A trio of Gators was named to the All-SEC team on Monday. Junior catcher BT Riopelle was voted to the first team, sophomore left fielder Wyatt Langford was named to the second team and pitcher Brandon Neely was selected to the Freshman All-SEC Team.
Riopelle has impressed both at the plate and behind it during his first season at UF following his transfer from Coastal Carolina. He’s batting .306 with 14 home runs, 50 RBI, one triple, seven doubles and five stolen bases.
He leads all SEC backstops in homers, RBI and slugging percentage (.581). He became the first Gator in four years to hit three homers in a game, a feat he accomplished against Vanderbilt.
Defensively, he has thrown out six runners trying to steal and committed just four errors in 407 chances.
Langford has been one of the SEC’s break-out stars this year. After receiving just four at bats in all of 2021, the Trenton, Florida, native leads the Gators with a .360 batting average, 21 home runs and 55 RBI. Those 21 homers are tied for the most in the conference, and they allowed him to become just the sixth player in school history to club at least 20 long balls in a season.
He is tied for second in the league in runs scored (61), third in total bases (152), third in slugging percentage (.720), tied for seventh in RBI and ninth in batting average.
Langford played left field for the first time in his life this year and has yet to commit an error.
He was thought to be among the leading candidates for SEC Player of the Year, so it’s a bit shocking to see him fail to even make the first team.
Neely, meanwhile, has been among UF’s most effective and consistent pitchers this season. He owns a 3-1 record with a 3.38 ERA and 64 strikeouts in 54 innings.
In his seven starts, all in league play, the numbers are even better: 2-1, 2.95 ERA, .173 batting average against and 44 strikeouts in 36 2/3 frames.
Earlier this year, Neely carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning against No. 1 Tennessee.
Most recently, Neely struck out a career-high 10 batters in seven shutout innings on Friday night against South Carolina. He was named the SEC Freshman of the Week for his performance earlier on Monday.
Here is a look at the complete All-SEC team as well as the postseason award winners:
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)
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