Ole Miss Softball Garners Four Spots in the 2019 All-SEC Teams

By Adam Brown
Sports Editor
adam.brown@hottytoddy.com

Kylan Becker sends the ball down the first base line. Photo courtesy of Cameron Brooks / Ole Miss Athletics

The SEC softball tournament begins on Wednesday, and the league office announced its 2019 All-SEC Teams which included four Ole Miss players representing the Rebel program.

Kylan Becker made First Team All-SEC, Molly Jacobsen was named to the second team, Tate Whitley tabbed the All-Freshman Team and Kaylee Horton was named to the SEC All-Defensive Team.

The four all-league selections are the most the Rebels have ever been bestowed with. Prior to having three honorees in 2017, Ole Miss has never had more than two players to be dubbed into the selection in a single season.

The first team nod adds a feather to the cap of Becker, the only First Team All-SEC player in Ole Miss-history. The senior finished the regular season with a .417 batting average, the third-highest mark in the conference. The Miami native is ranked second in the SEC with 70 hits, while her 47 runs scored were the 10th-most in the league. Becker broke the Ole Miss-record with seven triples in 2019, most in the SEC.

Jacobsen becomes the third Ole Miss pitcher to be tabbed Second Team All-Conference, joining Kaitlin Lee in 2017 and Amanda Fine in 1997 and 1998. The former Junior College Pitcher of the Year’s 1.76 ERA was the eighth lowest in the league, while her 13 wins ranked ninth. Jacobsen racked up 140 strikeouts to rank sixth in the SEC, also tying for sixth with four saves.

With Tate Whitley’s selection, Ole Miss has now had one member be dubbed apart of the SEC All-Freshman Team in four of the last five years. An outfielder from Angleton, Texas, Whitley posted the third-highest batting average on the team at .307 with five doubles and a triple, adding in 19 runs and 11 RBIs. The lefty also flashed the leather countless times this season, making highlight reel grabs in left field.

Completing the clean sweep of all-conference honors for the Rebel outfielders, Kaylee Horton becomes the first-ever Ole Miss honoree on the SEC All-Defensive team. Making just one error in right field for a .971 average, Horton has not only made a myriad of web gem catches but has also proven to have a cannon of a right arm, tying for the outfield lead with four assists.

Ole Miss will take the diamond on Wednesday night against the winner of the No. 13 seed Texas A&M and No. 12 seed Mississippi State at 8 p.m. on SEC Network.