KNOXVILLE — Tennessee junior pitcher Garrett Crochet and junior outfielder Alerick Soularie have earned Preseason All-American honors by Baseball America.
Crochet was named to Baseball America’s first-team, while Soularie was named to the second team.
The Vols will begin its 2020 season next month and will host Western Illinois at 4:30 p.m. ET. Tennessee finished the 2019 season with a 40-21 record and made an NCAA Regional appearance.
UT press release:
Baseball America has named two Tennessee players to its preseason All-America teams, which were announced on Monday morning.
Junior pitcher Garrett Crochet was a first-team selection while junior outfielder Alerick Soularie was named to the second team.
Crochet and Soularie were both named preseason third team All-Americans by Perfect Game earlier this month, while Soularie earned preseason All-America first-team honors from D1Baseball.com, as well.
Baseball America annually polls major league organizations’ scouting departments to vote on the team and asks that they make their selections based on performance, talent and professional potential. In the past, the Baseball America Preseason All-America team has been a predictor both of the first round of the draft and of team success.
Eight members of the 2019 preseason first team became first-round picks last June, including College Player of the Year and first-overall selection Adley Rutschman. In all, 13 players from last year’s Preseason All-America teams were drafted in the first round, including six of the first 10 picks.
Crochet has been tabbed as a potential top-10 overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft and enters this season with high expectations after showing flashes of dominance during his first two years 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.
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.
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 after finishing the year ranked in the top five in the SEC in batting average, slugging percentage and on-base percentage. He was also named a third-team All-American by D1Basaeball.com and an All-America Honorable Mention by Perfect Game.
To see the full Preseason All-America teams, visit BaseballAmerica.com or click HERE.
Tennessee opens its 2020 campaign at home on Feb. 14 against Western Illinois. Season tickets are available now at AllVols.com while single-game, Porch and Patio and other ticket packages will go on sale this week.
For the most up-to-date information on Tennessee baseball, be sure to follow the team on Twitter and Instagram (@Vol_Baseball) as well as Facebook (Tennessee Baseball).
