Published May 20, 2024
Six Tennessee baseball standouts earn All-SEC postseason honors
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Noah Taylor  •  VolReport
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Tennessee clinched a share of the SEC title on the heels of a dominating run through the regular season.

Now, six Vols' players are being recognized by the conference ahead of the postseason.

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Second baseman Christian Moore and outfielder Dylan Dreiling were named First Team All-SEC while first baseman Blake Burke and outfielder Kavares Tears earned both Second Team and All Defensive Team recognition, the league announced Monday.

Dean Curley was named to the All Freshman Team.

Right-handed pitcher Drew Beam, who has started in all 14 series this season and has a 3.59 ERA, won SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

Moore has made a strong case for SEC Player of the Year, earning the triple crown in conference play after leading the league in batting average (.429), home runs (20) and RBIs (41).

As a junior, Moore set a number of program records, including career home runs with 52 and single-season homers, with 27, which he set during Tennessee's final series of the regular season against South Carolina last weekend.

Moore currently leads the team in batting average (.388), runs (64), hits (87) and RBIs (60), total bases (181), slugging percentage (.808) and on-base percentage (.454).

MORE FROM VOLREPORT: Tennessee baseball 2B Christian Moore's case to be SEC Player of the Year

Dreiling has been consistent in the Vols' lineup, proving himself in clutch moments as a sophomore. He ranks second on the team and eighth in the SEC in RBIs with 59 and has totaled 17 home runs along with 15 doubles and a team-high 37 walks.

Both Moore and Burke have been neck-and-neck in the career home run race. Burke previously broke the record in April before Moore jumped him late last month.

Burke set career bests in doubles (23), batting average (.359), runs (56), hits (78), home runs (16), RBIs (50) and stolen bases (eight). He ranks fourth in the SEC in hits with 44.

Burke holds the program's longest hitting streaks with 32-straight games, breaking former player Condredge Holloway's record of 27 games set in 1975.

On defense, Burke finished seventh in the conference with a team-high 378 putouts and a .988 fielding percentage.

Tears tied for seventh in the SEC in runs scored with 61 and recorded a .399 batting average. He tallied 12 doubles, 16 home runs, 43 RBIs and drew 35 walks on offense and made game-changing plays on the defensive side.

Tears had a 1.000 fielding percentage and was in on 68 putouts with three assists from the outfield.

MORE FROM VOLREPORT: Tennessee baseball remains No. 1 in polls ahead of postseason

Curley made an immediate impact as a freshman shortstop, taking over the starting spot at the beginning of the season.

He accounted for a team-high nine stolen bases and finished with 40 runs, 46 hits, eight doubles, nine home runs, 37 RBIs and .512 slugging percentage.

Top-ranked Tennessee (46-10) begins its stay in the SEC Tournament as the No. 1 seed on Wednesday at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium. The Vols will play the winner of 8-seed Vanderbilt and 9-seed Florida at 5:30 p.m. ET on SEC Network.

Tennessee went a combined 4-2 against both teams during the regular season.

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