This one seems like a big deal though, especially since there seems to be a shift in Tennessee’s recruiting strategy for the 2027 class. After busting tail on the recruiting trail the past several seasons to raise the Vols’ profile, Tennessee and Josh Heupel seem to be more focused on budgeting their NIL funds wisely between spending big on portal players and specific high schoolers who can make an impact immediately instead of highly ranked dudes who will cash a check this year just to portal out the next, with the rest of the class being players who want to come to a school like UT and develop, even if that takes some time. Or at least, that’s what the strategy looks like from a distance.

As a result, Tennessee currently sits at just #24 nationally in On3’s recruiting rankings, behind nine other SEC teams (including Kentucky). And that’s after the massive commitment of this profile’s subject, David Gabriel Georges. But that’s why the commitment of DGG was so important: if you’re going to bank the success of your class on a big splash signing, you better get him in the boat.

Gabriel Georges plays for the Baylor School in Chattanooga and won the TSSAA DII-AA state championship in 2025 after being a runner-up in 2024. DGG is a two-time Tennessee Mr. Football award winner and is likely the favorite in 2026 as well, having run for over 2800 yards and 41 touchdowns going into his senior year.

Rated as a “5-star plus” player and a top-10 national prospect, DGG is the #1 player in the state of Tennessee and one of the top two running backs in the country. But his recruitment wasn’t as simple as UT pulling an in-state player since DGG is a native of Quebec and speaks English as a second language, and I’m only now realizing what a blessing it was for this kid to learn English as a non-native in southern Appalachia.

Film

If you’re reading this you’ve probably seen the kid’s highlights. But for posterity:

The first three plays from that compilation really show off DGG’s unique skillset. Play 1 showcases his elusiveness, explosion through contact, and speed:

In play 2 you can see how patient he is in finding the crease and accelerating through the point of attack:

And on this third play you see his physicality and relentlessness:

Haters will say that the level of competition these plays are made against is mid at best. And sure, I’d love to see him play against a 7A Atlanta school or some south Florida teams. But the point is a lot less about who he’s up against and a lot more about what he’s able to do. He’s a Swiss army knife. He has all the skills; if just one transfers to SEC-level play he will be a 1,000-yard rusher. From there the potential is unlimited.

Maybe Kinda Like*

These comparisons are based solely on the size, position, and rating of backs that have signed with UT this century. It’s hard to find a comp for DGG, considering his unique combination of skills and size

• Jabari Davis (2001): At 6’ and 230 lbs., the J-Train was beefier than DGG and built like a true power back. He’s also the third-highest rated RB Tennessee has ever signed, and rushed for 1228 yards in a four-year career on the Hill, but seemed to be plagued by injury and never quite lived up to that lofty status he had coming out of high school.

• Cedric Houston (2001): At 6’ and just 200 lbs., Houston might be a better size comparison with DGG than Davis. Coming to UT in the same class as Davis, Houston was lower-rated but the more productive back for his career, being a top-10 rusher in the SEC from his sophomore year on, and a 1,000-yard back in his senior season (although Davis had more career TDs than Houston did).

• Gerald Riggs Jr. (2002):

  

  Speaking of can’t-miss backs from Chattanooga, Riggs was the highest-rated RB Tennessee had ever signed to that point, and the Chattanooga Times-Free Press published the above picture of Riggs in a Superman outfit on the cover of their high school preview edition prior to his senior year. I was living in Chattanooga at the time and fully bought into the hype. And while Riggs did run for over 1,000 yards his junior year (the same year Cedric Houston went over 1K), injury shortened his Preseason All-American senior season. (Riggs went on to win a Grey Cup with the Toronto Argonauts, so there is that.) At 6’ and 220, Riggs is a good size comparison with DGG, and he was higher rated—though I wonder is some of these early-2000s guys would be as highly rated with today’s standards?

• Bryce Brown (2009): Brown was the greatest player in the history of sports. The highest rated player to ever sign with Tennessee or anywhere else, Brown was going to change the face of football forever. Of course, he lasted one season at UT before his coach went somewhere to be fired at an airport and Brown transferred to Kansas State (I just realized that Gerald Riggs Jr. had a longer pro career than Brown LOL). Brown rushed for 460 yards in his one season as a Vol, backing up Montario Hardesty. Size-wise a good comp for DGG, hype-wise UNTOUCHABLE.

