AUBURN, Ala. – The honors continue to roll in for Auburn freshmen Tanner Burns, Edouard Julien and Steven Williams, who have been named Freshman All-Americans by Baseball America Wednesday morning.
Burns and Julien were named to the first team, while Williams earned second-team recognition. The Tigers three honorees are the most of any team in the country. Julien has now been named a Freshman All-American by five publications, and Burns and Williams have picked up the honors on four occasions.
Burns started the season in the weekend rotation and capped off his freshman year with a 7-4 record and team-best 3.01 ERA, good for sixth in the Southeastern Conference. The Decatur, Alabama, native who was named the 2017 Collegiate Baseball National High School Player of the Year, ranked second on the team with 77 strikeouts, marking the second most by an Auburn freshman since 1998, and 86.2 innings pitched. In his last four starts, three of which came in postseason play, Burns went 3-0 with a 2.16 ERA and pitched 6.0 or more innings in each appearance.
Julien turned in one of the best freshman seasons from the plate in program history as he led the team with 17 home runs and 69 RBI, which broke former Auburn great and National Baseball Hall of Famer Frank Thomas' freshman program record. His 69 RBI were also good for the SEC lead and were tops among all freshmen nationally. Additionally, his 17 home runs were tied for the second most among freshmen nationally, third most by an Auburn freshman in program history and sixth most in the league.
Williams totaled 12 home runs and 51 RBI this season, ranking tied for second and third on the team, respectively, in the categories. His 12 home runs are the fourth most by an Auburn freshman in program history, and his 51 RBI are the sixth most. After beginning his Auburn career with a home run in his first collegiate at-bat and totaling seven RBI in his debut, Williams turned in a .291 batting average and led the team with a .409 on-base percentage. Williams also finished the season second on the team in runs (54) and fourth in hits (71).