SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Tennessee senior Admiral Schofield is one of five players who has been named a 2019 Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award finalist, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced Wednesday.

Named after Hall of Famer and former UMass standout Julius Erving, the annual honor now in its fifth year recognizes the top small forward in Division I basketball. Previous winners include Mikal Bridges of Villanova (2018), Josh Hart of Villanova (2017), Denzel Valentine of Michigan State (2016) and Stanley Johnson of Arizona (2015).

Schofield has been a major contributor to the Vols’ success this season. He is averaging 16.4 points per game, which ranks second on the team and fifth in the SEC, to go along with 6.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists. He also ranks fifth in the conference in field-goal percentage, shooting a 48-percent clip for the year.

The Zion, Ill., native leads the team in shooting from beyond the arc with 56 3-pointers one the year. While being a high-volume shooter, he has shot 50 percent or better from the field in 17 games this season, including 11 times during SEC play.

The senior recorded key performances for Tennessee in wins over No. 1 Gonzaga, in which he scored 30 points and made six three-pointers. Schofield followed up that performance with a 29-point game at Memphis.

For his effort against the Bulldogs and the Tigers, Schofield was named the 2018 Jerry Colangelo Classic Most Valuable Player. He was also named SEC Player of the Week in back-to-back weeks (Dec. 10 and Dec. 17) and the Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week on Dec. 11.

Schofield is the only SEC player included amongst the finalists. The winner of the award will be presented at the ESPN College Basketball Awards Show live from The Novo by Microsoft in Los Angeles, Calif. on Friday, April 12.

For more information on the 2019 Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award and the latest updates, log onto www.hoophallawards.com and follow @hoophall on Twitter and Instagram.

2019 Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award Candidates
Rui Hachimura, Gonzaga
Marial Shayok, Iowa St.
Caleb Martin, Nevada
Admiral Schofield, Tennessee
De’Andre Hunter, Virginia

UT Athletics

HOOVER, Ala. —  Tennessee is officially off to its best start in program history at 13-0 after a midweek rout of Troy on a cold Tuesday night in the third annual Hoover Classic at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium.

The 21st-ranked Volunteers busted open a close game with seven combined runs in the sixth and seventh innings and went on to win the game 11-2, finishing with a season-high 13 hits.

Five Vols posted multi-hit games, led by a 4-for-5 performance from junior shortstop Ricky Martinez. Jay Charleston and Andre Lipcius had two RBI apiece while Luc Lipcius had another huge day at the plate with two hits, two runs and three RBI.

Freshman catcher Connor Pavolony had a career night as well, going 2-for-3 with three runs scored and an RBI double while junior leadoff man Justin Ammons extended his on-base streak to 13 games after getting two hits and scoring three runs.

Sean Hunley earned his third win in as many starts after giving up two runs on five hits in five innings. Four true freshmen – Camden Sewell, Chase Silseth, Tanner Kohlhepp and Elijah Pleasants – combined to throw four shutout innings out of the bullpen, allowing just one hit.

After a scoreless first inning, the Vols jumped on Trojans’ starter Sadler Goodwin for two runs on three hits in the top of the second.

Alerick Soularie led off the inning with a walk and scored from first on a double over the left fielder’s head by Pavolony one batter later. Martinez reached on a bunt single to put runners on the corners for Luc Lipcius, who delivered with an RBI single to put UT ahead 2-0.

The Trojans answered back immediately with two runs of their own in the bottom of the second. Austin Garofalo got Troy on the board with an RBI single before Manning Early drove in the tying run with a bases-loaded sacrifice fly two batters later.

Charleston reached on an error by the third baseman to lead off the fifth and made the Trojans pay for their mistake. The SEC leader in stolen bases promptly stole second and came around to score what turned out to be the game-winning run on an RBI groundout by Evan Russell later in the inning.

The Big Orange extended their lead with three runs in the top of the sixth, all with two outs. A bases-loaded walk by Charleston brought in the first run before a Texas leaguer by Andre Lipcius plated two more runs to put UT up 6-2.

Tennessee continued to pour it on in the seventh, putting up a four spot in the inning. Luc Lipcius just barely missed hitting his fourth home run of the season with a two-run triple off the top off the wall in right center. Jake Rucker brought home Lipcius with an RBI groundout and Charleston capped the scoring in the inning with an RBI double to left center to make it 10-2.

An RBI groundout by freshman Trey Lipscomb in the top of the ninth finished off the scoring on the night. It was the first-career RBI for Lipscomb.

NOTABLE
VOLS 6-7-8 HITTERS SHINE IN WIN: The bottom half of UT’s lineup was almost unstoppable on Tuesday night. The 6-7-8 hitters of Connor Pavolony, Ricky Martinez and Luc Lipcius combined to go 8-for-11 with three doubles, a triple, six runs and four RBI in the win. Pavolony set new career highs with two hits and three runs while Martinez also set a career best with four hits.

ANOTHER SCORELESS OUTING FOR BULLPEN: Tennessee’s bullpen has been lights out this season and Tuesday was no exception. Four true freshmen relievers combined to throw four shutout innings, allowing just one hit and two walks. The bullpen has allowed only one run and 10 hits while striking out 55 in 54.0 innings of work this season.

UP NEXT: The Vols are back home this weekend to host Fresno State for three games at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. First pitch for Game One is set for 6:30 p.m. on Friday night. All three games will be streamed live online via SEC Network+ and the WatchESPN app.

UT Athletics