Preston Tucker, the former Plant Class 5A All-State player, has been named to the prestigious 2009 Louisville Slugger Freshman All-America Team, chosen by Collegiate Baseball.

The SEC Co-Freshman of the Year, Tucker leads the ninth-ranked Gators with a single-season school record 83 RBI, 14 home runs, 13 doubles and 145 total bases. He is second on the squad with a .357 batting average. He also leads the Gators in slugging percentage (.617), multiple-hit (25) and multiple-RBI games (23).

Tucker was named the NCAA Gainesville Regional’s Most Outstanding Player last Sunday night after going 9-for-13 (.692) over the three Florida victories with six RBI, two homers and a slugging percentage of 1.231. He was 4-for-5 in the championship-game win over the Miami with three RBI. He hit his team-leading 14th home run as part of a seven-run, fifth-inning for the Gators.

Tucker and the Gators (42-20) will host No. 17 Southern Miss (38-24) in NCAA Super Regional action at McKethan Stadium starting on Saturday at 3 p.m., live on ESPNU. The teams will play in a best-of-three series, with the winner advancing to the College World Series in Omaha, Neb.

[PHOTO: University of Florida]