Five Bulldogs earn All-SEC honors
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Five Bulldogs earn All-SEC honors

Emerson Hancock
Photo: Kristin M. Bradshaw/UGA

ATHENS, GA – Five members of the University of Georgia baseball team have earned All-Southeastern Conference honors, the league office announced Monday.

Sophomore pitcher Emerson Hancock was named First Team All-SEC, senior second baseman LJ Talley and junior third baseman Aaron Schunk made Second Team All-SEC, pitcher Cole Wilcox was part of the Freshman All-SEC squad plus Talley and junior shortstop Cam Shepherd headline the SEC All-Defensive Team.

Hancock (8-2, 1.31 ERA), a Cairo, Ga. native and semifinalist for The Golden Spikes Award and the Dick Howser Trophy, leads the SEC and ranks fourth nationally in ERA. In nine of his 12 starts this year, he allowed zero or one run. His two losses came 1-0 to No. 10 LSU and 2-0 at Tennessee. In eight SEC starts, Hancock went 4-2 with a 1.69 ERA and held opponents to a .157 batting average.

Talley and Schunk are enjoying career years. Talley, who hails from Folkston, Ga., is batting a team-leading .346 with eight home runs and 40 RBI. He has started all 56 games and is fielding .986. Schunk, an Atlanta native and semifinalist for the Olerud Award as a two-way standout, is hitting .343 with a team-best 11 home runs and 44 RBI in 50 games. On the mound, he’s 1-2 with a 2.53 ERA and 11 saves in 16 appearances.

Wilcox, a native of Chickamauga, Ga., is 3-1 with a 4.17 ERA in 17 appearances including four starts. In SEC action, Wilcox is 3-1 with a 2.57 ERA with 41 strikeouts in 35 innings pitched.

Shepherd, a native of Duluth, Ga., has put together one of the finest defensive seasons ever by an SEC shortstop, going error-free in 30 SEC games in a total of 109 chances. For the year, he’s fielding .990 with just two errors in 206 total chances. At the plate, Shepherd is batting .232 with six home runs and 30 RBI.

Seventh-ranked Georgia (42-14, 21-9 SEC) is the No. 3 seed at the SEC Tournament in Hoover, Ala. The Bulldogs will play Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. ET against the winner of a Tuesday game involving 13th-ranked and No. 6 seed Texas A&M and No. 11 seed Florida. The Bulldogs swept the Gators in Athens this season and did not face the Aggies.

2019 SEC Baseball Awards

Player of the Year: JJ Bleday, Vanderbilt

Pitcher of the Year: Ethan Small, Mississippi State

Freshman of the Year: JT Ginn, Mississippi State

Coach of the Year: Tim Corbin, Vanderbilt

Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Garrett Stallings, Tennessee

First-Team All-SEC

C: Philip Clarke, Vanderbilt

1B: Tanner Allen, Mississippi State

2B: Justin Foscue, Mississippi State

3B: Austin Martin, Vanderbilt

SS: Grae Kessinger, Ole Miss

OF: JJ Bleday, Vanderbilt

OF: Jake Mangum, Mississippi State

OF: Alerick Soularie, Tennessee

DH/UT: Nelson Maldonado, Florida

SP: Ethan Small, Mississippi State

SP: Emerson Hancock, Georgia

RP: Tyler Brown, Vanderbilt

Second-Team All-SEC Team

C: Cooper Johnson, Ole Miss

1B: Trevor Ezell, Arkansas

2B: LJ Talley, Georgia

3B: Aaron Schunk, Georgia

SS: Casey Martin, Arkansas

OF: Dominic Fletcher, Arkansas

OF: Heston Kjerstad, Arkansas

OF: Antoine Duplantis, LSU

DH/UT: Matt Goodheart, Arkansas

SP: TJ Sikkema, Missouri

SP: Zack Thompson, Kentucky

RP: Matt Cronin, Arkansas

Freshman All-SEC Team

JT Ginn, SP, Mississippi State

Kumar Rocker, SP, Vanderbilt

Doug Nikhazy, SP, Ole Miss

Cole Henry, SP, LSU

Cole Wilcox, SP, Georgia

Patrick Wicklander, SP, Arkansas

Connor Noland, SP, Arkansas

Ryan Bliss, 2B, Auburn

Christian Franklin, OF, Arkansas

Joseph Menefee, RP, Texas A&M

Kendrick Calilao, 1B, Florida

Brett Kerry, RP, South Carolina

SEC All-Defensive Team

C: Cooper Johnson, Ole Miss

1B: Trevor Ezell, Arkansas*

1B: Julian Infante, Vanderbilt*

2B: LJ Talley, Georgia

3B: Austin Martin, Vanderbilt

SS: Cam Shepherd, Georgia

OF: Dominic Fletcher, Arkansas

OF: Jake Mangum, Mississippi State

OF: Zach Watson, LSU

P: Garrett Stallings, Tennessee

*Tie (Ties are not broken)

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