Three Ole Miss baseball players named All-SEC

The Southeastern Conference announced on Monday that three Ole Miss Rebels are among those honored for their outstanding play in 2016. Juniors J.B. Woodman and Henri Lartigue were named First Team All-SEC, while sophomore Tate Blackman was tabbed Second Team All-SEC. Woodman was also named to the SEC All-Defensive Team.

This was the first time for any of the three to be named All-SEC.

J.B. Woodman

Woodman, a team captain for Ole Miss, has had an outstanding season. During the regular season, he hit .319 and led the team in runs scored (47), RBI (49) slugging percentage (.565) and stolen bases (11).

The Orlando, Florida native leads the SEC with 13 home runs.

It is absolutely no surprise for Woodman to be recognized with All-Defensive Team honors, as he recorded nine outfield assists throughout the season–which ranks him second nationally–with seven of the nine assists occurring at the plate to prevent runs from scoring.

Against LSU, Woodman threw three runners out at the plate and hit .500 to claim the title of National Hitter of the Week by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.

Henri Lartigue

Continuing the tradition of outstanding catchers at Ole Miss, Henri Lartigue leads all SEC catchers with a .348 batting average–including a .371 average in conference games–so it is only fitting for him to be recognized on the All-SEC First Team.

Lartigue, a Southaven, Miss. native, has produced at least three hits in 10 games this season and has been a key part of the Rebels’ 40-win season.

He had two game-winning hits this season, against Auburn on April 24 and Kentucky on May 13. Against the Tigers, he hammered a base hit which drove in the winning run in a thrilling 6-5 come-from-behind win. Against Kentucky, Lartigue smashed a three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth to give the Rebels a 7-5 victory.

He is the only SEC catcher to be named a semifinalist for the Johnny Bench Award, an honor given to the top catcher in college baseball.

Tate Blackman

Sophomore Tate Blackman has had a breakout season this year, leading Ole Miss with 68 hits.

The Altamonte Springs, Florida native sports a .332 average, second best on the Ole Miss team, and leads the SEC with seven sacrifice flies, ranking him 15th in the nation.

Blackman started every regular season game at second base for the Rebels and was a part of Ole Miss’ league-best 30 double plays in conference play. He has 42 runs scored and 19 multi-hit games this season and has reached base in 52 of the Rebels’ 56 games. He has notched 37 RBI in his second season with the Rebels.

2016 SEC Baseball Awards

Player of the Year: Boomer White, Texas A&M
Pitcher of the Year: Logan Shore, Florida
Freshman of the Year: Jake Mangum, Mississippi State
Coach of the Year: John Cohen, Mississippi State
Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Derek Lance, Tennessee

First-Team All-SEC

C: Henri Lartigue, Ole Miss
1B: Nathaniel Lowe, Mississippi State
2B: Ryne Birk, Texas A&M
3B: Boomer White, Texas A&M
SS: Kramer Robertson, LSU
OF: Jake Mangum, Mississippi State
OF: J.B. Woodman, Ole Miss
OF: Gene Cone, South Carolina
*DH/UT: Jack Kruger, Mississippi State
*DH/UT: Bryce Jordan, LSU
SP: Logan Shore, Florida
SP: Dakota Hudson, Mississippi State
RP: Shaun Anderson, Florida

Second-Team All-SEC Team

C: Mike Rivera, Florida
*1B: Peter Alonso, Florida
*1B: Evan White, Kentucky
2B: Tate Blackman, Ole Miss
3B: Nick Senzel, Tennessee
SS: Dalton Guthrie, Florida
OF: Anfernee Grier, Auburn
OF: Bryan Reynolds, Vanderbilt
OF: Jeren Kendall, Vanderbilt
DH/UT: Brent Rooker, Mississippi State
SP: Kyle Wright, Vanderbilt
SP: Clarke Schmidt, South Carolina
RP: Mark Ecker, Texas A&M

Freshman All-SEC Team

*C: Chris Cullen, South Carolina
*C: Michael Curry, Georgia
1B: LT Tolbert, South Carolina
2B: Deacon Liput, Florida
3B: Jonathan India, Florida
SS: Connor Kaiser, Vanderbilt
OF: Jake Mangum, Mississippi State
OF: Antoine Duplantis, LSU
OF: Chandler Taylor, Alabama
DH/UT: Ethan Paul, Vanderbilt
SP: Braden Webb, South Carolina
SP: Adam Hill, South Carolina
RP: Sean Hjelle, Kentucky

SEC All-Defensive Team

C: Mike Rivera, Florida
1B: Evan White, Kentucky
*2B: Cole Freeman, LSU
*2B: Ryne Birk, Texas A&M
3B: Nick Senzel, Tennessee
SS: Dalton Guthrie, Florida
OF: Buddy Reed, Florida
OF: Anfernee Grier, Auburn
OF: J.B. Woodman, Ole Miss
*P: Jordan Sheffield, Vanderbilt
*P: Kyle Simonds, Texas A&M
*P: Dustin Beggs, Kentucky

* – Denotes a tie in voting. Ties are not broken.

(Feature image credit: Bentley Breland, The Rebel Walk)