University of Tennessee Athletics
PLAYERS OF THE YEAR
September 16, 2005 | Baseball
| TENNESSEE'S PLAYERS OF THE YEAR |
| Todd Helton | R.A. Dickey | Jeff Pickler | Chris Burke | Luke Hochevar | J.P. Arencibia |
 |
Todd Helton
1995 National/Southeastern Conference Player of the Year
Todd Helton, the 1995 National Collegiate Player of the Year, was the eighth player chosen in the 1995 free-agent amateur draft by the Colorado Rockies.
Helton received the Dick Howser Award from USA Today/Baseball Weekly, Baseball America's National Player of the Year Award, Collegiate Baseball's Co-National Player of the Year and the Southeastern Conference's Male Athlete of the Year Award. He became only the second baseball player to receive the SEC award. The two-time first-team All-America was also a finalist for the coveted Golden Spikes Award in 1995.
That season, he batted .407 while leading the league in home runs (20), RBIs (92), runs (86), doubles (27), hits (105), walks (61), slugging percentage (.775) and on-base percentage (.522) in 1995. He also led the conference with a 1.66 ERA while compiling an 8-2 record with 12 saves.
Helton was a consensus Freshman All-America in 1993, first-team All-SEC and third-team All-America. The honors continued to roll in 1994 as he earned first-team All-America honors by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, second team by Baseball America and third team by Collegiate Baseball. He was second-team All-SEC that year as well.
He helped guide the Vols to three straight NCAA Regional appearances, including a third-place finish at the 1995 College World Series. He was twice named to the NCAA All-Tournament team and earned a complete-game pitching victory over Clemson in the first round of the College World Series.
Helton holds numerous school hitting records while also holding the SEC's mark for consecutive scoreless innings pitched with 47.2 in 1994. He also played with Team USA in 1993. As one of two true freshmen on the squad, he hit .352 in 33 games while helping lead the team to a 30-16 record and the silver medal at the Intercontinental Cup.
In addition to a fine baseball career, he played football during the 1992, 1993 and 1994 seasons for the Vols. He appeared in 13 games, making three career starts. All three starts came in the 1994 season against Georgia (W), Florida (L) and Mississippi State (L). He had his top passing game versus UCLA in 1994 when he came off the bench to complete 14-of-28 passes for 165 yards and one touchdown. For his career, he completed 41-of-75 passes (54.7%) for 484 yards with four touchdowns and three interceptions. He also rushed 36 times for 87 yards.
 |
R.A. Dickey
Three-time First Team All-America
1994 National Freshman of the Year
R.A. Dickey became the second Vol taken in the first round of the free-agent draft in the Rod Delmonico era in 1996, when he was selected by the Texas Rangers with the 18th pick. Dickey also wrote his name in the Vols record books as the career leader in wins, appearances, games started, innings pitched and strikeouts. As a result, he ranks third in the SEC in innings pitched and fifth in career wins.Dickey also holds the school standard for wins and innings pitched, while ranking third for strikeouts in a single season (137 in 1996).
He was a three-time first-team All-America and a 1996 Olympian, in addition to being a two-time first-team All-SEC selection and an Academic All-America following his junior year. He was the Mizuno/Collegiate Baseball and Baseball America 1994 National Freshman of the Year. He was named first-team All-America in 1995 on the Super Smith team, third-team All-America by Collegiate Baseball and Baseball America. In 1996, he was a Smith Award semifinalist, a first-team All-America by Collegiate Baseball, second-team All-America by ABCA and third-team All-America by Baseball America.
Dickey was also named to the 1994 Mideast Regional All-Tournament Team and 1995 Mideast Regional MVP.
 |
Jeff Pickler
1998 Southeastern Conference Player of the Year
Jeff Pickler was named the 1998 Southeastern Conference Player of the Year after leading the league with a .445 average, which ranked eighth nationally and was the sixth-highest in league history. He astounded the baseball pundits by posting a .500 batting average in conference action.The consensus All-America garnered first-team honors from Collegiate Baseball, Baseball America, Baseball Weekly, The Sporting News, the American Baseball Coaches Association and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. Pickler was also named first-team Academic All-America as well as being a three-time Academic All-SEC honoree, even earning the Chancellor's Citation for Academic Excellence from the University.
The second baseman led the SEC in fielding at his position in 1998 while setting a then-school record with 109 hits while reaching base safely in 53 of the Vols' 55 games. He reeled off the second-longest hitting streak in school history (26 games) while tying the school record with a six-hit game.
