May 22, 2007
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. –Vanderbilt juniof pitcher David Price was named Southeastern Conference Pitcher of the Year and head coach Tim Corbin received Coach of the Year plaudits as the league released its annual baseball award winners today.
Price (10-0, 2.76 ERA) was also one of six Commodores to receive All-SEC honors in the vote of the 12 league coaches. He was a unanimous choice on the first-team along with outfielder Dominic de la Osa (.387, 17 HR, 53 RBI) . Third baseman Pedro Alvarez (.382, 15 HR, 57 RBI) and reliever Casey Weathers (10-2, 2.21 ERA) also garnered first team recognition.
Shortstop Ryan Flaherty (.364, 3 HR, 44 RBI) was a second team All-SEC pick, while southpaw Mike Minor (8-1, 3.15 ERA) was named to the All-Freshman team. In addition to the coaches vote, Minor was named SEC Freshman of the Year by SEBaseball.com this week.
Head coach Tim Corbin was a unanimous selection as Coach of the Year. He is the first Vanderbilt coach to win the award since Roy Mewbourne achieved the feat after leading the 1980 squad to the SEC tournament title. It is the fourth time a VU coach has won the award joining Larry Schmittou who won the award after both the 1973 and 1974 seasns.
Price’s award was the first time a Commodore has picked up a Player of the Year award since Hunter Bledsoe won it as a position player in 1999. The SEC initiated the Pitcher of the Year award for the 2003 season.
Coaches are not permitted to vote for their own players, thus a unanimous selection earns 11 of the 12 first-team votes. The complete 2007 All-SEC Team follows:
SEC COACH OF THE YEAR – *Tim Corbin, Vanderbilt
SEC PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Matt LaPorta, Florida
SEC PITCHER OF THE YEAR – *David Price, Vanderbilt
SEC FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR – Jordan Henry, Ole Miss
SEC SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR – Emeel Salem, Alabama
* unanimous selection
FIRST TEAM
1B – Matt LaPorta, Florida
2B – Travis Jones, South Carolina
3B – Pedro Alvarez, Vanderbilt
SS – Zack Cozart, Ole Miss
C – Edward Easley, Mississippi State
OF – *Emeel Salem, Alabama
OF – *Dominic de la Osa, Vanderbilt
OF – Brian Leclerc, Florida
DH – Phil Disher, South Carolina
P – *David Price, Vanderbilt
P – Nick Schmidt, Arkansas
P – Jess Todd, Arkansas
RP – Casey Weathers, Vanderbilt
SECOND TEAM
1B – Justin Smoak, South Carolina
2B – Jeffrey Rea, Mississippi State
3B – James Darnell, South Carolina
SS – Ryan Flaherty, Vanderbilt
C – J.P. Arencibia, Tennessee
OF – Jordan Henry, Ole Miss
OF – Mike Bianucci, Auburn
OF – Julio Borbon, Tennessee
DH – Alex Avila, Alabama
P – Lance Lynn, Ole Miss
P – James Adkins, Tennessee
RP – Jared Bradford, LSU
RP – Cody Satterwhite, Ole Miss
ALL FRESHMAN TEAM
1B – Yan Gomes, Tennessee
2B – Robert Brooks, Auburn
2B – Zach Miller, Ole Miss
3B – Connor Powers, Mississippi State
SS – Cole Figueroa, Florida
C – Sean Ochinko, LSU
OF – *Jordan Henry, Ole Miss
OF – Blake Dean, LSU
OF – Matt den Dekker, Florida
OF – Jonathan Pigott, Florida
DH – Jeff Lockwood, Tennessee
P – Mike Minor, Vanderbilt
P – Nathan Baker, Ole Miss
RP – Dallas Keuchel, Arkansas