Jim Schlossnagle named SEC Coach of the Year

Dylan Volantis took home SEC Freshman of the Year honors and joined Rylan Galvan on the All-SEC first team.

First-year Texas Longhorns head coach Jim Schlossnagle was named SEC Coach of the Year on Monday after the Longhorns finished first in the conference with a 22-8 record, the ninth time in his career he has earned recognition as the best coach in his conference.

The coaching job by Schlossnagle and his staff was all the more remarkable because it came in the debut season for the Longhorns in the SEC and came after the team was picked to finish eighth in the 16-team league in the preseason poll voted on by the conference’s head coaches.

Left-hander Dylan Volantis was named SEC Freshman of the Year and earned a spot on the All-SEC first team after the 6’6, 212-pounder’s 11 conference saves set the conference freshman record that stood for 22 years.

Across 16 SEC appearances, Volantis allowed five runs in 28.1 innings, striking out 48 and walking only eight batters. On the season, Volantis is 4-0 with 12 saves, tied for sixth nationally, striking out 64 and allowing eight earned runs in 43.1 innings while posting a 1.66 ERA and 0.88 WHIP.

Junior catcher Rylan Galvan joined Volantis on the first team after leading Texas with 14 home runs, a .453 on-base percentage, a .635 slugging percentage, and a 1.088 OPS while batting .299 with 46 RBI, second on the team.