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Texas Baseball Star Dylan Volantis Named SEC Freshman of the Year

Originally posted on Texas Longhorns on SI
By Connor Zimmerlee | Last updated May 19, 2025 8:31 PM ET

It is far from an uncommon sight for freshmen to need time to adjust to life as a college baseball player. The jump from high school to the next level is a steep one, and not every first-year player is able to hit the ground running.

While that may be the case for some, fortunately for the Texas Longhorns it was not the case for Dylan Volantis in 2025. From the jump the southpaw hurler was a force to be reckoned with on the mound and dominated countless hitters to earn SEC Freshman of the Year honors.

There were undoubtedly several worthy candidates for this particular honor, including the LSU duo of Derek Curiel and Casan Evans as well as Tyler Bell from Kentucky. However, one look at Volantis' impressive numbers and the choice to give him the award is easy to understand.

Tabbed as the closer for the Longhorns, the crafty left-hander was untouchable the moment he jogged out of the bullpen and set foot on the mound. All the Longhorns needed to do was get to the eighth or ninth inning with a lead and Volantis handled the rest. He recorded 12 saves, including an SEC freshman-record 11 in conference play -- which broke Ole Miss' Steven Head's 22-year-old record.

Freshman of the Year has a nice ring to it #HookEm | @DylanVolantis pic.twitter.com/aHRLo5jPmh
— Texas Baseball (@TexasBaseball) May 19, 2025

Not only was he named Freshman of the Year, but Volantis also earned a spot on the SEC All-Freshman Team and was named a First Team All-SEC member. A heavy workload didn't slow him down, as he sported a 4-0 record and 1.66 ERA with 64 strikeouts and just 11 strikeouts in 43.1 innings.

These weren't the only accomplishments achieved by the southpaw, though. On top of his plethora of conference accolades, he was named the Golden Spikes Award semifinalist list on Sunday afternoon to boot.

This article first appeared on Texas Longhorns on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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