Florida Gators lead the way on year-end All-SEC Awards list

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — No team in the Southeastern Conference had more first-team players All-SEC players than the Florida Gators. The league announced the postseason awards and the Co-Champion Gators led the way with seven total nominees and five First-Team All-SEC players.

Jac Caglianone, Cade Kurland, Josh Rivera, Wyatt Langford, and Brandon Neely were all named to the first team. Brandon Sproat was named to the second team. Kurland and Luke Heyman made the All-Freshman team.

Gators lead the way on All-SEC teams

Florida’s five First-Team All-SEC honorees lead all schools in the conference. LSU was closest to Florida with three first-team nominees. The Tigers also had the Player of the Year (Dylan Crews) and Pitcher of the Year (Paul Skenes).

Florida is led by its stars, all of which were named on Monday. Caglianone has already set the school record for home runs in a season with 28 and counting. Langford has followed up his 26 home run 2022 camping with 16 more this season, despite missing seven games. Josh Rivera has had a career renaissance posting career highs in batting (.361), hits (70), RBI (58), and home runs (14).

Kurland has been a surprise this season. The freshman enrolled at Florida in the fall, skipping his senior season of high school. He’s played in 52 of 55 games with 51 starts. The second baseman has slugged 14 home runs in his rookie season and is third on the team with a .317 batting average.

Brandon Neely was in line to be a weekend starter before the return of Brandon Sproat and the arrival of Hurston Waldrep. With Caglianone anchoring the weekend, Neely was sent to the back end of the bullpen. He responded with an SEC-leading 10 saves in 24 appearances.

2023 SEC Baseball Awards

Player of the Year: Dylan Crews, LSU

Pitcher of the Year: Paul Skenes, LSU

Freshman of the Year: Charlie Condon, Georgia

Co-Scholar Athlete of the Year: Ben Anderson, Georgia

Co-Scholar Athlete of the Year: Andrew Pinckney, Alabama

Coach of the Year: Dave Van Horn

First team All-SEC

C: Cole Messina, South Carolina

1B: Jac Caglianone, Florida

2B: Cade Kurland, Florida

3B: Tommy White, LSU

SS: Josh Rivera, Florida

OF: Dylan Crews, LSU

OF: Wyatt Langford, Florida

OF: Ethan Petry, South Carolina

SP: Paul Skenes, LSU

SP: Hagen Smith, Arkansas

RP: Brandon Neely, Florida

DH/UT: Hunter Hines, Mississippi State

Second Team

C: Calvin Harris, Ole Miss

1B: Charlie Condon, Georgia

2B: Emilien Pitre, Kentucky

3B: Luke Mann, Missouri*

3B: Bryson Ware, Auburn*

SS: Jacob Gonzalez, Ole Miss

OF: Kemp Alderman, Ole Miss*

OF: Enrique Bradfield, Vanderbilt*

OF: Andrew Pinckney, Alabama*

OF: Jared Dickey, Tennessee*

SP: Devin Futrell, Vanderbilt

SP: Brandon Sproat, Florida

RP: Nick Maldonado, Vanderbilt

DH/UT: Kendall Diggs, Arkansas

Freshman Team

Charlie Condon, Georgia

Ethan Petry, South Carolina

Ike Irish, Auburn

Cade Kurland, Florida

Colby Shelton, Alabama

Jared Jones, LSU

Jace LaViolette, Texas A&M

Alton Davis II, Alabama

Dakota Jordan, Mississippi State

Gage Wood, Arkansas

RJ Austin, Vanderbilt

Luke Heyman, Florida

Defensive team

C: Fernando Gonzalez, Georgia

1B: Drew Williamson, Alabama*

1B: Hunter Hilliam, Kentucky*

2B: Emilien Pitre, Kentucky

3B: Davis Diaz, Vanderbilt

SS: Jim Jarvis, Alabama

OF: Enrique Bradfield, Vanderbilt*

OF: Dylan Crews, LSU*

OF: Tavian Josenberger, Arkansas*

OF: Kason Howell, Auburn*

P: Hagen Smith, Arkansas