7 Auburn baseball players earn All-SEC honors

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Record 7 Auburn baseball players earn All-SEC honors | Baseball

Josh Vitale | AU Writer Follow on Twitter Like on Facebook

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Auburn right-hander Casey Mize (32) pitches against LSU on Friday, May 18, 2018, at Plainsman Park in Auburn, Ala.

Casey Mize may very well end up being the first player selected in next month's MLB Draft, but he will not do so as the reigning SEC Pitcher of the Year.

That honor belongs to Florida ace Brady Singer, who went 10-1 with a 2.25 ERA and 92 strikeouts (to 18 walks) over 88 innings. Auburn's ace is 9-4 with a 2.94 ERA and 133 strikeouts (to 10 walks) over 95 innings.

Mize, though was one of a program-record seven Auburn players to earn postseason All-SEC honors on Monday. He was named to the first team; shortstop Will Holland to the second team; second baseman Luke Jarvis to the All-Defensive Team; and right fielder Steven Williams, designated hitter Edouard Julien, and pitchers Tanner Burns and Cody Greenhill to the All-Freshman Team.

That total is one better than the Tigers' previous best of six All-SEC selections in 2010 and ties Arkansas for the most this season.

“It’s exciting for a record number of our players to be recognized in the best conference in America,” head coach Butch Thompson said. “We’re happy to them be rewarded for all of their hard work. I’m proud of all of our guys, not just the ones who won awards, for how they represent our program both on and off the field.”

Mize is the first Auburn pitcher to earn first-team honors since Chris Bootcheck in 2000. He has thrown three complete games this season, including a no-hitter against Northeastern and a program-record-tying 15-strikeout game against Vanderbilt.

Holland, also the reigning SEC Player of the Week after a torrid 10-for-14 weekend against LSU, came on strong late in the season to finish with a team-best .329 batting average to go along with 10 home runs and 45 RBIs.

Jarvis leads the team's regular infielders with a .973 fielding percentage and teamed up with Holland to turn 20 double plays in a standout defensive campaign at second base.

Williams hit .291 with 10 home runs and 43 RBIs out of the No. 2 spot in the Tigers' lineup as a freshman. His roommate, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, native Edouard Julien, hit .268 and led the team with 14 home runs and 57 RBIs. The latter total leads all freshman nationally and is the most for an Auburn rookie since Gabe Gross drove in 65 runs in 1999.

Burns was a regular starter in the rotation from the first weekend and is 5-4 with a 3.33 ERA and 69 strikeouts (to 25 walks) over 67 2/3 innings in his debut campaign. Greenhill missed nearly a month due to an illness earlier in the season but still went 3-2 with a 1.59 ERA and five saves as the team's closer.

Those seven players will lead Auburn into this week's SEC Tournament, which begins Tuesday in Hoover. The No. 7-seed Tigers will face No. 10-seed Kentucky at approximately 1 p.m. CT for the right to face No. 2-seed Ole Miss in the second round.

2018 SEC Baseball Awards

Player of the Year: Jonathan India, Florida

Pitcher of the Year: Brady Singer, Florida

Freshman of the Year: Heston Kjerstad, Arkansas

Coach of the Year: Kevin O’Sullivan, Florida

Co-Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Keegan McGovern, Georgia

Co-Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Nico Mascia, Tennessee

First-Team All-SEC

? JJ Schwarz, Florida

1B: Kole Cottam, Kentucky

2B: Carson Shaddy, Arkansas

3B: Jonathan India, Florida

SS: Braden Shewmake, Texas A&M

OF: Jake Mangum, Mississippi State

OF: Ryan Olenek, Ole Miss

OF: Keegan McGovern, Georgia

DH/UT: Luke Heyer, Kentucky

SP: Brady Singer, Florida

SP: Casey Mize, Auburn

RP: Michael Byrne, Florida

Second-Team All-SEC Team

? Nick Fortes, Ole Miss

1B: Adam Sasser, Georgia

2B: Michael Helman, Texas A&M

3B: Casey Martin, Arkansas

SS: Will Holland, Auburn

OF: Eric Cole, Arkansas

OF: Wil Dalton, Florida

OF: Heston Kjerstad, Arkansas

DH/UT: Michael Curry, Georgia

SP: Blaine Knight, Arkansas

SP: Jackson Kowar, Florida

RP: Parker Caracci, Ole Miss

Freshman All-SEC Team

? Mason Meadows, Georgia

1B: Tanner Allen, Mississippi State

2B: Anthony Servideo, Ole Miss

3B: Casey Martin, Arkansas

OF: Heston Kjerstad, Arkansas

OF: Daniel Cabrera, LSU

OF: Steven Williams, Auburn

DH/UT: Edouard Julien, Auburn

SP: Ma’Khail Hilliard, LSU

SP: Tanner Burns, Auburn

RP: Cody Greenhill, Auburn

SEC All-Defensive Team

? Grant Koch, Arkansas

1B: Cole Zabowski, Ole Miss

2B: Luke Jarvis, Auburn

3B: Jonathan India, Florida

SS: Connor Kaiser, Vanderbilt

OF: Zach Watson, LSU

OF: Jake Mangum, Mississippi State

OF: Dominic Fletcher, Arkansas

P: Will Neely, Tennessee

Josh Vitale is the Auburn beat writer for the Opelika-Auburn News. You can follow him on Twitter at @AUBlog. To reach him by email, click here.