OMAHA, Neb. – The All-America honors continue to roll in for Tennessee this week as three Vols were recognized by the America Baseball Coaches Association on Friday.
Blake Burke earned his third first-team All-America nod at first base while Christian Moore was the second-team selection at second base.
Junior pitcher AJ Causey was tabbed as a third-team pick to round out UT’s ABCA All-America honorees.
Burke has had the most productive season of his career, as he enters Friday’s CWS opener ranked second in the country with a career-high 28 doubles after combining for just nine in his first two seasons. His 28 doubles are also the third most in a single season in UT history.
The Brentwood, California, native ranks in the top 10 of the SEC in batting average (.376), runs (67), hits (97), slugging percentage (.713) and total bases (184), earning second-team All-SEC and SEC All-Defensive team honors this season.
Moore is having one of the greatest single seasons in program history and was also tabbed a first-team All-SEC selection and one of 25 semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award. The junior second baseman won the Triple Crown with his stats in league play, leading the SEC with a .429 batting average, 20 home runs and 41 RBIs in conference play while also leading the league with 57 hits and 123 total bases.
Entering play this weekend, Moore ranks second in the nation with 101 hits and ranks in the top-25 nationally in home runs (fourth – 32), runs (18th – 75), slugging percentage (16th – .796) and total bases (second – 214). The New York native ranks in the top 10 in UT single-season annals in multiple categories, including first in home runs (32), second in total bases (214), third in extra-base hits (49), fifth in hits (101), sixth in runs (75), seventh in slugging percentage (.796) and tied for eighth in RBIs (71). Moore is just the fourth player in UT history to reach the 100-hit mark in a season, joining program legends Chris Burke (2000 & 2001), Jeff Pickler (1998) and Todd Helton (1995).
Causey has been a breakout star for the Big Orange this season and enters the College World Series tied for first in the country with 13 wins. The Jacksonville State transfer has earned a win or a save in 14 of his 17 outings with eight of his victories coming against SEC foes.
The junior righthander has posted a 13-3 record with a 3.77 ERA and 117 strikeouts in 17 appearances this season. With his win over Evansville in last weekend’s NCAA Super Regional opener, Causey moved into a tie for fourth on UT’s single-season wins list and is two shy of tying the program record of 15 held by Vol legends Luke Hochevar (2005) and R.A. Dickey (1994).
Tennessee Trio Named Perfect Game All-Americans, Vols Named Team of the Year
Perfect Game also released its postseason awards and All-America teams earlier this week and tabbed Tennessee as its Team of the Year after winning both the SEC regular season and SEC Tournament titles before advancing to the College World Series for the third time in four years.
The UT trio of Burke, Moore and Causey garnered All-America status from Perfect Game as well. Burke and Moore were both first-teamers while Causey received a third-team nod as a starting pitcher.
A running list of the Vols’ postseason All-America accolades can be found below.
Tennessee 2024 All-America Honors
Drew Beam – Jr. – RHP
NCBWA – 3rd Team
Blake Burke – Jr. – 1B
ABCA – 1st Team (1B)
NCBWA – 1st Team (1B)
Perfect Game – 1st Team (1B)
AJ Causey – Jr. – RHP
ABCA – 3rd Team (P)
NCBWA – 3rd Team (RP)
Perfect Game – 3rd Team (SP)
Dylan Loy – Fr. – LHP
NCBWA – Freshman 2nd Team (RP)
Christian Moore – Jr. – 2B
Perfect Game – 1st Team (IF)
ABCA – 2nd Team (2B)
NBWA – 2nd Team (2B)
