Bigham, Ficociello, Reynolds named All-SEC

FAYETTEVILLE – Arkansas senior infielder Bo Bigham, sophomore infielder Dominic Ficociello and junior infielder Matt Reynolds each earned All-Southeastern Conference honors, as voted on by the league coaches and announced on Tuesday.

Reynolds was selected as the first-team All-SEC third baseman, while Bigham was picked as the second team All-SEC second baseman. Ficociello and Reynolds were each named to the SEC All-Defensive Team as Ficociello was honored for his work at first base and Reynolds was recognized for his defensive prowess at third.

Bigham and Reynolds each earned all-conference honors for the first time, becoming the 25th and 26th players in Razorback history to be named All-SEC. Ficociello picked up SEC All-Defensive Team recognition for the second straight season.

A native of Tulsa, Okla., Reynolds has been the top offensive performer for Arkansas this season. In 57 games, including 56 starts, Reynolds is hitting a team-best .340 with seven homers and 41 RBI. Reynolds also leads the team in runs (44), doubles (18), total bases (107), slugging percentage (.535), walks (37) and on-base percentage (.451). Reynolds has stolen 12 bases, which is the second-highest total on the team. He has 18 multi-hit games and a team-leading 12 multi-RBI games.

Reynolds was also recognized for his defensive play at third base as he was named to the SEC All-Defensive Team. Reynolds committed nine errors while manning the hot corner this season and posted a .948 fielding percentage.

Bigham has played in 53 games, including 47 starts, and is hitting .282 with a homer and 17 RBI. A native of Texarkana, Ark., Bigham ranks third on the team with seven stolen bases. In conference play, he hit .306, which was the third-best batting average on the team. Bigham has 16 multi-hit games during his senior season, which ranks fourth.

A product of Fullerton, Calif., Ficociello was named to the SEC All-Defensive Team for the second straight season. The sophomore first baseman has committed just four errors all season, including just one error in conference play. Ficociello has a .993 fielding percentage for the season and fielded at a .997 clip in league play.

LSU’s Raph Rhymes was selected as the SEC Player of the Year, while Chris Stratton from Mississippi State was named the league’s Pitcher of the Year. Kentucky’s Austin Cousino earned Freshman of the Year honors and Kentucky head coach Gary Henderson was named SEC Coach of the Year. South Carolina’s Michael Roth was picked as the SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

The Arkansas baseball team, a two seed in the Houston Regional, begins play in the 2012 NCAA Tournament on Friday at 1 p.m. as it faces No. 3 seed Sam Houston State in the first round at Reckling Park. Host school and No. 1 seed Rice and No. 4 seed Prairie View A&M will meet in the other first round game on Friday at 6 p.m.