KNOXVILLE – Tennessee’s 2020 baseball season is approaching.
The Vols will begin play Feb. 14 at home against Western Illinois.
Ahead of the 2020 campaign, a pair of Vols have earned Preseason All-America honors.
UT press release:
A pair of Tennessee junior standouts have been named to Perfect Game’s Preseason All-America teams, as announced earlier today.
Outfielder Alerick Soularie and pitcher Garrett Crochet both earned third-team All-America accolades from the publication, becoming the first UT players to earn preseason All-America distinction since Nick Senzel in 2016.
Soularie burst onto the scene as a sophomore last season after playing his freshman year at San Jacinto College. The Houston native led the Vols in batting average (.357), slugging percentage (.602), on-base percentage (.466) and runs scored (52) while ranking second on the team in hits (70), home runs (11), runs batted in (46) and total bases (118).
Soularie earned numerous postseason honors in 2019, including first-team All-SEC recognition. He was also named a third-team All-American by D1Baseball.com and an All-America Honorable Mention by Perfect Game.
Crochet enters the 2020 season with high expectations after showing flashes of dominance during his first two seasons on Rocky Top. The Ocean Springs, Mississippi native, made 18 appearances and struck out 81 batters in 65.0 innings pitched in 2019. Crochet started the season in the bullpen before eventually working his way into the weekend rotation during SEC play, finishing the year with a 5-3 record as well as three saves.
The junior left hander has been projected as a potential Top 10 overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft after a strong summer and fall. During his two seasons at Tennessee, Crochet has appeared in 35 games while making 12 starts and has recorded 10 wins, four saves and 143 strikeouts.