BATON ROUGE – Two members of LSU’s heralded recruiting Class of 2014 have been recognized by the league’s 14 head coaches as members of the 2014 Southeastern Conference All-Freshman Team for their effort this season as striker Jorian Baucom and defender Alexis Urch were among those announced in the SEC’s postseason awards on Sunday.
With the announcement of Baucom and Urch to the SEC All-Freshman Team on Sunday, it marks the 11th-straight season in which at least one LSU Tiger has been honored as an All-SEC performer as either a first-team, second-team or all-freshman selection dating back to the 2004 season.
A product of Pinnacle High School near Phoenix, Arizona, Baucom wrapped up her rookie campaign as LSU’s leading scorer and one of the top scoring threats in the SEC with her performance in 2014.
A former five-star and Top 20 recruit nationally in the TopDrawerSoccer.com Top 100 recruit rankings for 2014, Baucom scored a team-leading eight goals and four assists for 20 points on the campaign, including a team-best four goals and two assists for 10 points for SEC play as one of the league’s top strikers.
While making 20 appearances for the Tigers, Baucom ended the 2014 regular season tied for No. 6 with eight goals scored and tied for No. 7 with 20 points scored on the SEC’s overall scoring charts this fall. She was also tied for the No. 9 spot on the SEC’s scoring charts in conference play with her four goals scored against league opposition dating back to LSU’s conference opener at Missouri on Sept. 19.
Baucom proved to be a catalyst in LSU’s signature victory for the 2014 season as she scored a goal and assisted Emma Fletcher‘s game-winner late in regulation in a 4-3 win over the BYU Cougars in a match held at BYU’s South Field in Provo, Utah, back on Sept. 11. In SEC play, she also scored goals for the Tigers in matches against Alabama and Arkansas at home and Missouri and Tennessee on the road against conference opposition.
Baucom struck up a potent strike partnership with returning All-SEC striker Summer Clarke as they joined to score 15 of the team’s 26 goals and 38 of the team’s 77 points in 2014. After capturing a Second-Team All-SEC selection a year ago, Clarke followed with a sophomore season scoring seven goals, four assists and 18 points to follow Baucom as LSU’s second-leading scorer this fall.
A four-star recruit from Round Rock High School in Round Rock, Texas, Urch started all 20 matches in central defense for the Tigers this season as a leader on a youthful defensive back line in her debut campaign.
Like Baucom, Urch helped form LSU’s recruiting Class of 2014 that earned a No. 7 national ranking from TopDrawerSoccer.com following National Signing Day in February. After being tabbed one of the Top 60 recruits in the United States as a high school senior, Urch proved herself as one of the SEC’s top young defensive talents with her performance as a debutant in 2014.
With Baucom and Urch being named to this year’s SEC All-Freshman Team, there have been 20 different LSU Tigers to earn 37 All-SEC selections in 10 seasons under the direction of head coach Brian Lee, including first-team, second-team and all-freshman selections dating back to the 2005 season.
2014 SEC Women’s Soccer Postseason Awards
SEC Coach of the Year
G Guerrieri, Texas A&M
SEC Offensive Player of the Year
Shea Groom, Texas A&M
SEC Defensive Player of the Year
Arin Gilliland, Kentucky
SEC Freshman of the Year
Savannah McCaskill, South Carolina
SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Laura Lee Smith, Alabama
First-Team All-SEC
Forward: Bianca Brinson, Texas A&M
Forward: Simone Charley, Vanderbilt
Forward: Savannah Jordan, Florida
Forward: Annie Kunz, Texas A&M
Midfielder: Kaysie Clark, Missouri
Midfielder: Shea Groom, Texas A&M
Midfielder: Gabby Seiler, Georgia
Midfielder: Havana Solaun, Florida
Defender: Tessa Andujar, Florida
Defender: Arin Gilliland, Kentucky
Defender: Taylor Leach, South Carolina
Defender: Meghan Streight, Texas A&M
Defender: Christen Westphal, Florida
Goalkeeper: Sabrina D’Angelo, South Carolina
Second-Team All-SEC
Forward: Marion Crowder, Georgia
Forward: Jade Klump, Kentucky
Forward: Savannah McCaskill, South Carolina
Forward: Laura Lee Smith, Alabama
Midfielder: Kelley Monogue, Texas A&M
Midfielder: Courtney Raetzman, Kentucky
Midfielder: Casie Ramsier, Auburn
Midfielder: Reagan Russell, Missouri
Midfielder: Merel van Dongen, Alabama
Defender: Janae Cousineau, Texas A&M
Defender: Claire Falknor, Florida
Defender: Kala Faulkner, Auburn
Defender: Candace Johnson, Missouri
Goalkeeper: Emily Rusk, Alabama
SEC All-Freshman Team
Carlyn Baldwin, Tennessee
Jorian Baucom, LSU
Taylor Braun, Kentucky
Kaitlyn Clark, Missouri
Kristen Dodson, Auburn
Mallory Eubanks, Mississippi State
Kelsey Killean, Georgia
Savannah McCaskill, South Carolina
McKayla Paulson, Texas A&M
Lydia Simmons, Vanderbilt
Alexis Urch, LSU