University of Tennessee Athletics
Two Vols Named Preseason All-SEC
February 12, 2015 | Baseball
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- The Top 25-ranked Tennessee Volunteers are predicted to finish fourth in the SEC Eastern Division in 2015, as voted on by the Southeastern Conference's 14 baseball coaches in the annual preseason poll. Among Preseason All-SEC selections, junior Christin Stewart received First Team honors as one of three outfielders chosen by league coaches, while second baseman Nick Senzel was named a Second Team selection.
Last season, Stewart led the Vols in hitting (.330) and an SEC-leading six triples. He became just the 11th player in Tennessee history to win the team "Triple Crown", also leading the squad in home runs (5) and RBI (39).
Senzel earned SEC All-Freshman Team honors following his debut on Rocky Top in 2014. He hit .315 with 12 doubles, two triples, one homer, 37 runs scored and 39 RBIs. He opened his Tennessee career in the cleanup slot, becoming just the second true freshman since 1990 to open a season in that role. Senzel also took home Freshman All-American honors from Louisville Slugger and Perfect Game.
The Southeastern Conference issued the following release, with a complete breakdown of the 2015 predicted order of finish and First and Second Team Preseason All-SEC player nominations.
Click HERE for the full release.
Preseason All-SEC First and Second Teams Announced
Tennessee picked to finish fourth in the SEC Eastern Division
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Defending NCAA Champion Vanderbilt was predicted to win the 2015 Southeastern Conference baseball championship as voted by the league's 14 baseball coaches in the 24th-annual preseason SEC poll. The Preseason All-SEC First and Second Teams, as determined by the head coaches, also were announced on Thursday.
The Commodores, the nation's consensus preseason No. 1 team, captured the first NCAA title in program history this past June. Vanderbilt has won six SEC Championships in its program history, including two in the last four seasons. The Commodores garnered 10 votes claim the SEC title, while Florida earned two and LSU one. Vanderbilt was predicted to win the SEC Eastern Division, while LSU was the unanimous favorite to win the SEC Western Division.
Since 1996, the SEC has named a regular-season champion as well as a tournament champion. Prior to 1996, the tournament champion was considered the SEC Champion.
Points were compiled on a 7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis for each division. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team. Each coach also voted for one team as an overall conference champion.
For the first time, two 12-person Preseason All-SEC Teams were selected by the SEC head coaches, and ties were not broken. Eleven of the 14 SEC schools were represented on the All-SEC teams with Vanderbilt leading the way with five total selections. Florida, LSU and South Carolina each garnered four selections. The Commodores also claimed a SEC-best three first-team accolades.
The 2015 regular season for SEC teams begins Friday, February 13, with conference play set to begin Friday, March 13. The 2014 SEC Baseball Tournament drew 120,386 fans, and nine times in the last 12 years, the tournament has surpassed the six-digit mark in total attendance.
An NCAA-record 10 SEC teams qualified for NCAA Regionals in 2014 and 10 SEC teams are ranked in at least one poll to begin the 2015 campaign.
2015 SEC Baseball Coaches Preseason Poll
Eastern Division
- Vanderbilt (11) - 89
- Florida (3) - 80
- South Carolina - 67
- Tennessee - 51
- Georgia - 42
- Kentucky - 36
- Missouri - 20
Western Division
- LSU (13) - 91
- Alabama - 62
- Texas A&M (1) - 60
- Arkansas - 59
- Mississippi State - 52
- Ole Miss - 42
- Auburn - 19
SEC Champion: Vanderbilt (11); Florida (2); LSU (1).
2015 SEC Baseball Coaches Preseason ALL-SEC Teams
First Team
- C - Gavin Collins, Mississippi State
- 1B - Sikes Orvis, Ole Miss
- 2B - Kyle Overstreet, Alabama
- 2B - Max Schrock, South Carolina
- SS - Alex Bregman, LSU
- 3B - DC Arendas, South Carolina
- OF - Christin Stewart, Tennessee
- OF - Bryan Reynolds, Vanderbilt
- OF - Andrew Stevenson, LSU
- DH/UT - A.J. Puk, Florida
- SP - Carson Fulmer, Vanderbilt
- SP - Logan Shore, Florida
- RP - Hayden Stone, Vanderbilt
Second Team
- C - Kade Scivicque, LSU
- 1B - Kyle Martin, South Carolina
- 2B - Nick Senzel, Tennessee
- SS - Dansby Swanson, Vanderbilt
- 3B - Josh Tobias, Florida
- OF - Nick Banks, Texas A&M
- OF - Mark Laird, LSU
- OF - Harrison Bader, Florida
- DH/UT - Taylor Widener, South Carolina
- SP - Walker Buehler, Vanderbilt
- SP - Robert Tyler, Georgia
- RP - Thomas Burrows, Alabama
- RP - Jacob Stone, Arkansas
