SDS selects its All-SEC baseball team, individual awards

The regular season is finished — with flair as Tennessee overtook Kentucky to claim the No. 1 seed on the final day of the regular season.

Hoover beckons, and Omaha, the ultimate destination, is coming into focus. But before we turn all of our attention to the postseason, let’s take a minute to appreciate the season that was.

No, teammates won’t go No. 1 and No. 2 overall again in the MLB Draft like Paul Skenes and Dylan Crews did last year, but Charlie Condon and Jac Caglianone proved worthy of being in the mix to go No. 1 this year. Both made history this season and lead the way as SDS reveals its All-SEC baseball ballot.

Player of the Year: Charlie Condon, Georgia

We detailed the duel ahead of their final weekend showdown, and neither disappointed in Athens.

Caglianone had a chance to steal the award with a dominant Game 3 of the series, but Georgia chased him from the mound with 1 out on the 3rd inning. Condon had 2 hits off Cags, too. Caglianone responded, however, with a towering 2-run homer in the 4th inning that started Florida’s season-saving 12-run outburst. That was Cags’ 29th home run — 1 shy of becoming the 2nd player in NCAA history to hit 30 home runs twice in a career.

But as he has all year, Condon answered with a blast of his own — a 400-foot shot off the batter’s eye in center field. It was his 35th of the season, extending his NCAA record in the BBCOR era. Condon already stands alone in 2nd place in the SEC. But with the postseason to go, it’s conceivable that he could track down the SEC’s record-holder, Brandon Larson, who hit 40 during the final stages of the juiced bats Gorilla Ball era.

Caglianone was outstanding all season, too, and Tennessee’s Christian Moore fueled the Vols’ run to the (shared) SEC regular-season title, but Condon was simply historic. He’ll easily win the SEC batting title (.451) and home run title (35), and still has a slim chance to catch RBI leader Braden Montgomery (80, 5 ahead of Condon) and become the 3rd SEC player in history to win the league’s triple crown.

In addition to his home runs, Condon will become the first NCAA player to slug 1.000 in a season this century (and first ever in the SEC in any era), and he was versatile enough on defense to play both corner positions in the infield as well as any outfield position.

My vote: 1. Charlie Condon, 2. Jac Caglianone, 3. Christian Moore.

Pitcher of the Year: Hagen Smith, Arkansas

Was he as dominant as Paul Skenes last year? No. Is that an impossibly unfair comp? Absolutely.

But nobody was better this season than Smith, who led the SEC in ERA (1.52), batting average against (.152) and strikeouts (150) and finished 2nd in wins (9) to fuel Arkansas’ rise to the top of the polls and an SEC West title.

Unlike the POY year competition, Smith separated from the pack early and maintained that pace all season.

Freshman of the Year: Justin Lebron, Alabama

Alabama’s football program isn’t the only team capable of plugging and playing.

All-Freshman SEC shortstop Colby Shelton transferred to Florida? Fine. Start freshman Justin Lebron.

Lebron didn’t simply outperform Shelton this season. He outplayed every other freshman, too.

He hit .340 with 11 home runs and 34 RBIs. And while he made 11 errors, he flashed plenty of range, too, leading the entire SEC with 137 assists.

Coach of the Year: Tony Vitello, Tennessee

The Vols lost Chase Burns — arguably the best pitcher in college baseball this season and likely the first pitcher selected in the MLB Draft — and didn’t blink. The Vols posted a 3.68 ERA, 2nd-best in the SEC.

Vitello obviously had a lot to work with, but nobody expected second baseman Christian Moore to hit .388 with 27 home runs and 60 RBIs. Drill down farther, and in SEC games only, Moore “won” the Triple Crown (.429 average, 20 home runs and 41 RBIs).

Development is part of coaching, and Moore has developed into a pro prospect.

The Vols developed along the way, too. Most of the major polls slated 4 other teams ahead of Tennessee in the preseason, but now the Vols enter the postseason ranked No. 1 across the board and fighting for the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.

First-team All-SEC

1B: Jac Caglianone, Florida

2B: Christian Moore, Tennessee

SS: Justin Lebron, Alabama

3B: Gage Miller, Alabama

C: Cole Messina, South Carolina

OF: Dakota Jordan, Mississippi State

OF: Jace LaViolette, Texas A&M

OF: Braden Montgomery, Texas A&M

Utility: Charlie Condon, Georgia

DH: Nick Lopez, Kentucky

SP: Hagen Smith, Arkansas

SP: Luke Holman, LSU

RP: Evan Aschenbeck, Texas A&M

Second team

1B: Corey Collins, Georgia

2B: Emilien Pitre, Kentucky

SS: Wehiwa Aloy, Arkansas

3B: Billy Amick, Tennessee

OF: Ryan Waldschmidt, Kentucky

OF: Ethan Petry, South Carolina

OF: Kavares Tears, Tennessee

Utility: Tommy White, LSU

DH: Blake Burke, Tennessee

SP: Jurrangelo Cijntje, Mississippi State

SP: Ryan Prager, Texas A&M

RP: Nate Snead, Tennessee

Chris Wright

Managing Editor

A 30-time APSE award-winning editor with previous stints at the Miami Herald, The Indianapolis Star and News & Observer, Executive Editor Chris Wright oversees editorial operations for Saturday Down South.