KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – More All-America accolades were awarded to a handful of Vols on Friday as D1Baseball.com released its postseason All-America teams, which included four Tennessee players.
Sophomore pitcher Chase Dollander secured his fifth first-team All-America honor this season, becoming the first UT player to do so since Luke Hochevar in 2005. Dollander is now a member of an exclusive group of Volunteers to garner first-team acclaim from five or more outlets, joining the likes of program legends Todd Helton (1995), Jeff Pickler (1998), Chris Burke (2001) and Hochevar (2005).
Dollander has compiled an impressive list of postseason accolades this year, as he was also named the SEC Pitcher of the Year, just the second player in program history to win that award (Hochevar, 2005). The Evans, Georgia, native posted a perfect 10-0 record and led the country with a 0.80 WHIP. He also was second in the SEC with 108 strikeouts and led the conference with a 2.39 ERA while holding opposing hitters to a .175 batting average.
Fellow pitcher Chase Burns made his fourth All-America team, joining former AL Cy Young Award winner R.A. Dickey (1994) as the only player in program history to be selected to four All-America teams as a freshman.
Burns has also earned Freshman All-America honors from three different publications and was named the Freshman National Pitcher of the Year by the NCBWA and Collegiate Baseball.
Burns had a phenomenal debut season for the Big Orange, finishing with an 8-2 record and 2.91 ERA to go along with 103 strikeouts while serving as the Vols’ Friday night starter for the majority of the season. The Gallatin, Tennessee, native’s eight wins are tied for the fifth most by a UT freshman and his 103 punchouts rank third in program history.
Position players Trey Lipscomb and Drew Gilbert were also named third-team All-Americans by D1Baseball.com after ranking first and fourth in the SEC in runs batted in this season.
Lipscomb’s 84 RBIs rank third in single-season program history while Gilbert’s 70 rank eighth. The duo also combined to hit 33 of Tennessee’s record-setting 158 home runs. This marks the fifth All-America team that both players have been selected to this year after neither had ever been named to one prior to this season.
Tennessee has had eight players earn non-freshman All-America honors this season, doubling the previous program record of four set in 2021 and 1994. If you include freshmen All-Americans, the Vols have had nine players earn All-America recognition, which also smashed the previous school record of five in 2021.
To see the complete D1Baseball.com All-America teams, click HERE. A full listing of Tennessee’s postseason All-Americans and national award winners can be seen below.
Tennessee Postseason All-Americans / National Awards Winners
Tony Vitello
Perfect Game National Coach of the Year
RHP Drew Beam
NCBWA – Second Team
NCBWA – Freshman (First Team)
Collegiate Baseball – Freshman Team
Perfect Game – Freshman Team
DH/1B Blake Burke
Collegiate Baseball – Freshman Team
Perfect Game – Freshman Team
RHP Chase Burns
NCBWA Freshman National Pitcher of the Year
Collegiate Baseball National Co-Freshman Player of the Year
NCBWA – First Team
D1Baseball.com – Third Team
ABCA – Third Team
Collegiate Baseball – Third Team
Collegiate Baseball – Freshman Team
NCBWA – Freshman (First Team)
Perfect Game – Freshman Team
RHP Chase Dollander
D1Baseball.com – First Team
ABCA – First Team
NCBWA – First Team
Collegiate Baseball – First Team
Perfect Game – First Team
OF Drew Gilbert
NCBWA – First Team
ABCA – Second Team
Collegiate Baseball – Second Team
Perfect Game – Second Team
D1Baseball.com – Third Team
RHP Ben Joyce
NCBWA – Third Team
1B Luc Lipcius
CoSIDA Academic – Second Team
3B Trey Lipscomb
NCBWA – First Team
ABCA – Second Team
Collegiate Baseball – Second Team
D1Baseball.com – Third Team
Perfect Game – Third Team
2B Jorel Ortega
Perfect Game – Second Team
C Evan Russell
CoSIDA Academic – First Team
LHP Redmond Walsh
NCBWA – Second Team