• Rajion Neal (2010): The one back on this list that was not a 5*. However, Neal came to Knoxville at 5’11 and 210 lbs., so probably the closest to DGG’s size. Neal also had ones of the most complete careers on this list, finishing with nearly 2800 yards and 24 TDs from scrimmage on some pretty bad Derrick Dooley teams.

Ty Chandler was another fairly high-ranked prospect that might’ve been another good comp height-wise, but was a good 30 lbs. lighter than DGG if his current weight of 220 lbs. is accurate. Jalen Hurd could be a good comp ratings-wise, but he was much bigger than Gabriel Georges. Like I said, it’s just hard to find a back Tennessee has had in the past with this set of skills at this particular size.

The hope is that DGG outshines this whole list. It is interesting that out of all these backs, the lower-rated Rajion Neal had arguably the best career at UT (Houston had a nice career, and Riggs had one good season). When considering how much the game has changed since the early 2000s, coupled with Josh Heupel’s offense, it is likely he will. After all, Tennessee has averaged 200 yards rushing/game since 2021 with backs that were considerably lower-rated prospects than Gabriel Georges (hence why they weren’t on the list).

Recruiting services like On3 compare Gabriel Georges to Quinshon Judkins, formerly of Ole Miss and Ohio State, due to the physicality they both show, with DGG likely being faster at this stage of his career than Judkins was. Chris Lowe has compared DGG to Herschel Walker, at least physically. And of course, DGG likes to model himself after another former Vol, Alvin Kamara. Coming out of HS, Kamara was not as highly ranked and at 5’10 and 195 lbs. was even smaller than Gabriel Georges. But when you watch them both with a football in their hands, you don’t have to squint to see the similarities.

Footballs are weird. They’re oblong, for one thing. Almost every other ball sport is played with a sphere. Sure, there are nuances to those spheres: the seams on a baseball will affect it’s flight, as will any scuffs or substances on it. But it comes from the factory pretty dang close to spherical; at least much more so than a football. This is true of basketballs, tennis balls, golf balls. Things like composition and air pressure will affect them, but for the most part, you can replicate the same bounce from any one of those balls 99% of the time. Throw it against a wall, and it will come right back to you.

Not footballs. Go out to the garage and bounce the football a few times. You certainly can’t throw it like a football is meant to be thrown and have it bounce back to you. If you throw it on it’s side it’s not impossible to get a replicable bounce, but it’s dang hard. It takes a lot more effort than dribbling a basketball. And just a little variation in how the ball hits can make a huge difference in how it rebounds. If it hits on the laces, you’re probably chasing it down the driveway.

That’s why on November 1^st, in the first quarter of Tennessee’s game against Oklahoma, you saw what might have been the unluckiest play of the season. “Luck” is not a subjective term here: there are a few ways that “luck” is measured analytically in football, and one of them is by fumbles lost. Fumbling itself might be a skill issue, but losing a fumble is attributed to luck because of the odd shape and unpredictable bounce of the ball itself. Both the median and mode team in college football only lose a fumbled ball about 46% of the time. Indiana was incredibly lucky in this regard in 2025. The Hoosiers fumbled 8 times in 16 games and only lost one of them: just a 12.5% lost fumble rate. Boston College was the unluckiest team with 90% of their fumbles lost (9 lost fumbles out of 10 times they put the ball on the ground). Tennessee was overall somewhat lucky in 2025, losing 6 of 16 fumbles, or 37.5%: better than average and around the bottom of the upper-third of all teams.

Additionally, teams recover their own fumbles substantially more when the fumble occurs in the backfield. That makes sense—when the ball is fumbled in the backfield there are going to be more offensive players in the vicinity when compared to a fumble 20 yards downfield, where there might only be the fumbler himself around to fall on the ball in the midst of several defenders.

