Five Tigers named All-SEC by coaches

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - A school-record five LSU Tigers were named Tuesday to the first-team all-SEC squad in a vote of the league's 14 head baseball coaches. Senior first baseman Mason Katz, senior outfielder Raph Rhymes, junior third baseman Christian Ibarra, sophomore pitcher Aaron Nola and freshman shortstop Alex Bregman each received first-team all-conference recognition.

Nola was voted the SEC Pitcher of the Year and Bregman was named SEC Freshman of the Year.

LSU junior second baseman JaCoby Jones was named second-team all-SEC, and Katz and Ibarra were voted to the SEC all-Defensive team. Bregman was named to the Freshman all-SEC squad.

Vanderbilt's Tony Kemp was selected 2013 SEC Baseball Player of the Year, and Vanderbilt's Tim Corbin was voted SEC Coach of the Year. Sam Frost of Mississippi State was named SEC Baseball Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

The five first-team players for LSU surpasses the previous school mark of four first-team all-SEC selections set in 1990.

Nola, a right-hander from Baton Rouge, La., is the second LSU hurler to be named SEC Pitcher of the Year, joining right-hander Louis Coleman in 2009. Nola is 10-0 this season with a 1.94 ERA, and he has recorded 105 strikeouts in 102 innings.

Bregman, a product of Albuquerque, N.M., is the fourth LSU player to earn SEC Freshman of the Year recognition, joining pitcher Matty Ott (2009), pitcher Lane Mestepey (2001) and second baseman Mike Fontenot (2000). Bregman is hitting a team-best .378 this season with 16 doubles, seven triples, five homers, 49 RBI and 14 stolen bases.

Katz, a native of Harahan, La., is hitting .377 with 12 doubles, two triples, 14 homers and 64 RBI. The first-team all-SEC honor marks the third straight season in which Katz has received an all-conference designation, as he was voted second-team all-SEC in 2011 and 2012.

Rhymes, a product of Monroe, La. and the SEC Player of the Year last season, is batting .335 in 2013 with 14 doubles, one triple, three homers and 43 RBI. He has a .376 career batting average in three seasons at LSU.

Ibarra, a native of La Puente, Calif., is hitting .335 on the year with 16 doubles, six homers and 37 RBI. He was named to the SEC all-Tournament team on Sunday after hitting a team-high .353 in five games with three doubles, three RBI and two runs scored.

Jones, a Richton, Miss. product, is batting .290 this season with 10 doubles, five homers, 29 RBI and 12 stolen bases. He batted .313 this season in the Tigers' SEC regular-season games.

Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own players. The complete 2013 All-SEC Team follows:

SEC PLAYER OF THE YEAR - Tony Kemp, Vanderbilt

SEC PITCHER OF THE YEAR - Aaron Nola, LSU

SEC FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR - Alex Bregman, LSU

SEC SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR - Sam Frost, Mississippi State

SEC COACH OF THE YEAR - Tim Corbin, Vanderbilt

FIRST TEAM

1B - Mason Katz, LSU

2B - Tony Kemp, Vanderbilt

3B - Christian Ibarra, LSU

SS - Alex Bregman, LSU

C - Stuart Turner, Ole Miss

OF - Hunter Renfroe, Mississippi State

OF - Mike Yastrzemski, Vanderbilt

OF - Raph Rhymes, LSU

DH/UTL - Keaton Steele, Missouri

A.J. Reed, Kentucky

P - Ryne Stanek, Arkansas

P - Aaron Nola, LSU

RP - Jonathan Holder, Mississippi State

SECOND TEAM

1B - Garrett Cooper, Auburn

2B - Brett Pirtle, Mississippi State

JaCoby Jones, LSU

3B - Curt Powell, Georgia

Andrew Mistone, Ole Miss

SS - Mikey Reynolds, Texas A&M

Mikey White, Alabama

C - Grayson Greiner, South Carolina

OF - Connor Harrell, Vanderbilt

OF - Brian Anderson, Arkansas

OF - Krey Bratsen, Texas A&M

DH/UTL - Daniel Mengden, Texas A&M

P - Tyler Beede, Vanderbilt

P - Bobby Wahl, Ole Miss

RP - Tyler Webb, South Carolina

ALL FRESHMAN TEAM

1B - Josh Lester, Missouri

2B - Kyle Overstreet, Alabama

3B - Xavier Turner, Vanderbilt

SS - Alex Bregman, LSU

C - Greg Fettes, Kentucky

OF -Kyle Barrett, Kentucky

OF - Vincent Jackson, Tennessee

OF - Harrison Bader, Florida

DH/UTL - Zander Wiel, Vanderbilt

P - Jack Wynkoop, South Carolina

P - Sean McLaughlin, Georgia

RP - Carson Fulmer, Vanderbilt

Ray Castillo, Alabama

ALL DEFENSIVE TEAM

P - Daniel Mengden, Texas A&M

1B - Mason Katz, LSU; Cole Lankford, Texas A&M

2B - Tony Kemp, Vanderbilt

SS - Adam Frazier, Mississippi State

3B - Christian Ibarra, LSU

C - Stuart Turner, Ole Miss

OF - Austin Cousino, Kentucky

OF - Mike Yastrzemski, Vanderbilt

OF - Hunter Renfroe, Mississippi State