Auburn, South Alabama baseball players named to preseason All-America teams

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January 7, 2020

One player each from the Auburn University and University of South Alabama baseball teams have been selected by Perfect Game to the Rawlings Preseason All-America teams.

Seventeen players from across the nation were named to each the first, second and third teams. Players were reportedly chosen based on past performance, expectations for this coming season and their prospective talent relative to the MLB Draft. The teams were announced on Tuesday.

Tanner Burns of Auburn was named as a starting pitcher to the first team.
In 2019, Burns boasted a 2.82 ERA, striking out 101 batters in just under 80 innings pitched.

Here’s what Perfect Game wrote about Burns:

Although fatigue got the best of Burns down the stretch and limited his availability in Omaha with Auburn advancing to the CWS for the first time since 1997, he had a great season in 2019 and really established himself as one of the top aces in the nation, something the SEC has no shortage of. A PG All-American and promising two-way player coming out of high school, Burns hit the ground running as a freshman, going 7-4 with a 3.01 ERA while serving as the team’s Saturday starter behind eventual No. 1 pick Casey Mize. Down the stretch his freshman year it was Burns, and not Mize, who was consistently more effective, and so far through 166 1/3 college innings he has an 11-8 record and a 2.92 ERA with 178 strikeouts. Built compact yet strong at 6-foot, 205-pounds, Burns attacks the strike zone with a 91-93 mph fastball that frequently peaks at 95. He uses the pitch well to establish himself while mixing in a slider that has swing-and-miss potential while occasionally showing a changeup to make sure opposing hitters know he has it in his back pocket.

Additionally, South Alabama’s Ethan Wilson was named as an outfielder to the second team.

Last season, Wilson recorded a .345 batting average, .453 on-base percentage and .686 slugging percentage. Wilson had 17 homeruns and 51 runs batted in for the Jaguars.