That’s what makes R Mason Thomas’ strip-sack-fumble return for Oklahoma so unlucky for the Vols. On 1^st-and-10 at the Sooners’ 24, Joey Aguilar looked left, got smacked from behind by a blitzing OU LB (assisted by an uncharacteristic whiff of a block by RT David Sanders), and fumbled a ball that took one perfect bounce right into the free hand of an onrushing Thomas, who barely broke stride on his way to the endzone for a game-tying touchdown. It took the trifecta of bad luck: a team that loses fumbles less frequently than most, a defensive recovery in the backfield, and bounce that you couldn’t replicate more than two times out of ten. Any one of those elements are unlikely to happen, all three happening on the same play is hardly fathomable. Depending on how optimistic or pessimistic you are, this was a 14-, 10-, or 7-point swing in a game ultimately decided by six points.

And there’s another measure of luck we can dissect: how do you fare in 1-score games? Tennessee had five 1-score games in 2025: Georgia, Mississippi State, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and the Music City Bowl against Illinois. The Vols went 2-3 in those games. Indiana again was one of the lucky ones: Curt Cignitti’s crew was 4-0 in one-score games. Ole Miss was another lucky team with a 6-1 record. That was after the Rebels went 0-3 in such games in 2024. And that’s usually how it goes. Rarely does a team stay winning or losing a lot of close games year over year. For example, Arkansas State was 7-0 in one-score games in 2024. But the Fightin’ Butch Joneses regressed to the mean in ’25, going 3-4.

The Vols weren’t an outlier with their 2-3 close-game record. But however you feel about Tennessee’s 2025 season, would you feel better if those results were reversed? Record-wise it’s just one game, and on its face 9-4 doesn’t feel much different than 8-5. However wins against UGA, OU, and finishing with a bowl win likely puts a shine on a season that felt a little lackluster in the end. Heck, beating Georgia and Oklahoma probably keeps UT in the playoff hunt, even if you swap those with losses to MSU and Arkansas. (And calling that Arkansas game a one-score game is a little disingenuous; the Hogs got a couple of garbage-time scores to reel in a game that was out of hand enough for the Vols to play backups like Jake Merklinger in the 4^th quarter).

Those one-score games certainly could have gone the other way too. Tennessee coughed up the ball a concerning amount of times to keep the Bulldogs alive in Starkville; that overtime could’ve gone the other way. We’ve already covered how unlucky the Oklahoma loss was, and there was another strip-sack-fumble touchdown in the Illinois game. That one happened in the endzone, but even if Tennessee had fallen on the ball for a safety, the Illini would have needed to drive for a touchdown, not just a field goal, to win the game. There’s even a world where Arkansas completes their manic 4^th-quarter comeback, I suppose.

And not to reopen the wound, but Tennessee had an 83% postgame win expectancy against Georgia. That means analytically, a game that plays out with the same statistics as Tennessee-Georgia is going to be won by the team with Tennessee’s stats 83 out of 100 times. To make things worse, based on his career statistics Max Gilbert makes the game-winning kick against Georgia 8 out of 10 times. Poor execution? Yes. Unlucky? Also yes. You’d probably find a good chunk of Vol fans who, if offered, would reverse the luck in just this one game and let the Vols lose the other four close games to finish 7-6. But you can’t repeat the past, old sport. No amount of “should’ve” will put that ball through the uprights now.

So what’s the lesson then? If none of these outcomes are changing, what the point of looking back on them? For one, while we look ahead to 2026, we can look back at 2025 and remember that there are individual plays that make a huge difference in how you remember a season. You don’t always win because the players are All-Americans, and you don’t always lose because the coaches are dunces. Sometimes you’re just unlucky.

Like the receiving corps, the O-Line was another position group to receive a major overhaul from the 2024 to 2025 seasons. The only returning starters from a Joe Moore Award semifinalist group that helped UT rush for 200+ yards per game were former 5* left tackle and LSU transfer Lance Heard and part-time starter/left guard Sham Umarov. And for the first time in Heupel’s tenure at UT, someone other than Cooper Mays would be responsible for snapping the ball.

