Arkansas LHP Hagen Smith named SEC Pitcher of the Year

Arkansas ace Hagen Smith has been named the 2024 SEC Pitcher of the Year.

Smith, the third Razorback in program history to be named the conference’s Pitcher of the Year, has made his case as the best pitcher in all of college baseball this season, posting a 9-0 record with a 1.52 ERA and 150 strikeouts in 77.0 innings over 14 starts. The junior left-hander, who is 7-0 with a 1.35 ERA and 110 strikeouts in 60.0 innings over 10 SEC starts, has a team-leading 11 quality starts and a program-record 11 double-digit strikeout games on the year.

The Bullard, Texas, native currently leads the country in ERA (1.52), hits allowed per nine innings (4.1) and strikeouts per nine (17.5). Smith, a semifinalist for the Dick Howser Trophy, Golden Spikes Award and National Pitcher of the Year Award, is also ranked second nationally in strikeouts (150), fourth in WHIP (0.83) and 12th in victories (9).

Smith became the program’s all-time strikeout leader (349) in his final start of the regular season, overtaking Nick Schmidt (345) for sole possession of Arkansas’ career strikeout mark. He also continues to climb the program’s single-season strikeout leaderboard, sitting five shy of Razorback great David Walling’s single-season record of 155 in 1999.

Smith, the second Arkansas pitcher in the last four seasons to be named the SEC Pitcher of the Year, joins Razorback greats Schmidt (2006) and Kevin Kopps (2021) as a recipient of the league’s top pitching award.

Seven Hogs were named to All-SEC teams by the league’s head coaches, led by Smith’s first-team selection at starting pitcher and Peyton Stovall and Wehiwa Aloy’s second-team recognition at second base and shortstop, respectively.

Smith, who earned first-team honors from the conference for the second consecutive season, is the second two-time First Team All-SEC starting pitcher in school history. Schmidt also accomplished the feat in 2006 and 2007.

Aloy and Stovall, the 58th and 59th All-SEC selections in program history, made up one of the best middle infields in the country. Aloy, the only Razorback to start all 55 regular-season games, slashed .276/.368/.495 with a team-high 12 home runs and 54 RBI on the year, while Stovall, who missed the first 12 games of the campaign due to a preseason injury, slashed a team-leading .339/.404/.548 with nine home runs and 37 RBI – figures that ranked second on the Hogs.

Pitcher Gabe Gaeckle and infielder Nolan Souza both garnered Freshman All-SEC praise, while third baseman Jared Sprague-Lott and outfielder Peyton Holt were named to the SEC All-Defensive Team.

Gaeckle and Souza, the 60th and 61st All-SEC selections in school history, are the second Razorback freshman duo in the last three years to land on Freshman All-SEC Team. Gaeckle logged a 3-2 record with a 1.91 ERA, 48 strikeouts and a team-leading seven saves in 37.2 innings over 20 relief appearances as a true freshman, while Souza finished his true freshman campaign with a .259/.372/.519 slash line to go along with seven homers and 28 runs batted in.

Sprague-Lott and Holt, the 62nd and 63rd All-SEC selections in program history, secured spots on the SEC All-Defensive Team. Sprague-Lott, the first Arkansas third baseman to earn SEC all-defensive praise since Bobby Wernes in 2015, committed only one error in league action, while Holt made numerous jaw-dropping plays roaming the outfield.

2024 SEC Baseball Awards

Player of the Year: Charlie Condon, Georgia

Pitcher of the Year: Hagen Smith, Arkansas

Freshman of the Year: Gavin Grahovac, Texas A&M

Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Drew Beam, Tennessee

Coach of the Year: Nick Mingione, Kentucky

First Team All-SEC

C: Jackson Appel, Texas A&M

1B: Jac Caglianone, Florida

2B: Christian Moore, Tennessee

3B: Charlie Condon, Georgia

SS: Justin Lebron, Alabama*

SS: David Mershon, Mississippi State*

OF: Braden Montgomery, Texas A&M

OF: Jace LaViolette, Texas A&M

OF: Dylan Dreiling, Tennessee

SP: Hagen Smith, Arkansas

SP: Khal Stephen, Mississippi State

RP: Evan Aschenbeck, Texas A&M

DH/UT: Ike Irish, Auburn*

DH/UT: Nick Lopez, Kentucky*

Second Team All-SEC

C: Cole Messina, South Carolina

1B: Blake Burke, Tennessee

2B: Peyton Stovall, Arkansas

3B: Tommy White, LSU

SS: Wehiwa Aloy, Arkansas

OF: Kavares Tears, Tennessee

OF: Ryan Waldschmidt, Kentucky

OF: Dakota Jordan, Mississippi State

SP: Ryan Prager, Texas A&M

SP: Luke Holman, LSU

RP: Griffin Herring, LSU

DH/UT: Andrew Fischer, Ole Miss

Freshman All-SEC Team

Gavin Grahovac, Texas A&M

Gabe Gaeckle, Arkansas

Justin Lebron, Alabama

Dean Curley, Tennessee

Tre Phelps, Georgia

Caden Sorrell, Texas A&M

Zane Adams, Alabama

Steven Milam, LSU

Ashton Larson, LSU

Cade Belyeu, Auburn

Liam Peterson, Florida

Nolan Souza, Arkansas

SEC All-Defensive Team

C: Fernando Gonzalez, Georgia

1B: Blake Burke, Tennessee

2B: Emilien Pitre, Kentucky

3B: Jared Sprague-Lott, Arkansas*

3B: Mitchell Daly, Kentucky*

SS: Justin Lebron, Alabama

OF: Braden Montgomery, Texas A&M

OF: Kavares Tears, Tennessee

OF: Peyton Holt, Arkansas*

OF: Jace LaViolette, Texas A&M

P: Mason Moore, Kentucky

*Ties (not broken)

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