Sophomore catcher Mike Zunino and junior outfielder Preston Tucker were named All-Americans by the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) on Thursday. Zunino was named to the first team, while Tucker was named for the second team.
It was another All-American selection for Zunino, the SEC Player of the Year, who had already been named an All-American by Baseball America, Perfect Game, Louisville Slugger and National College Baseball Writers Association. It’s the first All-American honor for Tucker.
Both Tucker and Zunino were also named first-team All-South Region by the ABCA, while senior second baseman Josh Adams and sophomore Hudson Randall were second-team recipients.
Zunino led the second-ranked Gators and was among the league leaders in batting average (.371), total bases (178), hits (98), runs (75), doubles (23), homers (19), slugging percentage (.674) and on-base percentage (.442). He registered a .995 fielding percentage, with three errors in 570 chances, and is a finalist for the Johnny Bench Award.
A first-team All-SEC pick and the Most Outstanding Player of the 2011 NCAA Gainesville Regional, Tucker batted .308 with a team-best 74 RBI, 55 runs, 28 walks and 23 doubles in 72 games. During the Gators’ 11 NCAA Tournament outings, he totaled 20 RBI and had 11 extra-base hits (six doubles and five homers) on his way to a .304 (14-for-46) clip. Tucker hit .311 with 25 runs, 22 RBI, seven doubles and four homers in conference action this spring.
