Devin Burkes Garners Preseason All-Southeastern Conference

Kentucky redshirt junior catcher Devin Burkes, the Most Outstanding Player of the 2023 Lexington Regional, has been voted Second-Team Preseason All-Southeastern Conference by the league’s coaches, the conference announced Thursday.

Burkes, from Bradenton, Florida, had a breakout sophomore season to lead the Wildcats to a second Super Regional appearance in program history. He batted .291 with a .925 OPS in starting all 61 games, scored 55 runs, had 65 hits and drove in 53. He led the team with 18 doubles and was second with nine home runs, was hit by 15 pitches, walked 38 times and stole nine bases in 12 attempts.

The emotional epicenter of the team, Burkes had 19 multi-hit and 12 multi-RBI games. He also had an 11-game hit streak where he had multiple hits seven times, smoked what proved to be the game-winning home run in NCAA opener vs. Ball State and was Co-National Player of the Week after hitting seven doubles in one weekend.

Considered one of the Top 10 catchers in the nation by D1Baseball.com, Burkes also has earned the nickname “Happiest Man in College Baseball” and is known by teammates to be an excellent pitch framer and defensive catcher.

Kentucky opens its season Friday, February 16 at USC Upstate.