The center responsibilities would mostly fall to Notre Dame transfer Sam Pendelton. That’s a big deal, too. The center in Heupel’s offense is responsible for getting the whole team set. Although the Vols use tempo a little more selectively now than they did in Heupel’s first few seasons, UT was still one of the ten fastest per-play teams in college football last season. The offense can’t go fast if they’re not set, and they can’t get set until the center is over the ball. Below is a screen grab from a Glen Elarbee clinic about Tennessee’s tempo & run game:

Notice that everyone has responsibilities related to tempo, but the center’s are first. As soon as the whistle blows to end a play, the center has to look for the line judge and set his feet where the ball is going to be spotted. Not just wait for the officials to make the spot, but to go were it’s going to be spotted first. That allows the rest of the team to get set quickly and check with the QB/sideline for the play. Plus, the center is making calls at the line, snaping the ball cleanly, and reaching a block too. It’s not a job just anyone can do. Having Mays lock this position down for four years was a luxury.

With the center position up for grabs in 2025, Pendleton settled into the role. He was flanked by Umarov and Arizona transfer Wendell Moe at the guard spots with Heard and Jesse Perry at the tackles to begin with. Once 5* freshman David Sanders was fully ready to go, he stepped into the right tackle spot and Perry slid into guard duty with Umarov and Moe.

For 2026, Heard has transferred to Kentucky, but UT returns 5 OL with at least 6 starts, and add LSU transfer Ory Williams. The question becomes who are Tennessee’s best five on the offensive line? David Sanders will certainly be the left tackle. Many people (including Phil Steele) have penciled Ory WIlliams in at RT. That would leave Moe, Perry, Pendleton, and Umarov sharing the interior duties. One would assume Pendleton would remain at center. But there were some miscues in the middle last year; does someone else step into that very important role? Also, Perry arguably played his best ball last season at right tackle. And If you believe in Pro Football Focus’ player grades, Perry is UT’s third-best returning OL, and graded much higher than Williams. Maybe he should be on the edge?

But who knows how much was invested in getting Williams, or what promises were made in getting him to Knoxville? If Williams was brought in to be the starting RT, and keeping with last year’s rotation, the line would be (from L to R) Sanders-Umarov-Pendleton-Moe-Williams. Is that the Vols’ best five? And where does that leave Perry?

Nega Vol’n

Tennessee has a couple of huge games in September: a true road game at Georgia Tech and a huge home match against Texas. If the Vols struggle to identify their best five early, or if Glen Elarbee does too much shifting without allowing the unit to gel (which he’s been accused of in the past), then the offense could struggle to get going, and they don’t have time afforded to struggle.

Sunshine Pump’n

The good news is there’s a lot of good options here. Tennessee has six offensive linemen that have starting experience in the SEC. There is certainly a best five combination to put on the field, but even the worst five option should be pretty good. And barring injury, they won’t ever have the worst five on the field because David Sanders will certainly be out there. They’re a talented, experienced group that will the cornerstone of a Tennessee offense with tremendous upside in 2026.

The receiver position was a huge question mark for Tennessee going into the 2025 season. The Vols lost nearly every contributor from the 2024 squad to graduation or the transfer portal. Only Chris Brazzell II returned, and was only bringing 331 yards of production back with him—barely more than TE Miles Kitzelman’s 311 yards, and with fewer yards per catch than Kitzelman, too.

Thankfully for UT, Brazzell was ready to take a step into the spotlight in ’25. With him came two blue-chip recruits from the 2024 class: Braylon Staley and Mike Matthews. Together, the trio made Tennessee the only SEC school with three 800+ yard receivers, and Brazzell himself went north of 1000 yards on the year.

For 2026, Matthews and Staley return. Staley is the prototypical slot guy, and that’s a position that has produced UT’s leading receiver a couple of times (Jalin Hyatt in ’22, Squirrel White in ’23). The question is can Matthews or another WR fully step into the “X” receiver spot? Tennessee needs a guy that can reliably win 1-on-1 battles against the opposing corner, both as a deep ball threat and as a pressure valve for the slot WR.

Additionally, Tennessee loses Kitzelman and his 253 yards receiving—and his run blocking, which is key in Tennessee’s ground game. Former 4* Jack Van Doreslaer portaled out to Oklahoma. But Ethan Davis (the Vols 4^th-leading receiver last year) returns as does blue-chipper DaSaahn Brame.

