May 28, 2013
Nashville, Tenn. – The Southeastern Conference named Tony Kemp the SEC Player of the Year and head coach Tim Corbin the league’s Coach of the Year on Tuesday.
Kemp becomes the second Commodore all time to earn the SEC’s Player of the Year award joining Hunter Bledsoe, who won the award in 1999. Kemp is just the third player in SEC history to win both Freshman of the Year and Player of the Year in their career. Auburn’s Hunter Morris was the last player to do it winning the awards in 2008 and 2010 after Ole Miss’ Stephen Head won in 2003 and 2004.
Kemp’s junior campaign has been one of the most productive in Vanderbilt history. He enters the NCAA Tournament hitting .402 after wrapping up the SEC batting title during the regular season hitting .408. The Franklin, Tenn. native also led the SEC in on-base percentage (.490), runs (58) and stolen bases (27) during the regular season. Kemp is attempting to become the first Commodore to hit .400 for the season since Warner Jones finished the 2004 season hitting .414. Kemp’s 96 hits are already the fourth-most in a single season in school history with Jones’ 111 hits in 2004 standing as the all-time mark. No Commodore has eclipsed the 100-hit mark since 2007 when both Pedro Alvarez (105) and Ryan Flaherty (104) did it.
For Corbin, it is his second SEC Coach of the Year award since arriving at Vanderbilt in 2003. He joins former coach Larry Schmittou (1973-74) as the only two Commodore skippers to win the award twice. Corbin led Vanderbilt to a 26-3 mark in the SEC to pass the former record of 25 league wins held by South Carolina. The Commodores have also achieved 50-plus wins for the third time in school history, all under Corbin. The head Dore enters the NCAA Tournament with 462 wins at VU.
Kemp and Corbin were not the only Commodores to be recognized by the league on Tuesday. Senior Mike Yastrzemski joined Kemp on the All-SEC first team. Yastrzemski led the league in SEC games hitting .407 in his final year at Vanderbilt. He has started 197 straight games entering the weekend. Kemp and Yastrzemski were also voted to the SEC’s All-Defensive team. Senior Connor Harrell was named to the second team in the midst of a career year. Harrell has already set career-highs in home runs (11), RBI (64) and hits (73). Sophomore Tyler Beede was also named to the second team after setting the school record with his 14th win of the season last week in the SEC Tournament. The right-hander won his first 13 starts of the season and is undefeated at 14-0.
The Commodores were also well represented on the league’s All-Freshman team with Xavier Turner, Zander Wiel and Carson Fulmer gaining the honor. The nation’s top recruiting class did not disappoint with a league-best three players on the freshman team. Turner has held down the hot corner for the Dores the majority of the season while hitting over .300. The Sandusky, Ohio native has recorded 16 multi-hit games this year. Wiel burst onto the season late in the season with only seven career at-bats entering the series at Georgia. The Murfreesboro, Tenn. native took advantage of his opportunity against the Bulldogs hitting two home runs, scoring four runs and driving in five in his first-ever start. Wiel has four home runs and 25 RBI for the year. Fulmer has been a consistent force in the VU bullpen all season racking up 45 strikeouts to lead the Dores’ relievers. His four saves are the second-most on the team.
The league’s coaches vote on the SEC awards with coaches unable to vote for their own players. A full list of the awards is below.
Vanderbilt is set to host a NCAA Regional for the second time in three years this weekend. The Commodores welcome Georgia Tech, Illinois and East Tennessee State to Nashville for the Regional. The Yellow Jackets and Fighting Illini open up the bracket at 1 p.m. on Friday afternoon with the Commodores and Bucs set for 6 p.m. on ESPNU.
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
SECâ€Ë†COACHâ€Ë†OFâ€Ë†THEâ€Ë†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
OFâ€Ë†– 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
OFâ€Ë†– 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
OFâ€Ë†– Hunter Renfroe, Mississippi State
