Four Vols selected to Perfect Game preseason All-American teams
Tennessee baseball will start the 2023 season with a trip to Scottsdale (Ariz.) for the MLB4 tournament beginning on February 17th. The field of teams competing consists of UC San Diego, Fresno State, Michigan and Arizona.
On Thursday morning, with the season essentially six weeks away, Perfect Game released their three pre-season all-American teams, featuring four Volunteers in So. Pitcher Chase Burns, Jr. Pitcher Chase Dollander, So. Pitcher Drew Beam and Jr. Shortstop Maui Ahuna.
Both Burns and Dollander, who received recognition from the organization following last season, were selected as first-team pitchers ahead of 2023, with both receiving high praise in the press release.
On Burns
“The true freshman class of 2022 was immediately impactful but sometimes getting lost in the shuffle was Burns, who was a true Friday night ace for a top SEC program right away. Early reports are that he’s only improved which is hard to imagine a 19 year old right-hander who already flirts with triple digits doing. It’s rare to see a true freshman do the things Burns did in season but that just makes expectations even greater for the second year right-hander.”
On Dollander
“Dollander was the SEC Pitcher of the Year in 2022, his first year in Knoxville, after going 10-0 with a 2.39 ERA in just 79 innings. It’s true swing-and-miss stuff and reports are that Dollander was routinely sitting 96-100 mph this fall. There’s five pitches here to miss bats with a put-away slider highlighting the arsenal. Dollander is likely the best pitching prospect to come out of the draft in a long time and is a true 1:1 candidate as well.”
Beam, a sophomore pitcher, who posted an 8-1 record with a 2.27 ERA last season over 76 innings of work, was selected as a second-team pitcher by Perfect Game.
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Ahuna, the Kansas transfer, who brings plenty of upside to Knoxville, was selected to the third-team. Last season at Kansas, he posted a 2.96 average with 16 doubles, 4 triples, 8 home runs, 48 RBIs, and 13 stolen bases.
Tennessee enters the season with high expectations, following last year’s 57-9 record, which resulted in the No.1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament and regular season and tournament SEC championships.
