Five LSU Baseball Players Named Preseason All Americans

BATON ROUGE, La. ? Five LSU players have been named to the 2009 Louisville Slugger Preseason All-America teams released by Collegiate Baseball magazine on Tuesday.

Junior outfielder Blake Dean was named to the first team, while senior pitcher Louis Coleman, junior second baseman Ryan Schimpf and sophomore catcher Micah Gibbs were named to the second team. Sophomore shortstop DJ LeMahieu was voted to the third team.

Dean, a native of Crestview, Fla., hit a team-best .353 (95-for-269) last season with 18 doubles, three triples, 20 homers and 73 RBI, earning first-team All-America recognition while leading LSU to the College World Series in Omaha, Neb. He hit .500 (7-for-14) in LSU?s NCAA Super Regional series versus UC Irvine with two doubles, one homer and four RBI. Dean tied the LSU school record with five hits in Game 3 win of the super regional, collecting two doubles, a three-run homer, two singles and three RBI.

Dean was named the Most Outstanding Player of NCAA Baton Rouge Regional, leading LSU to the regional title with wins over Texas Southern and Southern Miss (twice). Dean batted .455 (5-for-11) in the regional with one double, one triple, three homers and nine RBI.

Dean was also voted the Most Valuable Player of the SEC Tournament, batting .438 (7-for-16) in four games with three homers, nine RBI and five runs. He unloaded a walk-off solo homer to lift LSU over South Carolina in the tournament opener, and he launched grand slam in a semifinal win over Alabama. Coleman was the 14th round selection of the Washington Nationals in the 2008 MLB Draft; however, he elected to return to LSU for his senior season. The Schlater, Miss. native pitched brilliantly in 2008, appearing in 23 games (three starts). He recorded an 8-1 mark and a team-best 1.95 ERA in 55.1 innings with two saves, 10 walks and 62 strikeouts.

Coleman was dominant down the stretch of the ?08 season ? from April 15 through the Tigers? final game in the College World Series, he was 7-1 with a 1.91 ERA and two saves in 16 outings (one start) with 45 strikeouts in 42.1 innings. He was 3-1 with a 2.61 ERA in seven postseason appearances, recording 21 strikeouts and four walks in 20.2 innings.

Schimpf, a Covington, La. native, batted .320 (80-for-250) last season with 18 doubles, an SEC-best seven triples, 12 homers and 54 RBI. He batted a sizzling .419 (18-for-43) in LSU?s 13 postseason games with seven doubles, two triples, two homers, 15 RBI and 11 runs.

Schimpf was LSU?s leading hitter in the NCAA Super Regional versus UC Irvine, batting .615 (8-for-13) with four doubles, one triple, two homers, six RBI and three runs. He was 4-for-5 with two homers, two doubles and a career-best five RBI in the Super Regional championship game.

Schimpf was named to NCAA Baton Rouge Regional all-tournament team, and he was voted to the SEC All-Tournament Team. He was also named SEC Player of the Week May 12, as he batted.545 (6-for-11) in the Mississippi State series with one double, three homers, seven RBI and seven runs scored.

Gibbs, a product of Pflugerville, Texas, batted .322 (56-for-174) last season with 16 doubles, two homers, 35 RBI and 31 runs, receiving Freshman All-America recognition. He was the Tigers? leading hitter in SEC regular-season games, batting .345 (29-for-84) with seven doubles, one homer and 21 RBI.

Gibbs performed magnificently behind the plate, committing just one error in 392 chances (.997 fielding percentage) while throwing out 17 runners attempting to steal. He was the starting catcher last summer for the United States National Team that captured the gold medal at the World Championships in the Czech Republic.

LeMahieu, a product of Bloomfield Hills, Mich., started 67 games at shortstop in 2008, batting .337 (87-for-258) with 11 doubles, one triple, six homers, 44 RBI and 10 steals. He hit .336 (39-for-116) in SEC regular-season games with four doubles, two homers and 15 RBI.

LeMahieu batted .347 (17-for-49) in the Tigers? postseason games with three doubles, one triple, one homer and six RBI. He enters the 2009 season riding a 16-game hit streak that began on May 15 at Auburn.