Gator third baseman Austin Maddox was named the SEC Freshman of the Year and Kevin O’Sullivan was selected as the SEC Coach of the Year in a vote of the league’s 12 head baseball coaches announced on Tuesday. Junior
left-hander Kevin Chapman was chosen first-team All-SEC and the quartet of senior outfielder Matt den Dekker, freshman shortstop Nolan Fontana, Maddox and sophomore first baseman Preston Tucker earned second-team recognition.

The Gators placed five players in six spots on the All-Freshman Team,
Fontana, Brian Johnson (both as a pitcher and designated hitter, Maddox, right-hander Hudson Randall and catcher Mike Zunino. In addition, Den Dekker was named to the SEC All-Defensive Team for the third year in a row and was joined by teammates Fontana and Tucker.

Maddox became the second-straight Gator to earn the SEC Freshman of the
Year recognition, as Tucker shared the award last season with LSU’s
Matty Ott. In league play, Maddox batted .316, tied for third with 11
home runs and tied for fifth with 33 RBI. The slugger is hitting .346
overall and boasts team highs in slugging percentage (.654), RBI (64),
multiple-RBI games (18), homers (17), doubles (15) and sacrifice flies
(five).

O’Sullivan piloted the Gators to their first SEC Championship since 2005
with a 22-8 league record. He became the sixth different individual from
Florida to take home the SEC Baseball Coach of the Year Award. Dave
Fuller was recognized on three occasions (1952, 1956, 1962), while Jack
Rhine (1981, 1982) and Joe Arnold (1984, 1988) received the honor twice
apiece. Andy Lopez earned the accolade after directing the Orange and
Blue to the 1996 crown and Pat McMahon garnered the honor after guiding
UF to the ’05 title.

Chapman was Florida’s lone representative on the first team as a relief
pitcher after going 3-0 with seven saves and a 1.59 earned run average.
Named the SEC Pitcher of the Week for the first time in his career on
Monday after helping the fourth-ranked Gators clinch the league title at
No. 6 South Carolina, the southpaw is 3-0 with a 1.14 ERA and has
totaled 40 K in 39.1 innings, while limiting opponents to a .169 batting
average. Chapman has not surrendered an earned run over the last 11.0
innings covering seven appearances, with 12 strikeouts and just one
walk. His 10 saves on the season are tied for sixth-most in school
history, three shy of the mark shared by Josh Fogg (1998) and Danny
Wheeler (1994).