Following one of the most dominant regular seasons that we’ve ever seen, it shouldn’t be much of a surprise that Tennessee dominated the SEC baseball awards, too. Tennessee polished off an SEC regular season title over the weekend with a sweep of Mississippi State, finishing 49-7 overall.
Tony Vitello got things started, winning the Coach of the Year award. Chase Dollander followed, winning Pitcher of the Year. Drew Beam then gave Tennessee another, taking home Freshman of the Year honors.
Dollander stepped into the rotation and immediately delivered at a time where the pitching staff was a bit of a question. Replacing Chad Dallas and an injury to Blade Tidwell pushed Dollander to the top spot, and he crushed. Dollander ended up posting a 2.30 ERA, going 8-0 and striking out 90 batters. Beam posted similar numbers, going 8-1 with a 2.73 ERA and 54 strikeouts.
Joining Dollander on the first-team SEC squad was Trey Lipscomb and Drew Gilbert. Chase Burns and Drew Beam made the second team.
LSU’s Dylan Crews and Auburn’s Sonny DiChiara were named SEC Co-Players of the Year, edging out Trey Lipscomb.
View the full awards list below, voted on by the coaches in the conference.
Individual Awards
Chase Dollander: Pitcher of the Year
Drew Beam: Freshman of the Year
Tony Vitello: Coach of the Year
All-SEC Selections
Chase Dollander — 1st-team (SP)
Trey Lipscomb — 1st-team (3B)
Drew Gilbert — 1st-team (OF)
Chase Burns — 2nd-team (SP)
Drew Beam — 2nd-team (SP)
All-Freshman Selections
Chase Burns
Drew Beam
Blake Burke
All-Defensive Selections
Drew Gilbert (OF)