Tennessee baseball: Trio of Volunteers earn All-American honors

College baseball season is just around the corner, and a trio of Tennessee Volunteers have earned preseason All-American honors. Outfielder Jordan Beck, catcher Evan Russell and starting pitcher Blade Tidwell have been named to All-American teams by various outlets ahead of the 2022 season.

Tidwell was named to the first-team by Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball Newspaper. Perfect Game named him as a second teamer.

Beck landed on the second-team of Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, and the third-team of Baseball America.

Evan Russell was named to the third team by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper.

Tennessee returned to the College World Series last season, but dropped games to Virginia and Texas on their way to elimination. Mississippi State captured the title.

Tidwell was named a freshman All-American last season, operating as Tennessee’s No. 2 starter in the rotation. He posted a 10-3 record on the season, starting 18 games with a 3.74 ERA. He tallied 90 strikeouts. The potential first-round pick will miss the start of this season due to shoulder soreness, but the injury is not expected to require surgery. The timetable for his return is unclear at this point.

Beck will be looking to build off of a huge sophomore season, where he hit 15 homeruns and racked up 64 RBIs to lead the team.

Tennessee will start their season on February 18th, set to host Georgia Southern for a three-game series that will run through the 20th. The Volunteers will begin the season ranked 17th in the country, per Baseball America.