artist was a second-team selection on the Pro-Line Athletic/National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Freshman All-America Team. Volunteers outfielder Kentrail Davis was a first-team selection, marking his second Freshman All-America award in as many weeks.
After redshirting in 2007, Morgado made 13 starts for the Vols this past spring, posting a 5-5 record while working 80 1/3 innings. He dominated opposing hitters, totaling an impressive 104 strikeouts to rank third in the Southeastern Conference. The Miami, Fla., native also became just the second UT freshman ever to surpass the 100-strikeout milestone, joining former All-America and current minor-league standout James Adkins (2005-07).
???This is a great honor for Bryan and the university,??? UT pitching coach Fred Corral said. ???Early on, it was apparent that he definitely had the talent to achieve this type of status. To have it come to pass is a great tribute to Bryan and his constant pursuance of becoming one of the truly great pitchers to wear the Vol uniform.
???This is one of the great honors that is earned by those who work relentlessly through the day-in, day-out grind. We???re fortunate to have some of those guys, including Bryan and Kentrail, and we???re proud of that.???
Morgado???s 11.66 strikeouts per nine innings rank ninth nationally, and he posted double-digit Ks in five separate outings while earning a spot on the Roger Clemens Award watch list. In his collegiate debut, he fanned a career-high 12 batters against Furman.
Morgado is the 16th Vol to be tabbed as a Freshman All-America selection and the fourth All-America honoree produced by UT head coach Todd Raleigh. Tennessee has produced eight Freshman All-Americas in the last four years.
Davis, a true freshman centerfielder from Theodore, Ala., now owns a pair of Freshman All-America certificates after being honored last week by Louisville Slugger/Collegiate Baseball Newspaper.
A starter in 53 games this season, Davis led Tennessee in nine different offensive statistical categories, and he became just the ninth Vol ever to win the team Triple Crown (leading the team in batting average [.330], home runs [13] and RBI [44]).
Davis and Morgado both will take part in USA Baseball???s 2008 National Team Trials, starting Wednesday in New Hampshire.
