University of Tennessee Athletics
Vols Announce 2015 Baseball Team Awards
May 23, 2015 | Baseball
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Tennessee Baseball Head Coach Dave Serrano announced the Vols 2015 team awards on Saturday. Among the recognitions, All-SEC First Team selection Christin Stewart was named the Team MVP while senior righthander Bret Marks was named Most Valuable Pitcher.
Bill Wright Student-Athlete Of Year Award: Andrew Lee
As a reliable, two-way player for the Vols, serving as designated hitter and a righthanded reliever in 2015, Andrew Lee was named a Vol Scholar, Dean's List student-athlete and maintained a 3.83 GPA over the Spring semester as a kinesiology major.
Lee led Tennessee's relief staff with a 4-2 record and nine saves, and hit .306 with nine home runs and 31 RBI on the season as the Vols' primary designated hitter.
Steve Searcy Most Improved Award: Jared Pruett
After making his Tennessee debut against Vanderbilt on March 29, junior college transfer Jared Pruett moved quickly in a starting role at third base and went on to log the most starts at third in 2015. Having not traveled with the team to start the year, Pruett hit .273 with four doubles over 26 games (23 starts) as the Vols' third baseman in 2015.
Phil Garner Defensive Player Award: A.J. Simcox
Junior shortstop A.J. Simcox had another strong season with the Vols, starting each of the team's 50 games. He shored up the left side of the infield for Tennessee, often making throws from the edge of the outfield grass, and finished with a .959 field percentage. At the plate, he hit .293 with seven doubles, three triples and 27 RBI.
Andy Yates Best Teammate Award: Eric Martin
A senior, Eric Martin is one of just two Volunteers who spent all four of his collegiate years with the Tennessee Baseball program. As one of the first student-athletes to play under Head Coach Dave Serrano at UT, Eric assumed the role of student assistant coach in 2015. On the mound, Martin made 34 relief appearances in his first three seasons with the Orange & White.
Mike Smithson Most Valuable Pitcher Awards: Bret Marks
Senior Bret Marks led the Vols' pitching staff with a 2.92 ERA over 13 appearances (12 starts) and a team-best 89 strikeouts, which ranked second in the SEC during regular season play. This year, Marks emerged as a front-man for the Vols' starting rotation and earned SEC Pitcher of the Week honors in March, after he threw a no-hitter through 8 innings visiting the then No.-3 ranked Florida Gators.
Rick Honeycutt Most Valuable Player: Christin Stewart
Tabbed an All-SEC first team outfielder for the second consecutive season, Stewart was Tennessee's top offensive threat in 2015, leading the Volunteers in home runs (15), RBI (47), hit-by-pitch count (15) and slugging percentage (.633) while hitting .318 in his junior season.
With his back-to-back First Team All-SEC nominations, Stewart became the first Volunteer to be named a First Team All-SEC player in consecutive years since Tennessee Hall of Famer Chris Burke (2000-01) did so following his record-setting campaigns on Rocky Top.
As one of only three Vols to play in all 50 games in 2015, Stewart also maintained a 1.000 fielding percentage as the team's everyday left fielder.
