Graduate outfielder Connor Tate has been named to the preseason All-Southeastern Conference baseball team in a vote of the league coaches, the SEC announced Thursday.
A 6-3, 211-pound native of Bishop, Ga., Tate has been the team’s Gordon Beckham MVP award recipient the past two seasons. He batted .344 with 10 home runs and 33 RBI in 2021 and was even better last year when he hit .354 with 13 home runs and 58 RBI. He earned a degree in Sport Management in 2021. Currently, he is pursuing a Learning, Design and Technology Certificate. Tate was among three outfielders named to the 2023 preseason All-SEC Second Team. Tate, who has played in 163 games including 129 starts, has a .327 career batting average with 27 home runs and 115 RBI.
The league’s 14 head coaches voted on a 12-man first and second team, the predicted order of finish in each division as well as the overall SEC Champion. LSU was picked to win the Western Division as well as the SEC, receiving 11 of the 14 votes to be the overall champion. The Tigers visit Foley Field May 18-20. Tennessee is the favorite to take the Eastern Division, and the Volunteers face Georgia in Athens May 5-7. According to the league’s coaches, the rest of the Eastern Division’s finish will feature Florida, Vanderbilt, South Carolina, Georgia, Kentucky and Missouri. Behind LSU, the Western Division race will end up with Texas A&M second followed by Arkansas, Ole Miss, Alabama, Auburn and Mississippi State.
The 2023 regular season begins Feb. 17 with conference play set to open March 16. The 2023 SEC Baseball Tournament will be held May 23-28 at the Hoover Met in Hoover, Ala.
The Bulldogs play host to Jacksonville State in a three-game set on the 17th. Georgia begins SEC play next month against South Carolina at Foley Field.
2023 SEC Baseball Coaches Preseason All-SEC Team
First Team
C: BT Riopelle, Florida
1B: Jack Moss, Texas A&M
2B: Peyton Stovall, Arkansas
3B: Luke Mann, Missouri
SS: Jacob Gonzalez, Ole Miss
OF (3): Dylan Crews, LSU; Enrique Bradfield Jr., Vanderbilt; Wyatt Langford, Florida
DH/UTL: Tommy White, LSU
SP (2): Chase Dollander, Tennessee; Chase Burns, Tennessee
RP: Brady Tygart, Arkansas
Second Team
C: Luke Hancock, Mississippi State
1B: Tre’ Morgan, LSU
2B: Ryan Targac, Texas A&M
3B: Trevor Werner, Texas A&M
SS: Maui Ahuna, Tennessee
OF (3): Connor Tate, Georgia; Brett Minnich, Texas A&M; Colton Ledbetter, Mississippi State
DH/UTL: Austin Bost, Texas A&M
SP (*3): Carter Holton, Vanderbilt*; Hurston Waldrep, Florida*; Paul Skenes, LSU*
RP: Camden Sewell, Tennessee