LSU coach Paul Mainieri was set at the beginning of the year with starting sophomore Daniel Bradshaw as his third weekend starter along with sophomores Austin Ross and Anthony Ranaudo.
 
But when Bradshaw got off to a slow start, Mainieri put senior Louis Coleman in Bradshaw’s role and placed freshman Matty Ott as the team’s closer to fill Coleman’s role.
 
That move has paid off as Mainieri, Coleman and Ott have won more than games this season – earning three of the top Southeastern Conference regular season awards on Tuesday.The league office announced Mainieri as SEC Coach of the Year, Coleman as SEC Pitcher of the Year and Ott as SEC co-Freshman of the Year on Tuesday.Mainieri coached the No. 2 Tigers (41-15, 20-10) to a No. 1 national ranking on two occasions this season, a share of the SEC regular season crown and a No. 1 seed heading into the SEC tournament that begins Wednesday.Coleman finished the regular season leading the SEC with 10 wins and in the top five in the league in both ERA (2.99) and strikeouts (105).Ott – who along with outfielder Mikie Mahtook was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team – led the SEC with 12 saves while holding a 2.18 ERA.Both Coleman and Ott were also named to the SEC First Team, along with junior designated hitter Blake Dean.Dean is hitting .330 on the season with 14 home runs and a .431 on base percentage.Junior outfielder Ryan Shimpf was named to the SEC Second Team along with Ranaudo.Schimpf held a .330 batting average in the regular season and led the Tigers with 16 home runs.Ranaudo (7-3) led the SEC in strikeouts with 118 and had a 3.26 ERA. He also held opponents to a .211 batting average.Sophomore catcher Micah Gibbs rounded out the Tigers receiving postseason awards, as he was named to the SEC All-Defensive Team.The Pflugerville, Texas, native had a .990 fielding percentage, and opponents succeeded on a mere 15 of 35 stolen base attempts against him.—-Contact Andy Schwehm at [email protected]