Tennessee ties a league-high with six Preseason All-SEC selections

Tennessee boasted six players on the All-Southeastern Conference Preseason teams that were announced Wednesday morning, tying Texas A&M for the most players in the league as Opening Day for the 2025 campaign is nine days away.

Shortstop Dean Curley, starting pitcher Liam Doyle and relief pitcher Nate Snead were appointed to the first-team while second baseman Gavin Kilen, third baseman Andrew Fischer and outfielder Hunter Ensley earned second-team honors.

Tennessee tied Texas A&M with the most representatives (6) of all 16 conference squads. The Vols were an even three-three split from first team to second team while the Aggies had the most first-team selections with four. Texas A&M was picked to win the league on Wednesday as well while Tennessee was picked second. Just a short eight months ago, UT held on to defeat A&M for a 6-5 thriller Game 3 in the College World Series – claiming the program’s first national championship.

LSU had four representatives while Arkansas, Florida and Vanderbilt each boasted a trio.  

Curley had a banner year as a freshman on Rocky Top (literally) as the 6-foot-3, 212-pounder picked up Freshman All-American honors from D1 Baseball and Baseball America, was named to the SEC All-Freshmen Teram, was named to the College World Series All-Tournament Team and was a 2024 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team Participant following his rookie campaign. The true freshman starting shortstop for the Big Orange hit .285 with 12 home runs and 50 RBI in 67 games played. Curley tallied 63 hits, scored 51 runs and walked 31 times.

The second-year player recently checked in at No. 24 on MLB.com’s Top 100 Draft Prospects for 2025.  

As a true freshman, Curley scored three runs on five occasions, tallied a trio of three-hit days and drive in nine runs and launched three home runs against Kansas State. At shortstop, he recorded a season-high five putouts against Florida State in the College World Series and registered a career-best six assists against Illinois.  

Doyle tossed 55 innings over 16 appearances in 2024 at Ole Miss with 11 starts, contributing a 3-4 record with an ERA of 5.73. The lefty struck out 84 batters, walked 21 and opponents hit .230 against him. The pitcher tossed a gem at Tennessee on March 23 this past season, throwing six-innings strong of three earned-run baseball with 10 strikeouts to only one walk. He allowed only three this in the victory and the 10 strikeouts tied for a season-high as he accomplished the feat just a week prior as well in a win over South Carolina at home.  

Snead, the 6-foot-2, 212-pound hard-throwing righty burst onto the scene in Southeastern Conference play last season after transferring in from Wichita State. He was a USA Baseball Collegiate National Team Participant last summer after logging 75.1 innings, in a variety of roles, with a 10-2 record over 29 appearances and one start. Snead struck out 61, walked 26 and locked down six saves out of the bullpen. Snead could being the season in the starting rotation for the Vols.  

Kilen, who was named the top SEC transfer by Baseball America this offseason in addition to a preseason second-team All-American nod, is gearing up for his first season on Rocky Top after transferring in form Louisville.

The infielder picked up third-team All-ACC honors in 2024, finishing with a .330 average to go along with nine home runs, 41 runs batted in, 39 runs scored, 23 doubles and three triples. He led his squad in hits, doubles and total bases while his 23 doubles were tied for fifth-most in program history. As a sophomore, Kilen started 54 of his 56 games at shortstop.

As a freshman in 2023, Kilen played in 46 games with 38 starts across the middle infield – 30 at second base and eight at shortstop. He logged a .265 batting average with nine doubles, a triple and 18 RBI. Prior to attending Louisville, Kilen was selected in the 13^th round of the 2022 MLB Draft by the Boston Red Sox and was a member of the 2021 U18 national team. Kilen was also a 2022 Perfect Game All-American and took part in the 2022 MLB High School All-Star Game.

Fischer was named second-team All-SEC in 2024 following his first and only year in Oxford where he hit .285 with 20 homers and 57 runs batted in. The hot corner defender struck out 53 times and walked on 35 occasions over 207 at-bats while also logging 10 doubles with a pair of triples. Fischer led the squad in home runs, RBI, hits (59) and was second in runs scored (47). He played his freshman season in the ACC at Duke.

Ensley, who will forever be remembered as a Vols legend thanks to a pair of incredible plays last summer in Omaha, finished the 2024 campaign with a .296 average over 68 games and 216 at-bats. The veteran slugged 12 homers, 15 doubles, drove in 48 runs and scored 45 times.  

First-Team Coaches Preseason All-SEC Team

C: Ike Irish, Auburn
C: Devin Burkes, Kentucky
1B: Jared Jones, LSU
1B: Hunter Hines, Mississippi State
2B: Cade Kurland, Florida
3B: Gavin Grahovac, Texas A&M
SS: Justin Lebron, Alabama*
SS: Dean Curley, Tennessee*
OF: Jace LaViolette, Texas A&M
OF: Ethan Petry, South Carolina
OF: Max Belyeu, Texas*
OF: Tre Philips, Georgia*
DH/UTL: Hayden Schott, Texas A&M
SP: Ryan Prager, Texas A&M
SP: Gabe Gaeckle, Arkansas
SP: Liam Doyle, Tennessee
SP: Kade Anderson, LSU
RP: Nate Snead, Tennessee
RP: Alton Davis II, Georgia
RP: Gavin Guidry, LSU
* denotes ties

Second-Team Coaches Preseason All-SEC Team

C: Ryan Galvan, Texas*
C: Luke Hayman, Florida*
1B: Cooper McMurray, Auburn
2B: Gavin Kilen, Tennessee
2B: Wyatt Henseler, Texas A&M
2B: Daniel Dickinson, LSU*
3B: Andrew Fischer, Tennessee
3B: Slate Alford, Georgia*
SS: Colby Shelton, Florida
OF: RJ Austin, Vanderbilt
OF: Hunter Ensley, Tennessee
OF: Caden Sorrell, Texas A&M
DH/UTL: Will Hodo, Alabama
SP: Zane Adams, Alabama
SP: Landon Beidelschies, Arkansas
SP: Hunter Elliot, Ole Miss*
SP: JD Thompson, Vanderbilt*
SP: Kyson Witherspoon, Oklahoma*
RP: Christian Foutch, Arkansas
RP: Miller Green, Vanderbilt
RP: Robert Hogan, Kentucky
* denotes ties