Baseball's Belk, Braswell Earn All-SEC Honors
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Senior Brandt Belk of the University of South Carolina baseball team was named to the All-Southeastern Conference second team while freshman Michael Braswell was selected to the SEC's All-Freshman Team, the conference office announced this afternoon (Monday, May 23).
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Senior Brandt Belk of the University of South Carolina baseball team was named to the All-Southeastern Conference second team while freshman Michael Braswell was selected to the SEC’s All-Freshman Team, the conference office announced this afternoon (Monday, May 23).
Belk becomes Carolina’s second straight All-SEC honoree at the utility position. Wes Clarke earned Second Team honors in 2021. Belk leads the Gamecocks with a .340 batting average to go along with 43 runs scored, 10 doubles, a triple, six home runs and 38 RBI. Belk is second on the team with 11 stolen bases while splitting time between first base and the outfield. He had four hits against Texas on March 12 and had four RBI at Missouri on April 2. Belk had a 24-game hit streak from March 8-April 22 and a 27-game reached base streak this season.
Braswell has started at shortstop in 53 games for the Gamecocks, hitting .284 with 29 runs scored, nine doubles, two triples, two home runs and 27 RBI. He also made seven appearances on the mound with a win, three saves and nine strikeouts in five innings pitched. Braswell had the game-winning RBI on Feb. 20 against UNC Greensboro, helping him to an SEC Freshman of the Week honor. He had four hits at Clemson on March 6 and was a perfect 4-for-4 with three RBI in a win over Kentucky on May 13.
In other specialty awards, Auburn’s Sonny DiChiara and LSU’s Dylan Crews shared Player of the Year honors, while Tennessee’s Chase Dollander and Drew Beam earned Pitcher and Freshman of the Year, respectively. Tennessee’s Tony Vitello earned Coach of the Year honors and Georgia’s Ben Anderson was the Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Carolina is the 10th seed in the SEC Tournament and will face seventh-seeded Florida on Tuesday afternoon (May 24) at approximately 2 p.m. Eastern time at the Hoover Met in Hoover, Ala.
2022 SEC Baseball Awards
Co-Player of the Year: Dylan Crews, LSU
Co-Player of the Year: Sonny DiChiara, Auburn
Pitcher of the Year: Chase Dollander, Tennessee
Freshman of the Year: Drew Beam, Tennessee
Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Ben Anderson, Georgia
Coach of the Year: Tony Vitello, Tennessee
First Team All-SEC
C: BT Riopelle, Florida
1B: Sonny DiChiara, Auburn
2B: RJ Yeager, Mississippi State
3B: Trey Lipscomb, Tennessee
SS: Jacob Gonzalez, Ole Miss
OF: Enrique Bradfield Jr., Vanderbilt
OF: Dylan Crews, LSU
OF: Drew Gilbert, Tennessee
SP: Chase Dollander, Tennessee
SP: Jonathan Cannon, Georgia
RP: Tyler Guilfoil, Kentucky
DH/UT: Dominic Keegan, Vanderbilt
Second Team All-SEC
C: Logan Tanner, Mississippi State
1B: Tim Elko, Ole Miss
2B: Ryan Targac, Texas A&M
3B: Jacob Berry, LSU
SS: Josh Day, Missouri
OF: Wyatt Langford, Florida
OF: Spencer Jones, Vanderbilt
OF: Dylan Rock, Texas A&M
SP: Chase Burns, Tennessee
SP: Drew Beam, Tennessee
RP: Blake Burkhalter, Auburn
DH/UT: Brandt Belk, South Carolina*
DH/UT: Austin Bost, Texas A&M*
Freshman All-SEC Team
Chase Burns, SP, Tennessee
Drew Beam, SP, Tennessee
Brady Tygart, RP, Arkansas
Hunter Elliott, SP, Ole Miss
Hagen Smith, SP, Arkansas
Carter Holton, SP, Vanderbilt
Hunter Hines, INF/OF, Mississippi State
Blake Burke, 1B/OF, Tennessee
Brandon Neely, P, Florida
Devin Futrell, SP, Vanderbilt
Michael Braswell, INF/P, South Carolina
Dylan Ray, RP, Alabama*
Chris Cortez, RP, Texas A&M*
SEC All-Defensive Team
C: Logan Tanner, Mississippi State
1B: Tre’ Morgan, LSU
2B: Robert Moore, Arkansas
3B: Blake Rambusch, Auburn
SS: Ryan Ritter, Kentucky
OF: Enrique Bradfield, Jr., Vanderbilt
OF: Dylan Crews, LSU
OF: Drew Gilbert, Tennessee
P: Connor Noland, Arkansas
*Ties (Ties are not broken)
