KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee pitcher Blade Tidwell earned his second Freshman All-America honor on Monday, garnering first-team recognition from D1Baseball.com.
Tidwell became the 20th Vol to earn Freshman All-America honors in program history last month when he was tabbed a first-team selection by Perfect Game. He the first UT player to earn Freshman All-America honors since Sean Hunley in 2018 and the first to earn Freshman All-America status from multiple outlets since Nick Senzel (Collegiate Baseball News, Perfect Game) in 2014.
The Loretto, Tennessee, native was a staple in Tennessee’s weekend rotation for the entire season and led the team with 18 games started. His 3.74 ERA was the lowest among UT’s starting pitchers while his 10 wins and 90 strikeouts both ranked second on the team.
Tidwell was named to the SEC All-Freshman team, as well, and recorded an impressive 10-3 record in 2021, helping lead the Vols to their first College World Series appearance since 2005. His 10 victories were tied for the second most by a freshman in program history.
Tidwell was named to the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team on July 1 and is currently participating in the team’s 11 intrasquad scrimmages throughout the month of July.
Tidwell was one of seven players from the SEC to be named to D1Baseball.com’s Freshman All-America teams, the most of any conference. To view the complete teams, click HERE.
Tennessee 2021 All-Americans
Chad Dallas – ABCA (2nd Team), NCBWA (3rd Team)
Sean Hunley – Baseball America (2nd Team)
Jake Rucker – Baseball America (3rd Team), Collegiate Baseball News (3rd Team)
Liam Spence – ABCA (3rd Team)
Blade Tidwell – D1Baseball.com (1st Team – Freshman), Perfect Game (1st Team – Freshman)
D1Baseball.com All-America Teams
-UT Athletics