Nega Vol’n

The lack of a prototypical X receiver could limit the passing game, which is already being handcuffed by having to start a raw QB. In the past, Tennessee has had big-bodied WRs that could go win a 50/50 ball—think Cedric Tillman (6’3, 215), Bru McCoy (6’3, 230), and Dont’e Thornton (6’5, 214). Even Chris Brazzell, who was relatively skinny at just 200 lbs., is a rangy target at 6’5. Mike Matthews’ program height is 6’1, meaning he’s probably 6-feet tall. Radarious Jackson is closer to traditional X-receiver height at 6’2, but had just 9 catches last year. Incoming freshman T.K. Keys is 6’2 and highly-touted, but will the coaching staff trust a true frosh to step into the role of clutch-time target?

Sunshine Pumpin’

This is easily the most talented WR room Josh Heupel has had at UT. Matthews, Staley, Jackson, Keys, and Travis Smith are all blue-chippers, as are Davis and Brame at TE. Also telling is the fact that Heupel & Co. didn’t really go portal hunting this offseason for the WR/TE rooms. They added WR transfer Ian Duarte (95 rec/1035 yds/6 TDs last 3 years at Idaho State) and tE Trent Thomas from South Alabama, likely as more of a blocker. Compare that to Tennessee’s portal approach in years past, bringing in guys like Bru McCoy, Donte Thornton, Chris Brazzell, and Miles Kitselman, who all became major pieces of the offense. It seems UT is happy with what they have on campus already.

Add in the fact that Tennessee’s offense changed in substantial ways in 2025 to fit the strengths of the personnel, and imagine that the same happens in 2026. As long as UT has a QB with a pulse, it would be pretty shocking for this unit to not be highly productive this season.

Dylan Sampson was the SEC Offensive Player of the Year in 2024 and broke school records in single-season rushing yards (1491) and single-season rushing TDs (22—a record that stood since 1929!) en route to being drafted by the Cleveland Browns. This left enormous shoes to fill in the Tennessee backfield in 2025.

Enter DeSean Bishop, Peyton Lewis, and Duke transfer Star Thomas as a three-headed monster to fill the role. All three found their place in the Vols’ offense, with Thomas using his final year of college eligibility to amass over 700 total yards and 7 TDs, while Lewis scored 7 TDs of his own. But it was Bishop who separated himself to become the feature back in the rotation. Last year Bishop became UT’s third straight 1000-yard rusher—previously the Vols hadn’t had a 1000-yard back since 2016. Bishop also found the endzone 16 times, more than his backfield mates combined.

However the running back room is the one offensive spot that Tennessee lacks in star power. The two-deep at every other position across the offense is going to average a 4* player. Peyton Lewis was a rare 4* in the RB roomr in 2025, and he has transferred to Virginia. Bishop is a former 3* who originally committed to Coastal Carolina before choosing to walk on at Tennessee. Daune Morris, Justin Baker, and Tulane transfer Javin Gordon will be the backs looking for some carries behind Bishop, and all but Morris were 3* recruits coming out of high school, too. Gordon, a Toccoa, GA native, rushed for 515 yards and 5 TDs in 14 games for the Green Wave last year—that’s real production on a CFP team. Morris appeared in 6 games for the Vols and tallied 133 yards on 35 carries, with Baker also having 14 carries for 43 yards in 2025. Bishop will be the feature back in 2026, but how the rest of the workload is shared and by whom is yet to be seen.

Nega Vol’n

Sure, Heupel’s run game always produces. But running backs take a lot of punishment. You’re one injury away from a 3* Tulane transfer being the workhorse of this unit. Plus, if the QB situation takes a while to shake out, the pressure of offensive production fall squarely on this unit. Can the RB room handle the burden of carrying the offense while the young QB find their footing?

Sunshine Pumpin’

C’mon man. Here is one position that never disappoints in this offense. DeSean Bishop has “added a ton of muscle” in the offseason according to his own assessment (i.e., he looks freaking yoked), and I’m convinced that Heupel could get production from a set of donkey hips and a roll of duct tape. Bishop will be a 1000-yard rusher again, and the fun will be in seeing what kind of change-up the other backs throw.

