Tennessee baseball signees, future roommates among TBCA Mr. Baseball winners

MURFREESBORO − Tennessee's baseball team will be getting a pair of Mr. Baseball winners next season, and they'll be roommates.

Pigeon Forge's Dylan Loy, who won the Class 2A award, and Goodpasture's Carson Rucker, who won the DII-A award, were among six players named Mr. Baseball by the Tennessee Baseball Coaches Association on Tuesday morning at Family Worship Center.

"There was (a lot of talent on stage)," said Loy, who also won the award in 2021 and was a finalist in 2022. "There were some huge numbers up there. Both of the guys (in 2A) on stage had great years, too. (Rucker's) numbers were crazy. It's pretty cool to see people your future will be with up there on stage with you."

Other winners included Coalfield's Luke Treese (1A), Upperman's Eli Huddleston (3A), Stewarts Creek's Gage Hoover (4A) and Baylor's Tomas Valincius (DII-AA).

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Loy, who was the Gatorade Player of the Year in Tennessee last season, had a big year on the mound and at the plate. He was 11-1 with an 0.98 ERA and 169 strikeouts while batting .549 with 30 doubles, three triples, three homers, 35 RBIs and 35 runs.

The Tigers fell short of reaching the TSSAA state tournament, losing 2-1 in a best-of-three series with Sweetwater in the 2A sectional.

"You work all year to get to state," said Loy, who is also a valedictorian at Pigeon Forge. "It's hard not to be down here right now, fighting for a state title. But we had a good run with the boys. Unfortunately we came up a little short. This award isn't just for me, it's for the boys back home on the team."

Rucker, who will be joining Loy with the Vols, hit .523 with 16 doubles, a triple, 18 homers, 79 RBIs and 57 runs. He also had 31 stolen bases.

Treese hit .550 with 19 doubles, eight homers and 60 RBIs to lead Coalfield (25-9) to the 1A state tournament.

Huddleston went 8-0 with an 0.36 ERA with 95 strikeouts in 59 innings while batting .366 with 15 doubles, five homers and 52 RBIs to lead Upperman (28-9) to the 3A state tournament.

Hoover led Stewarts Creek (29-7) to the 4A state tournament by hitting .538 with 14 doubles, a triple, seven homers, 44 RBIs and 34 runs.

"I was surprised a little," Hoover said. "(Science Hill's Nate Conner) was good. When they were reading his stats, I was like, 'Geez.' I am definitely happy. Hard work pays off. I was very excited to hear my name. Now the goal is to win a state championship."

Valencius hit .466 with 14 doubles, 10 homers, 43 RBIs and 30 runs. He was 7-1 with an 0.73 ERA and 59 strikeouts.

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TBCA Mr. Baseball winners

Class 1A

Luke Treese, Coalfield. Finalists: Brayden Baker, Eagleville; Owen Lee, Peabody.

Class 2A

Dylan Loy, Pigeon Forge. Finalists: Payton Armour, Meigs County; Kolton Casson, Polk County.

Class 3A

Eli Huddleston, Upperman. Finalists: Carson Quillen, Greeneville; Brady Smith, Grainger.

Class 4A

Gage Hoover, Stewarts Creek. Finalists: Lukas Buckner, Farragut; Nate Conner, Science Hill.

Division II-A

Carson Rucker, Goodpasture. Finalists: Wes Alig, CAK; Turner Junkins, Silverdale Baptist.

Division II-AA

Tomas Valincius, Baylor. Finalists: Trenton Lyons, Christian Brothers; Hudson Lutterman, Knoxville Catholic.

This article originally appeared on Murfreesboro Daily News Journal: Tennessee baseball signees Dylan Loy, Carson Rucker Mr Baseball winners