Preseason Coaches Poll & All-SEC Teams
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The second-ranked Tennessee baseball team was picked to win its division and was well represented on the preseason All-SEC teams, which were announced by the league office on Thursday.
The Volunteers were selected by the league’s 14 head coaches to win the SEC Eastern Division after garnering 90 total points and receiving 12 of a possible 13 first-place votes (coaches could not vote for their own team). UT finished 11 points ahead of second-place Florida, which received the other two first-place votes.
LSU was picked to win the western division and was the favorite to win the league overall with 11 first-place votes.
Tennessee led all eastern division teams with four players earning preseason All-SEC honors and was tied for the overall SEC lead with two first teamers in starting pitchers Chase Dollander and Chase Burns. Junior transfer Maui Ahuna was tabbed as the second-team shortstop while veteran right hander Camden Sewell was also named to the second team as a relief pitcher.
The full SEC Preseason Coaches Poll and preseason All-SEC teams can be seen by clicking HERE.
Dollander is coming off a breakout sophomore season where he earned consensus first-team All-America honors and became just the second player in program history to be named SEC Pitcher of the Year.
Regarded as the potential No. 1 overall pick in the upcoming 2023 MLB Draft, Dollander posted a perfect 10-0 record and led the country with a 0.80 WHIP last season. The Evans, Georgia, native also finished second in the SEC with 108 strikeouts and led the league with a 2.39 ERA while holding opposing hitters to a paltry .175 batting average. He has been tabbed as a unanimous preseason first-team All-American entering this season.
Burns was one of the top freshmen in the country in 2022, earning freshman of the year or freshman pitcher of the year recognition from the NCBWA, D1Baseball and Collegiate Baseball News while garnering unanimous Freshman All-America honors. The hard-throwing right hander was the first pitcher in program history to earn three national award honors in the same season.
Burns was also named to four All-America teams following his debut season, joining former AL Cy Young Award winner R.A. Dickey (1994) as 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 campaign 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. Like Dollander, Burns has also earned unanimous first-team All-America honors this preseason.
Ahuna joins the Vols after two very productive seasons at the University of Kansas, where he garnered first-team All-Big 12 honors in 2022 and was an All-Big 12 honorable mention selection as a true freshman in 2021.
Another potential first-round MLB Draft prospect, Ahuna is considered one of the top defensive shortstops in the country while also boasting impressive numbers at the plate during his collegiate career, posting a .357 batting average with 75 runs scored, 27 doubles, seven triples, nine home runs, 73 RBIs and 21 stolen bases over the past two seasons with the Jayhawks. A native of Hilo, Hawaii, Ahuna has been tabbed as a preseason All-American by four different outlets.
A Swiss army knife for the Big Orange, Sewell has been one of the Vols’ most versatile and productive arms throughout his time on Rocky Top, boasting a 15-3 overall record with a 2.53 ERA and 136 strikeouts over 70 appearances (10 starts) while holding opposing hitters to a .196 batting average.
The Cleveland, Tennessee, native has developed a reputation of being one of the SEC’s top big-game performers and has shined in late season and postseason contests throughout his career. Sewell was named to the 2021 SEC All-Tournament team and the 2021 NCAA Knoxville All-Regional team as a junior. He helped lead Tennessee its first SEC Tournament title since 1995 last year by tossing five shutout innings against Florida in the championship game. Sewell has garnered preseason All-America accolades from the NCBWA and Collegiate Baseball News this year.
Tennessee’s complete list of preseason honors can be found below.
2023 Tennessee Baseball Preseason Honors
INF Maui Ahuna
Preseason All-SEC Second Team – SS
Preseason All-America Second Team – NCBWA
Preseason All-America Third Team – D1Baseball, Collegiate Baseball News, Perfect Game
RHP Drew Beam
Preseason All-America First Team – NCBWA
Preseason All-America Second Team – Collegiate Baseball News, Perfect Game
Preseason All-America Third Team – D1Baseball
RHP Chase Burns
Preseason All-SEC First Team – SP
Preseason All-America First Team – D1Baseball, Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball News, NCBWA, Perfect Game
LHP Kirby Connell
Preseason All-America Second Team – NCBWA
OF/C Jared Dickey
Preseason All-America Third Team – Baseball America
RHP Chase Dollander
Preseason All-SEC First Team – SP
Perfect Game Preseason Pitcher of the Year
Preseason All-America First Team – D1Baseball, Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball News, NCBWA, Perfect Game
RHP Camden Sewell
Preseason All-SEC Second Team – RP
Preseason All-America Second Team – Collegiate Baseball News
Preseason All-America Third Team – NCBWA
-UT Athletics