After the unharmonious departure of the previous QB, graduate transfer Joey Aguilar was a breath of fresh air for Vol fans and the UT QB room in 2025. Aguilar endeared himself to the fan base with his competitive attitude and effectiveness with the long ball, finishing the year with 3571 yards and 24 TDs passing and another 250 yards and 4 scores rushing. Aguilar tried for another year of eligibility, but the courts denied his request.

So, Tennessee begins yet another season of trying out a new player at the QB spot—the Vols have had a second-year starter only once under Josh Heupel (Hendon Hooker in ’21 and ’22). With previous backup Jake Merklinger’s transfer to UConn, Tennessee has a three-way battle between RS FR George MacIntyre (4* c/o ’24, 7/9 for 60 yards in two appearances in ’25), true FR Fazion Brandon (5* c/o ’25), and Colorado transfer Ryan Staub (3* c/o ’23, 30/57 for 427 yards, 3 TD 4 INT in four 2025 appearances).

Staub seems like the odd man out—until you remember that he’s the most experienced QB on the roster. And history tells us that if there’s anything Josh Huepel likes in a quarterback, it’s experience. Still, the most likely solution is to come from one of the blue-chippers Tennessee has on the roster.

Nega-Vol’n

Both MacIntyre and Brandon are supremely talented but raw. Both were highly-touted, highly-sought after recruits. However, MacIntyre has been criticized as too skinny (at 6’6 and just north of 200 lbs.) and Brandon missed much of his high school senior year with an injury. When the season kicks off, neither QB will have played much football in the previous 18 months. The smart money says that both young men will be standout QBs in the next few years—but they can’t both stand out at UT at the same time. It’s not hard to imagine a worst-case scenario where the wrong guy gets the job and the better player portals out in the spring, becoming a star somewhere else. And even the medium-case scenario has its problems: September will be tough with a road trip against a gamey Georgia Tech squad and a home matchup against a probable top-5 Texas. It’s highly likely that Tennessee will be a better team with a better QB in November than they are in September—but they don’t have the luxury of waiting that long to be good

Sunshine Pump’n

Both “GMac” and Faizon have a knack for playmaking and have the potential for explosiveness. Either one could be good enough to lead the Vols to an excellent season. And that might be all they need to be—good enough. Even if neither QB matches Aguilar’s production in 2026, is it hard to imagine a world where the run game makes up the difference? That’s what happened in 2024 when the Vols made the College Football Playoff. It’s likewise easy to believe that one of these QBs will be at least as dynamic (and probably more so) than the 2024 QB was. If the ceiling is explosive, and the floor is good enough, 2026 could be a fun year on Rocky Top.

Tennessee (#24, 30-15, 10-11 SEC) enters May playing its best baseball of the year. The Vols are coming off a massive weekend where they swept a Friday doubleheader against #13 Alabama to take that series and followed it up with a 13-0 midweek drubbing of West Georgia, making Josh Elander the first head coach in program history to reach 30 wins in his first season.

Meanwhile Kentucky (27-15, 9-12 SEC) is trending in the opposite direction, having lost six consecutive SEC series. Most recently, they dropped two of three at South Carolina, though they salvaged the finale with a 9-5 win to avoid a sweep. The Wildcats did not play a midweek game this week.

This series will have massive postseason implications. Kentucky is on the bubble and headed in the wrong direction. Tennessee has improved their NCAA standing dramatically by going 6-3 over the last three SEC series, and with a series win this weekend the Vols would reach .500 in league play for the first time since early March. If UT can manage to get to 16 SEC wins they would put themselves back in contention to host a regional, but that would almost certainly require a sweep of the Cats this weekend.

Previously on Vols vs Cats

This 342-game rivalry, which dates back to 1909, is the second-most played series in Tennessee history, trailing only the Vanderbilt rivalry. While the Vols hold a 184-158 overall lead in the series, the Wildcats have historically defended their home turf well, leading 82-76 in Lexington. Tennessee enters the series looking to avenge a home series loss to Kentucky from last season.

