RJ Austin takes home MVP honors, SEC Baseball All-Tournament team revealed
This year’s SEC Baseball Tournament was one of the most exciting to date, highlighted by several standout individual performances. When the SEC Tournament was all said and done on Sunday in Hoover Met Stadium, it was the Vanderbilt Commodores lifting the trophy, crowned as champions following their 10-4 over Texas A&M.
Freshman second baseman RJ Austin stole the show throughout the week with his stellar play, named the SEC Tournament’s most valuable player after coming up big for the Commodores on multiple occasions.
Austin started off the tournament slow with a hitless performance versus Auburn in the team’s first game of the week. But turned things around quickly and ended the tournament with seven hits and five RBIs, including two singles, two runs, and two base on balls in the championship game.
Austin’s teammate Chris Maldonado also appeared on the All-Tournament team joining Texas A&M, Florida, Alabama, and Auburn with multiple players on the team and representing the only schools on the list. Check out the complete 2023 SEC Baseball All-Tournament team below.
2023 SEC Baseball All-Tournament team
- P: Troy Wansing, Texas A&M
- P: Justin Lamkin, Texas A&M
- C: BT Riopelle, Florida
- DH: Chris Maldonado, Vanderbilt
- 1B: Jack Moss, Texas A&M
- 2B: RJ Austin, Vanderbilt
- 3B: Bryson Ware, Auburn
- SS: Cole Foster, Auburn
- OF: Andrew Pinckney, Alabama
- OF: Tommy Seidl, Alabama
- OF: Wyatt Langford, Florida
The SEC’s tournament standouts will all likely be seen in action again in this year’s College Baseball World Series, as eight SEC squads have already been revealed as hosts for the regional rounds. The full Field of 64 will be announced Monday at noon ET on ESPN on the networks annual selection show.
Vanderbilt baseball celebrates with dogpile following 2023 SEC title win
The Vanderbilt Commodores entered the SEC’s baseball tournament as the No. 4 seed and left Hoover, Alabama as champions, defeating Texas A&M 10-4 on Sunday in the SEC Tournament Championship.
The Commodores started the eighth inning with a narrow one-point lead over the Aggies. But Vandy’s bats got hot at just the right time, as a five-run scoring surge in the bottom of the eighth helped extend their lead and propel them to victory.
Vanderbilt closer Nick Maldonado was tasked with protecting the team’s big lead in the ninth inning and did just that, forcing a ground ball that shortstop Jonathan Vastine turned into a game-winning double play that led to a legendary, celebratory dog pile in Hoover Met Stadium.