Russell Named Freshman All-American by D1Baseball.com
June 30, 2023 | Baseball
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee's AJ Russell earned his second Freshman All-America nod on Friday when he was tabbed a second-team selection by D1Baseball.com as a relief pitcher.
Russell is the fifth Vol under head coach Tony Vitello to garner Freshman All-America honors by multiple outlets, joining Drew Beam (2022), Blake Burke (2022), Chase Burns (2022) and Blade Tidwell (2021). The Franklin, Tennessee, native was also named a Freshman All-American by the NCBWA on June 12.
The talented right hander is coming off a phenomenal true freshman campaign for the Big Orange, leading all pitchers on the team have thrown a minimum of 30 innings with a 0.89 ERA, a 0.53 WHIP and a .095 opponent batting average. Russell finished with a 2-0 record on the year with 47 strikeouts and just seven walks in 30.1 innings pitched.
Russell recorded multiple strikeouts in 15 of his 24 appearances and allowed just one run on five hits in 10 innings during SEC play.
The full D1Baseball.com Freshman All-America teams can be seen HERE.
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USA Baseball Collegiate National Team Selection
Chase Dollander – Jr. – RHP
CSC Academic All-America -- 3rd Team
Zane Denton – Sr. – 3B
NCAA Clemson All-Regional Team
Jared Dickey – R-So. – OF/C
All-SEC -- 2nd Team
Andrew Lindsey – Jr. – RHP
Baseball America All-American -- 3rd Team
NCAA Clemson All-Regional Team
Griffin Merritt – Gr. – OF/DH
NCAA Clemson All-Regional Team
Christian Moore – So. – INF
USA Baseball Collegiate National Team Selection
NCAA Clemson Regional MVP
NCAA Clemson All-Regional Team
AJ Russell – Fr. – RHP
NCBWA All-American -- 3rd Team
NCBWA Freshman All-American -- 1st TeamÂ
D1Baseball.com Freshman All-American – 2nd Team
Russell is the fifth Vol under head coach Tony Vitello to garner Freshman All-America honors by multiple outlets, joining Drew Beam (2022), Blake Burke (2022), Chase Burns (2022) and Blade Tidwell (2021). The Franklin, Tennessee, native was also named a Freshman All-American by the NCBWA on June 12.
The talented right hander is coming off a phenomenal true freshman campaign for the Big Orange, leading all pitchers on the team have thrown a minimum of 30 innings with a 0.89 ERA, a 0.53 WHIP and a .095 opponent batting average. Russell finished with a 2-0 record on the year with 47 strikeouts and just seven walks in 30.1 innings pitched.
Russell recorded multiple strikeouts in 15 of his 24 appearances and allowed just one run on five hits in 10 innings during SEC play.
The full D1Baseball.com Freshman All-America teams can be seen HERE.
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Tennessee Baseball 2023 Postseason Honors
Drew Beam – So. – RHPUSA Baseball Collegiate National Team Selection
Chase Dollander – Jr. – RHP
CSC Academic All-America -- 3rd Team
Zane Denton – Sr. – 3B
NCAA Clemson All-Regional Team
Jared Dickey – R-So. – OF/C
All-SEC -- 2nd Team
Andrew Lindsey – Jr. – RHP
Baseball America All-American -- 3rd Team
NCAA Clemson All-Regional Team
Griffin Merritt – Gr. – OF/DH
NCAA Clemson All-Regional Team
Christian Moore – So. – INF
USA Baseball Collegiate National Team Selection
NCAA Clemson Regional MVP
NCAA Clemson All-Regional Team
AJ Russell – Fr. – RHP
NCBWA All-American -- 3rd Team
NCBWA Freshman All-American -- 1st TeamÂ
D1Baseball.com Freshman All-American – 2nd Team
Players Mentioned
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RHP
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OF/C
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RHP
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OF
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INF
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RHP
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RHP
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