FAYETTEVILLE – Highlighted by Heston Kjerstad’s selection as the SEC Freshman of the Year, seven total Arkansas players earned 2018 SEC honors from, the league office announced Monday.

A heralded recruit from Amarillo, Texas, Kjerstad could have begun his professional career out of high school, but his asking price caused him to fall to the 36th round of the MLB Draft. Instead, he came to school and put together one of the best freshman seasons in UA history.

He is hitting .348 with 11 home runs and a team-high 46 RBIs as the Razorbacks’ starting left fielder. He also has a team-high 14 doubles and is second on the team with 49 runs scored.

Already holding the UA freshman record for hit by pitches (14), Kjerstad could break several others. Kjerstad needs only four more hits to break the record currently held by Dominic Ficociello (2011) and Jeff King (1984), six doubles to break Danny Hamblin’s record (2004), three home runs to break Zack Cox’s record (2009), five runs to break Hamblin’s record and 10 RBIs to break King’s record.

In addition to being named the Freshman of the Year, Kjerstad was also a second-team All-SEC selection and named to the All-Freshman Team.

The only Arkansas player named to the All-SEC first team was second baseman Carson Shaddy, who is having his best season as a fifth-year senior. He has 10 home runs and 37 RBIs to go along with his team-high .354 batting average.

Shaddy has been at his best against the Razorbacks’ top competition, hitting an impressive .395 in SEC play. He also has more RBIs (22) in 24 conference games than in 20 non-conference games (15).

Kjerstad was joined by third baseman Casey Martin, right fielder Eric Cole and starting pitcher Blaine Knight on the All-SEC second team.

Martin, who was also named to the All-Freshman Team, is hitting .344 with 10 home runs and 38 RBIs. The speedster is 6 of 7 on stolen base attempts and has beaten several throws for infield hits this season, as well.

Cole is hitting .333 with a team-high 12 home runs and is second on the team with 43 RBIs, while Knight is 9-0 with a 2.88 ERA and 82 strikeouts in 81 1/3 innings over 14 starts.

The other two Razorbacks honored by the SEC were catcher Grant Koch and centerfielder Dominic Fletcher, who made the All-Defensive Team.

Koch has made only one error behind the plate, good for a .998 fielding percentage, and has been pivotal to Arkansas’ pitching staff that has the second-best ERA in the SEC (3.52).

Although he has made four errors, Fletcher has been sensational in the outfield. Several of his diving catches have saved runs and come in big moments, leading head coach Dave Van Horn to call him his best defensive centerfielder.