Razorbacks Get Three Named To All-SEC Team

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Three Arkansas baseball players had their great play on the field recognized as Grant Koch, Jax Biggers, and Dominic Fletcher each were named all-conference players Monday by the Southeastern Conference office.

Koch leads the trio as a first team All-SEC catcher, while Biggers was named as a second team All-SEC shortstop. Fletcher is part of the SEC All-Freshman Team in the outfield.

Koch is only the second Razorback catcher to be named an All-SEC player in program history and first since Jake Wise in 2014. As for Biggers, he’s the seventh infielder to make the first or second team with Dave Van Horn as the head coach and first primary shortstop since Scott Hode made the second team in 2004. Fletcher is the third player to make the all-freshman team in the last four seasons.

In just his second season as a Razorback and first as the everyday catcher, Koch has become one of the best hitting backstops in the nation. With a .287 average, 13 home runs, and 40 RBIs, Koch has had one of the best offensive seasons by an Arkansas catcher in at least the last 15 years. His home run total led the team for nearly the entire season and is the most by an Arkansas catcher in the Van Horn era.

Koch was named as a semifinalist for the prestigious Johnny Bench Award earlier this month, which goes to the nation’s top catcher. He was the only player from the SEC to make the cut.

Biggers made one of the biggest splashes on this year’s team after coming to the squad as a junior college transfer from Cisco, Texas. The sophomore is Arkansas’ best hitter going into the SEC Tournament with a .335 batting average, 41 runs scored, and a .420 on-base percentage. In conference play, Biggers’ play was even better as he hit .340 in 30 games with seven doubles, leading all primary shortstops. Biggers was also named as a Brooks Wallace Award semifinalist for the nation’s top shortstop earlier this month.

Much like Biggers, Fletcher’s impact has been felt from day one. There was never any doubt that Fletcher was going to take over the centerfield duties for the Razorbacks this year and his bat and glove didn’t disappoint. The Cypress, California native started 46 of Arkansas’ 54 games this season in centerfield and hit .292 with 10 home runs, which ties for the most among all SEC freshman (Braden Shewmake) and is the most by a Razorback freshman since Zack Cox (13) in 2009.

Over the final weeks of the season, Fletcher’s bat heated up at the right time to help Arkansas earn the four-seed in the SEC Tournament, as he had 14 hits in the final eight games of the regular season with six RBIs and four home runs.

The fourth-seeded Razorbacks open play in the 2017 SEC Tournament on Wednesday, May 24, taking on the winner of Mississippi State and Georgia at approximately 8 p.m. CT on SEC Network.

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