D1Baseball.com Freshman All-America Teams
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee pitcher Chase Burns was tabbed the National Freshman of the Year by D1Baseball.com on Friday, marking the third national freshman of the year honor for the Vols’ talented right hander.
Burns was also named the NCBWA Freshman National Pitcher of the Year and the Collegiate Baseball National Co-Freshman Player of the Year following his impressive debut season at UT. The hard-throwing frosh has been selected to four All-America teams and garnered three freshman All-America honors, as well (see list below).
Burns is the first pitcher in program history to earn three national award honors in the same season. The last Tennessee pitcher prior to Burns to take home a national award was Luke Hochevar, who won the Roger Clemens Award in 2005. Burns and former AL Cy Young Award winner R.A. Dickey (1994) are the only players in program history to be selected to four All-America teams as true freshmen.
The Gallatin, Tennessee, native had a phenomenal freshman season for the Big Orange, finishing with an 8-2 record and 2.91 ERA to go along with 103 strikeouts while serving as the Vols’ Friday night starter for the majority of the season. Burns’ eight wins are tied for the fifth most by a UT freshman and his 103 punchouts rank third in program history by a freshman.
Burns finished the year ranked among the top five in the SEC in strikeouts per nine innings (3rd – 11.54), ERA (5th – 2.91), strikeouts (5th – 103), wins (t-5th – 8) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (5th – 4.12).
D1Baseball.com Freshman All-America Teams
D1Baseball.com also released its Freshman All-America teams on Friday, with Burns and fellow starting pitcher Drew Beam earning first-team honors.
Beam was another standout in UT’s weekend rotation this season, earning SEC Freshman of the Year honors after posting an 8-1 record to go along with a 2.72 ERA in a team-high 15 starts. The Murfreesboro, Tennessee, native held opposing hitters to a .186 batting average and had an impressive 0.93 WHIP. His 2.72 ERA ranks fourth best all-time among Tennessee freshmen while he and Burns are tied for fifth in program history in wins by a freshman with eight.
Beam’s long list of accolades this season includes All-SEC second team and SEC All-Freshman team honors, as well as Freshman All-America honors from three other publications. He was also named an NCBWA Second Team All-American and was a semifinalist for the Dick Howser Trophy.
To see D1Baseball.com’s full Freshman All-America teams, click HERE. A complete listing of Tennessee’s postseason All-Americans and national award winners can be seen below.
Tennessee Postseason All-Americans / National Awards Winners
Tony Vitello
Perfect Game National Coach of the Year
RHP Drew Beam
NCBWA – Second Team
NCBWA – Freshman (First Team)
D1Baseball.com – Freshman Team
Collegiate Baseball – Freshman Team
Perfect Game – Freshman Team
DH/1B Blake Burke
Collegiate Baseball – Freshman Team
Perfect Game – Freshman Team
RHP Chase Burns
D1Baseball.com National Freshman of the Year
NCBWA Freshman National Pitcher of the Year
Collegiate Baseball National Co-Freshman Player of the Year
NCBWA – First Team
D1Baseball.com – Third Team
ABCA – Third Team
Collegiate Baseball – Third Team
D1Baseball.com – Freshman Team
Collegiate Baseball – Freshman Team
NCBWA – Freshman (First Team)
Perfect Game – Freshman Team
RHP Chase Dollander
D1Baseball.com – First Team
ABCA – First Team
NCBWA – First Team
Collegiate Baseball – First Team
Perfect Game – First Team
Baseball America – Second Team
OF Drew Gilbert
NCBWA – First Team
ABCA – Second Team
Baseball America – Second Team
Collegiate Baseball – Second Team
Perfect Game – Second Team
D1Baseball.com – Third Team
RHP Ben Joyce
NCBWA – Third Team
1B Luc Lipcius
CoSIDA Academic – Second Team
3B Trey Lipscomb
NCBWA – First Team
ABCA – Second Team
Baseball America – Second Team
Collegiate Baseball – Second Team
D1Baseball.com – Third Team
Perfect Game – Third Team
2B Jorel Ortega
Perfect Game – Second Team
C Evan Russell
CoSIDA Academic – First Team
LHP Redmond Walsh
NCBWA – Second Team
-UT Athletics
