A trio of Tennessee baseball players landed on the Coaches Preseason All-SEC team on Thursday morning. Right-handed pitcher Drew Beam was one of two starting pitchers on the first team while Christian Moore is the second baseman on the second team and Billy Amick is the third baseman on the second team.
The Vols’ three players on the two teams is the second most of any SEC team. Florida leads the way with five players, including four on the first team, while Arkansas, Auburn, LSU, South Carolina and Vanderbilt all have two players.
Beam has been Tennessee’s Sunday starter each of his first two seasons in Knoxville and is looking to step up into the Friday night starting spot in his junior season. The right-handed pitcher posted a 9-4 record, 3.63 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 88 strikeouts and just 23 walks during his sophomore season.
The Murfreesboro native was stellar in Tennessee’s postseason run to the College World Series turning in dominant starts in the Vols’ regional (Charlotte) and super regional (Southern Miss) clinching victories.
Amick was the crown jewel of the Vols’ transfer class, transferring from Clemson to Tennessee this offseason. The corner infielder chose Tennessee over a top group including Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina. The sophomore played first base, third base and designated hitter last season at Clemson where he hit .413 with 13 home runs, 32 extra-base hits and 63 RBIs. Amick also boasted an elite 16.7% strikeout percentage last season.
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Moore had somewhat of an up-and-down season but played his best baseball during the postseason. The second baseman went seven-for-10 at the plate with four home runs, eight RBIs, three walks and a hit-by pitch on his way to earning Clemson Regional MVP honors.
The Brooklyn native finished his sophomore season hitting .304 with 17 home runs, 13 doubles and 50 RBIs. Moore could play a number of positions for Tennessee this season. Second base and shortstop are the two most likely spots but the talented junior has also worked in the outfield this preseason.
The Coaches Preseason Rankings came out on Wednesday morning as well. The SEC’s coaches picked Tennessee to finish second in the SEC East behind Florida and slightly ahead of Vanderbilt. Check out the full preseason rankings here.
