HOOVER, Ala. – LSU placed a school-record five players on the 2015 first-team All-SEC squad announced by the conference office on Monday. In addition, LSU coach Paul Mainieri was named SEC Coach of the Year and LSU right-handed pitcher Alex Lange was voted SEC Freshman of the Year.
LSU catcher Kade Scivicque, shortstop Alex Bregman, centerfielder Andrew Stevenson, third baseman Conner Hale and Lange were voted first-team All-SEC by the league coaches. The five first-team selections equals LSU’s school record, which was first established by the 2013 club.
First baseman Chris Chinea was named to the 2015 second-team All-SEC squad, and Scivicque, Bregman, Stevenson and rightfielder Mark Laird were named to the SEC All-Defensive Team.
Arkansas’ Andrew Benintendi was named the SEC Player of the Year, Vanderbilt’s Carson Fulmer is the SEC Pitcher of the Year, and Mississippi State’s Seth Heck is the SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Lange is the fifth LSU player since 2000 to earn SEC Freshman of the Year accolades. He ranks second in the SEC in ERA overall (2.11) and third in conference games only (2.33). Lange is one of only three pitchers in the SEC to strike out 90 or more batters, and is one of only two SEC pitchers to earn 10 or more wins on the year.
Mainieri was named the SEC Coach of the Year for the second time in his career after leading LSU to their league-best 16th SEC regular-season championship. LSU also won the SEC Western Division title for the 18th time in school history and for the fifth time under Mainieri. The Tigers finished the regular season with 46 wins, the third-highest regular-season total in school history.
Bregman leads the SEC this season in stolen bases (29) and doubles (22) and he is No. 4 in total bases (128), No. 4 in runs scored (53) and No. 8 in base hits (73). Bregman’s 29 stolen bases this year marks the sixth-highest single-season total in LSU history.
Chinea is No. 2 in the league in hits (80) and he is third in batting average (.374), third in RBI (53), fourth in total bases (128), seventh in slugging percentage (.598), eighth in home runs (11) and ninth in doubles (15). Hale is third in the SEC in hits (78), seventh in RBI (50) and eighth in doubles (16).
Scivicque is seventh in the SEC with a .363 batting average and he is fifth in doubles (17). Stevenson is third in stolen bases (22), fifth in triples (5) eighth in hits (73), ninth in batting average (.360) and ninth in runs scored (47), and Laird is third in stolen bases (22) and ninth in runs scored (47).
LSU’s SEC Coaches of the Year
1939 Harry Rabenhorst
1943 “Red” Swanson
1946 Harry Rabenhorst
1961 Ray Didier
1975 Jim Smith
1986 Skip Bertman
1990 Skip Bertman
1991 Skip Bertman
1992 Skip Bertman
1993 Skip Bertman
1996 Skip Bertman
1997 Skip Bertman
2003 Smoke Laval
2009 Paul Mainieri
2015 Paul Mainieri
LSU’s SEC Freshmen of the Year
2000 Mike Fontenot
2001 Lane Mestepey
2009 Matty Ott
2013 Alex Bregman
2015 Alex Lange
2015 SEC Baseball Awards
Player of the Year: Andrew Benintendi, Arkansas
Pitcher of the Year: Carson Fulmer, Vanderbilt
Freshman of the Year: Alex Lange, LSU
Coach of the Year: Paul Mainieri, LSU
Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Seth Heck, Mississippi State
First-Team All-SEC
C: Kade Scivicque, LSU, Sr.
1B: Kyle Martin, South Carolina, Sr.
2B: JaVon Shelby, Kentucky, So.
3B: Conner Hale, LSU, Sr.
SS: Alex Bregman, LSU, Jr.
OF: Andrew Benintendi, Arkansas, So.
OF: Andrew Stevenson, LSU, Jr.
OF: Christin Stewart, Tennessee, Jr.
DH/UT: Mitchell Nau, Texas A&M, Sr.
SP: Carson Fulmer, Vanderbilt, Jr.
SP: Alex Lange, LSU, Fr.
RP: Zach Jackson, Arkansas, So.
Second-Team All-SEC Team
C: Mike Rivera, Florida, Fr.
1B: Chris Chinea, LSU, Jr.
2B: Max Schrock, South Carolina, Jr.
3B: Josh Tobias, Florida, Sr.
SS: Dansby Swanson, Vanderbilt, Jr.
OF: Kyle Barrett, Kentucky, Jr.
OF: Nick Banks, Texas A&M, So.
OF: Logan Taylor, Texas A&M, Jr.
DH/UT: JJ Schwarz, Florida, Fr.
SP: Grayson Long, Texas A&M, Jr.
SP: Cole Lipscomb, Auburn, So.
*RP: Breckin Williams, Missouri, Jr.
*RP: Wyatt Short, Ole Miss, So.
Freshman All-SEC Team
C: Mike Rivera, Florida
1B: Evan White, Kentucky
2B: Dalton Guthrie, Florida
3B: Will Toffey, Vanderbilt
SS: Ryan Gridley, Mississippi State
OF: Keegan McGovern, Georgia
OF: Trey Harris, Missouri
OF: Jeren Kendall, Vanderbilt
DH/UT: JJ Schwarz, Florida
SP: Alex Lange, LSU
SP: Tanner Houck, Missouri
SP: Keaton McKinney, Arkansas
RP: Kyle Wright, Vanderbilt
SEC All-Defensive Team
C: Kade Scivicque, LSU
1B: Evan White, Kentucky
2B: Kyle Overstreet, Alabama
3B: Bobby Wernes, Arkansas
SS: Alex Bregman, LSU
OF: Andrew Stevenson, LSU
OF: Mark Laird, LSU
OF: Buddy Reed, Florida
P: Carson Fulmer, Vanderbilt
* – Denotes a tie in voting. Ties are not broken.