Raph Rhymes Leads Five Tigers On All-SEC Teams

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BIRMINGHAM — LSU outfielder Raph Rhymes continues to reap the benefits of a stellar season as he was named SEC Player of the Year on Tuesday.

Raph Rhymes is the 2012 SEC Player of the Year. (Chris Parent)

Rhymes, the nation’s leading hitter with a .459 average, was recently named to the list of semifinalists for the 2012 Dick Howser Trophy, the award given to the top player in college baseball.

Tigers righthander Kevin Gausman (10-1, 2.84 ERA), expected to be a top-5 draft pick in the Major League draft on Monday, joined Rhymes on the first team, while outfielder Mason Katz (.335, 11 HR, 48 RBI) was voted to the second team. Pitcher Aaron Nola (6-4, 3.93 ERA) was named to the All-Freshman team, and pitcher Ryan Eades (73 K, 6 BB, 1 E/25 chances) to the All-Defensive team.

Rhymes, who leads the Tigers with 50 RBI this season, is the sixth LSU player to win the SEC player of the year honors, joining Todd Walker (1993), Russ Johnson (1994), Eddy Furniss (1996), Aaron Hill (2003) and Jon Zeringue (2004).

Mississippi State’s Chris Stratton, who handcuffed LSU twice this season including in the SEC tournament, was selected as pitcher of the year.

LSU, ranked No. 1 in the latest Collegiate Baseball Poll, was tabbed with the seventh national seed going into postseason play. They will open their run at Omaha Friday night at Alex Box Stadium against Louisiana-Monroe with Nola on the mound.

2012 ALL-SEC TEAM

SEC PLAYER OF THE YEAR - Raph Rhymes, LSU
SEC PITCHER OF THE YEAR - Chris Stratton, Mississippi State
SEC FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR - Austin Cousino, Kentucky
SEC SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR - Michael Roth, South Carolina
SEC COACH OF THE YEAR - Gary Henderson, Kentucky

FIRST TEAM
1B – Christian Walker, South Carolina
2B – Alex Yarbrough, Ole Miss
3B – Matt Reynolds, Arkansas
SS – Anthony Gomez, Vanderbilt
C – Mike Zunino, Florida
OF - Raph Rhymes, LSU
OF – Preston Tucker, Florida
OF – Taylor Dugas, Alabama
DH/UTL – Brian Johnson, Florida
P – Chris Stratton, Mississippi State
P - Kevin Gausman, LSU
RP – Steven Rodriguez, Florida

SECOND TEAM
1B – Matt Snyder, Ole Miss
2B – Bo Bigham, Arkansas
3B – Curt Powell, Georgia
SS – Nolan Fontana, Florida
C – Luke Maile, Kentucky
OF – Austin Cousino, Kentucky
OF – Ryan Tella, Auburn
OF - Mason Katz, LSU
DH – Drew Steckenrider, Tennessee
P – Alex Wood, Georgia
P – Corey Littrell, Kentucky
P – Bobby Wahl, Ole Miss
RP – Matt Price, South Carolina

ALL FRESHMAN TEAM
1B – A.J. Reed, Kentucky
2B – Will Maddox, Tennessee
3B – Josh Tobias, Florida
SS – Joey Pancake, South Carolina
C – Grayson Greiner, South Carolina
OF – Austin Cousino, Kentucky
OF – Tanner English, South Carolina
OF – Hunter Cole, Georgia
OF – Ben Moore, Alabama
DH/UTL – A.J. Reed, Kentucky
P - Aaron Nola, LSU
P – Tyler Beede, Vanderbilt
RP – Jonathan Holder, Mississippi State

ALL DEFENSIVE TEAM
P - Ryan Eades, LSU
P – Kendall Graveman, Mississippi State
P – Michael Roth, South Carolina
1B -Dominic Ficociello, Arkansas
2B – Alex Yarbrough, Ole Miss
SS – Nolan Fontana, Florida
3B – Matt Reynolds, Arkansas
C – Mike Zunino, Florida
OF – Evan Marzilli, South Carolina
OF – Taylor Dugas, Alabama
OF – Austin Cousino, Kentucky