Announced on Monday with the release of the 2017 SEC Baseball Awards, the Diamond Dogs’ Michael curry and Cam Shepherd were voted All-SEC by the league coaches. Sophomore M. Curry earned First-Team All-SEC honors while shortstop C. Shepherd was named Freshman All-SEC.
Curry, a 5-11, 215-pound native of Gainesville, Ga., has started all 56 games this season at either designated hitter or catcher. He was tabbed as the 2017 First Team All-SEC designated hitter. Curry is batting .298 with a team-high 10 home runs and 46 RBI. Also an excellent student majoring in Computer Science, Curry has been named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District team. Last year, Curry earned Freshman All-America honors plus a spot on the SEC All-Freshman squad after hitting .262 with 11 home runs and 34 RBI in 54 games.
Shepherd, a 6-1, 196-pound native of Duluth, Ga., has started all 56 games this year at shortstop. He is batting .303 with a team-high 16 doubles plus five home runs and 28 RBI. He leads the team with 20 multiple-hit games, and in SEC action, Shepherd is hitting .310-2-11 with 12 doubles. Overall, Shepherd is fielding .952 in 269 total chances.
Georgia (25-31) will return to action tonight at approximately 9:00 p.m. ET in the SEC Tournament in Hoover, Alabama. The Bulldogs face 18th-ranked Mississippi State (34-22) in the first round which is single elimination. Two weeks ago in Athens, Georgia defeated then sixth-ranked MSU two games to one. MSU’s lineup features the 2017 SEC Player of the Year in junior first baseman Brent Rooker, who is batting .415 with 20 home runs and 73 RBI. MSU shortstop Ryan Gridley earned First Team All-SEC honors as well. Gridley is batting .326-6-38 and fielding .963.
The entire SEC Tournament leading up to the final will be televised live by the SEC Network, and all Georgia games will be available on the Bulldog Sports Network from IMG.
CLICK HERE for more information on the 2017 SEC Baseball Tournament.
2017 SEC Baseball Awards
Player of the Year: Brent Rooker, Mississippi State; Pitcher of the Year: Sean Hjelle, Kentucky; Freshman of the Year: Braden Shewmake, Texas A&M; Coach of the Year: Nick Mingione, Kentucky; Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Zach Logue, Kentucky
First-Team All-SEC
C: Grant Koch, Arkansas; 1B: Brent Rooker, Mississippi State; 2B: Braden Shewmake, Texas A&M; 3B: Jordan Rodgers, Tennessee; SS: Ryan Gridley, Mississippi State; OF (3): Greg Deichmann, LSU; Tristan Pompey, Kentucky; Jeren Kendall, Vanderbilt; DH/UT: Michael Curry, Georgia; SP (2): Kyle Wright, Vanderbilt; Sean Hjelle, Kentucky; Alex Lange, LSU; RP: Logan Salow, Kentucky
Second-Team All-SEC Team
C: Troy Squires, Kentucky; 1B: Evan White, Kentucky; 2B: Riley Mahan, Kentucky; 3B: Colby Bortles, Ole Miss; *SS: Kramer Robertson, LSU; Jax Biggers, Arkansas; OF (3): Jonah Todd, Auburn; Jake Mangum, Mississippi State; Chandler Taylor, Alabama; DH/UT: JJ Schwarz, Florida; SP (2): Alex Faedo, Florida; Brady Singer, Florida; RP: Michael Byrne, Florida
Freshman All-SEC Team
C: Hunter Coleman, Texas A&M; 1B: Andre Lipcius, Tennessee; 2B: Braden Shewmake, Texas A&M; 3B: Josh Smith, LSU; SS: Cam Shepherd, Georgia; OF (3): Carlos Cortes, South Carolina; Zach Watson, LSU; Dominic Fletcher, Arkansa; DH/UT: Logan Foster, Texas A&M; SP (2): Ryan Rolison, Ole Miss; Eric Walker, LSU; RP: T.J. Sikkema, Missouri
SEC All-Defensive Team
C: Michael Papierski, LSU; 1B: Evan White, Kentucky; 2B: Deacon Liput, Florida; 3B: Josh Smith, LSU; SS: Dalton Guthrie, Florida; OF (3): Jeren Kendall, Vanderbilt; Jonah Todd, Auburn; Jake Mangum, Mississippi State; P: Brigham Hill, Texas A&M
* – Denotes a tie in voting. Ties are not broken.