May 24, 2011

Hoover, Ala. – South Carolina senior second baseman Scott Wingo, junior left-hander Michael Roth and sophomore right-handed reliever Matt Price earned first-team All-SEC honors with head coach Ray Tanner also picking up Coach of the Year accolades as the Southeastern Conference announced its award winners for the 2011 season on Tuesday morning. Sophomore first baseman Christian Walker was also a second-team All-SEC choice and right-hander Forrest Koumas was named to the SEC All-Freshman team. Walker, Wingo and junior outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. picked up All-SEC Defensive honors as well.

Roth and Price add all-conference honors to an already impressive list of accolades that the duo has received during the 2011 campaign. Roth, a quarterfinalist for the Pitcher of the Year award and a semifinalist for the Howser Award, is 10-3 with a 1.28 ERA on the year with six of his wins coming in league play. His 1.28 ERA is the best mark in the SEC as well. Price, also a semifinalist for the Howser Award, owns a 5-3 record and 15 saves for the 2011 season. This is the second straight year Price has earned all-conference accolades as he was a second-team choice as a freshman in 2010. Price has struck out 56 batters in 41.2 innings and opponents are hitting only .207 against him. Nine of his 15 saves came in the SEC as well.

Wingo’s picks up his first All-SEC honor as the senior captain led the team in hitting in SEC games with a .380 clip in 30 conference games. Wingo is hitting .340 (65-for-191) for the year and has a .469 on-base percentage that is among the best in the SEC. It is also the second consecutive year he earned All-SEC Defensive honors.

Walker, just named to USA Baseball’s Collegiate National team on Sunday, is in the midst of a strong sophomore campaign as he leads the Gamecocks with a .358 batting average (78-for-218) as well as a team-high nine HR and 57 RBI. His .573 slugging percentage also tops the squad. Walker is one of two Gamecocks this year to start all 56 games. His 57 RBI are second highest in the SEC. He is also third in the league in hits (78), fourth in runs scored (53), fifth in slugging percentage, home runs and total bases (125) and ninth in batting average. In addition, Walker hit .316 (37-for-117) in 30 SEC games and had eight doubles, a pair of homers and 24 RBI vs. conference teams.

Koumas has quietly put together a 6-0 season in his first year with the Garnet and Black to go along with a 3.05 ERA and 53 strikeouts in 59 innings pitched. Five of Koumas’ six wins also came in the SEC along with a SEC Co-Freshman of the Week honor after a quality start in a win over Kentucky.

Bradley started 37 games for Carolina being injured at Mississippi State. He was stellar patrolling center field and making catch after catch for the Gamecock defense.

Head coach Ray Tanner picks up SEC Coach of the Year honors for the third time in his career. Tanner was also honored by the league in 1998 and 2000. He is the second winningest coach in SEC history by winning percentage at .698. Coach Tanner is also a two-time national coach of the year (2000, 2010). The Gamecocks have won one national championship (2010), three SEC championships (2000, 2002, 2011), five SEC Eastern Division titles (1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2011) and one SEC Tournament title (2004) under Tanner’s direction. In addition, this season is the Gamecocks’ 12th straight year with 40 or more victories.

Coaches are not permitted to vote for their own players. The complete 2011 All-SEC Team follows:

SEC PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Mike Zunino, Florida

SEC PITCHER OF THE YEAR – Grayson Garvin, Vanderbilt

SEC FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR – Tony Kemp, Vanderbilt

SEC SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR – James McCann, Arkansas

SEC COACH OF THE YEAR – Ray Tanner, South Carolina

FIRST TEAM

1B – Aaron Westlake, Vanderbilt

2B – Scott Wingo, South Carolina

3B – Thomas McCarthy, Kentucky

SS – Casey McElroy, Auburn

C – Mike Zunino, Florida

OF – Mikie Mahtook, LSU

OF - Preston Tucker, Florida

OF – Tony Kemp, Vanderbilt

DH – Brian Johnson, Florida

P – Grayson Garvin, Vanderbilt

P – Michael Roth, South Carolina

RP – Matt Price, South Carolina

SECOND TEAM

1B – Christian Walker, South Carolina

2B – Josh Adams, Florida

2B – Alex Yarbrough, Ole Miss

3B – Jason Esposito, Vanderbilt

SS – Nolan Fontana, Florida

C – Tony Caldwell, Auburn

OF – Taylor Dugas, Alabama

OF – Mason Katz, LSU

OF – Chad Wright, Kentucky

DH – Conrad Gregor, Vanderbilt

P – DJ Baxendale, Arkansas; Hudson Randall, Florida

P – Sonny Gray, Vanderbilt; Alex Meyer, Kentucky

RP – Caleb Reed, Mississippi State

ALL FRESHMAN TEAM

1B – Dominic Ficociello, Arkansas

2B – JaCoby Jones, LSU

3B – Zack Powers, Florida

SS – Adam Frazier, Mississippi State

C – Ty Ross, LSU

OF – Tony Kemp, Vanderbilt

OF - C.T. Bradford, Mississippi State

OF – Andrew Toles, Tennessee

DH – Conrad Gregor, Vanderbilt

P – Karsten Whitson, Florida

P – Forrest Koumas, South Carolina

RP – Kevin Ziomek, Vanderbilt

ALL DEFENSIVE TEAM

P – Sonny Gray, Vanderbilt

1B – Dominic Ficociello, Arkansas

1B – Christian Walker, South Carolina

2B – Scott Wingo, South Carolina

SS – Nolan Fontana, Florida

3B – Jason Esposito, Vanderbilt

C – Mike Zunino, Florida

OF – Taylor Dugas, Alabama

OF – Mikie Mahtook, LSU

OF - Zach Cone, Georgia

OF – Jackie Bradley Jr., South Carolina