With the college baseball regular season finished, the All-SEC teams can be released, and there are a few Gators that made the cut.
Catcher [autotag]BT Riopelle[/autotag] was named to the SEC First Team, outfielder [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag] made the Second Team and right-hander [autotag]Brandon Neely[/autotag] rounds things out with an appearance on the All-Freshman Team.
Riopelle quickly emerged as the team’s starting catcher this year after working his way past [autotag]Mac Guscette[/autotag] on the depth chart. The Coastal Carolina transfer finished the year with a .306 batting average, 57 hits, 14 homers, 50 RBIs and 16 walks. His defense was also solid throwing out 6-of-22 baserunners that attempted to steal on him. He finished the season with a .990 fielding percentage and committed just four errors while allowing five passed balls.
Langford came into the season with questions swirling about whether or not he’d be able to stave off the freshmen and hold onto his starting left field spot. He blasted a conference leading 21 homers in response and became one of the most feared bats in Florida’s lineup. He moved into the leadoff spot after [autotag]Colby Halter[/autotag] began to struggle and didn’t miss a step.
He led the team in average (.360), on-base percentage (.452), slugging percentage (.720), hits (76), triples (3), home runs and RBIs (55). Somehow, that wasn’t enough to be name to the First Team, but then again SEC coaches don’t like getting spanked by underclassmen.
Neely stepped into the team’s No. 3 spot against Arkansas and moved up to No. 2 after [autotag]Hunter Barco[/autotag] went down for the year. He finished the year with a 3.38 ERA, 64 strikeouts and a 0.98 WHIP. His last outing against South Carolina was his best. He threw seven shutout innings and struck out a career-high 10 batters.
If it feels like there’s a name missing from that list, there is. [autotag]Jud Fabian[/autotag] didn’t make the cut after returning for his junior year. He previously made the Second Team in the shortened 2020 season and was a First Teamer in 2021. He also made the All-SEC Defensive Team last year and was a Third Team All-American.
The problem is Fabian didn’t quite live up to expectations after turning down a second-round offer from the Boston Red Sox. While the strikeouts took a dip and the walks went up as pro scouts desired, Fabian floundered in conference play and was a non-factor down the stretch going 5-for-49 over his last 10 games. He finished the season batting .249 and was .185 against the SEC.
A big run in the tournament could help him get to where he wants to be, but this is by no mean a snub. Things just didn’t go Jud’s way.
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