The 11th round draft pick by Milwaukee in 1998 also garnered third-team Academic All-America honors in 1997.
 |
Chris Burke
2001 Southeastern Conference Player of the Year
In 2001, Chris Burke became the third Vol to be named the Southeastern Conference Player of the Year as he was bestowed the honor unanimously by the league coaches. The consensus All-America garnered first-team honors from Baseball America, Baseball Weekly, Louisville Slugger/Collegiate Baseball, the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and the American Baseball Coaches Association/Rawlings.Burke was also a finalist for National Player of the Year honors as well as being named the NCBWA District III Player of the Year and selected for the ABCA/Rawlings All-South Region team.
He helped lead the Vols to their third College World Series and was named to all-tournament teams at the CWS, the NCAA Regional and the SEC. Burke was the only player in the SEC to hit better than .400 in 2001, leading the SEC in eight offensive categories while ranking in the top 10 in four others. He set an SEC record with 105 runs scored while ranking second in hits and total bases.
The two-time All-SEC selection rewrote both Tennessee's single-season and career record books, establishing six season marks and eight career standards. In addition, Burke became the first Vol to hit for the cycle (against Vanderbilt May 11, 2001, going 4-for-5 with three RBIs).
The two-time All-America also played for the USA Baseball National Team in 2000, helping guide the club to its best record ever while finishing as the second-leading hitter with a .376 average.
Burke, who played shortstop and second base, culminated his career as he was drafted in the first round by the Houston Astros with the No. 10 pick in 2001.
 |
Luke Hochevar
2005 Roger Clemens Award/Southeastern Conference Pitcher of the Year
Hochevar completed his three-year career as one of Tennessee's all-time most-decorated players. The right-hander posted a 15-3 record with a 2.26 ERA while leading the Vols to the 2005 College World Series and winning the Roger Clemens Award as the nation's best collegiate pitcher during his junior season of 2005. During UT's postseason run, Hochevar was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers with the 40th overall pick in the MLB draft.His 15 victories tied for the NCAA lead that season and also tied for first in UT's single-season record book. A consensus first-team All-America honoree (Baseball America, Louisville Slugger, Sports Weekly, NCBWA), Hochevar was a finalist for the Golden Spikes and Brooks Wallace awards.
The SEC Pitcher of the Year's 154 strikeouts in 2005 set a new single-season record for a UT pitcher. A pair of injuries cut short his sophomore campaign, during which he fashioned a 4-2 record and a 2.86 ERA. He won six games as a freshman in 2003, and owns a final career record of 25-10 with a 3.05 ERA.
When Hochevar left the mound for the final time as a Vol (fittingly, in Omaha's Rosenblatt Stadium), he ranked ninth in career ERA, tied for tenth in games started (33), fourth in innings pitched (280.1) and second in strikeouts 287.
In the summer of 2004, Hochevar joined the USA Baseball National Team and notched a win in the gold medal game of the FISU II World University Baseball Championship against Japan. During his summer stint with the American squad, he posted a 2.73 ERA in 33.0 innings with 38 strikeouts and 11 walks.
 |
J.P. Arencibia
2005 Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Year
Catcher J.P. Arencibia made a name for himself on a national scale on his way to Freshman All-America honors (Baseball America, Louisville Slugger) in 2005.The Miami, Fla., native was a key member of the Volunteers' College World Series team and ranked second on the squad in RBIs (71) and home runs (14) while ranking third in hits (91).
Before Tennessee even arrived in the postseason, Arencibia had already broken former Vol Todd Helton's school record for home runs by a freshman. He hit .322 on the year with a .534 slugging percentage. The Southeastern Conference coaches selected him as the SEC Freshman of the Year, and he earned additional postseason recognition when he landed on the SEC Tournament All-Tournament Team and NCAA Knoxville Regional All-Tournament Team.
When the season finally drew to a close, Arencibia ranked third in the SEC in RBIs while also ranking ninth in the league in hits, home runs and total bases (151). He had started all 67 of the Vols' games and turned in three separate five-RBI performances.
His rookie statistics earned him numerous spots in UT's single-season record book, including second in at-bats (283), tied for eighth in hits, tied for ninth in home runs and sixth in RBIs.
Following the season, he immediately joined the USA Baseball National Team and proceeded to lead that elite club in hits (23), RBIs (12), total bases (33) and slugging percentage (.579).