Pitching Matchups: The Big Shuffle

Coach Elander has decided to shuffle the starting rotation for this weekend, moving Tegan Kuhns back to the Friday night slot and sliding Evan Blanco to Saturday.

• Game 1 | Friday, 6:30 p.m. ET (SECN+): RHP Tegan Kuhns (3-3, 2.90 ERA) vs. LHP Ben Cleaver (1-3, 4.60 ERA). Kuhns is the man of the hour, earning SEC Pitcher of the Week and Golden Spikes Performance of the Week honors after tossing an eight-inning complete-game shutout against Alabama last Friday. Kentucky counters with Cleaver, a preseason All-American who led the team in wins last season but has struggled in conference play this year.

• Game 2 | Saturday, 2:00 p.m. ET (SECN+): LHP Evan Blanco (5-2, 3.84 ERA) vs. RHP Jaxon Jelkin (6-2, 3.96 ERA). Blanco has been UT’s most consistent arm, posting four consecutive quality starts heading into this weekend. He faces Kentucky’s ace Jelkin, who has a team-high 69 strikeouts but struggled in his last outing, giving up eight runs to South Carolina.

• Game 3 | Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET (SECN+): RHP Landon Mack (3-4, 5.01 ERA) vs. RHP Connor Mattison (2-1, 5.81 ERA). Mack moves to the series finale after a rough start against Alabama where he allowed five runs in just over two innings. He will face Mattison, a Grand Canyon transfer who recently solidified his spot in the rotation by striking out eight against South Carolina.

Key Matchups

• The Freshman Sensation vs. The Wildcat Speed: Vols catcher Trent Grindlinger was named National Freshman of the Week after batting .583 against Alabama. He will have his hands full behind the plate with Kentucky’s Jayce Tharnish, who leads the SEC with 24 stolen bases this season. Kentucky’s identity is built on aggressive baserunning, having swiped 105 bases as a team.

• Ford’s Power vs. The KPP Dimensions: Henry Ford leads Tennessee in almost every offensive category, including hits (56), home runs (14), and RBIs (47). He faces a Kentucky staff that allows nearly one home run per game, though Kentucky Proud Park is known for its spacious dimensions.

• Elite Defense: Tennessee enters the weekend leading the SEC and tied for the national lead with a .986 fielding percentage. The Vols have committed one or fewer errors in 39 of their 45 games this season. Keeping the sheet clean will be vital against a Kentucky team that relies on the “small ball” approach and creating chaos.

Tennessee (27-14, 8-10 SEC) has gone 3-2 over its last five games, including a midweek 14-4 run-rule victory over Lipscomb. But a series loss to Ole Miss is what looms large in the rearview, despite the Vols managing to take the series finale. The Volunteers’ offense has been on a power surge, launching 10 home runs over their last two contests. Henry Ford has been especially effective, leading the team in hits (50), homers (12), and RBIs (39). He enters the series on a tear, hitting .421 over his last five games.

Alabama (#13, 28-14, 9-9 SEC) also enters with a 2-3 record over its last five games, most recently suffering an 11-2 loss to UAB after dropping a road series to Texas. Before these setbacks, the Crimson Tide had been on a roll, including a sweep of Auburn and a road series win against Oklahoma.

This series holds significant postseason implications as both programs look to improve their positioning ahead of the SEC Tournament. Both teams enter this weekend hovering around the .500 mark in league play.

Previously on Vols vs. Tide

Historically, Alabama leads the overall series 81-48, including a 26-24 advantage in games played in Knoxville. However, Tennessee has dominated recent meetings, winning 6 of the last 10 matchups. The rivals have not met in Knoxville since 2022, having played the last two regular-season series in Tuscaloosa. Most recently, Tennessee defeated Alabama 15-10 in the opening round of the 2025 SEC Tournament.

Key Matchups

• Alabama’s Contact Hitters vs. Tennessee’s Starting Pitching: Alabama relies on a disciplined approach, led by Bryce Fowler, who is hitting an exceptional .429 in conference play, and Brady Neal, who boasts a .345 SEC average. Tennessee’s projected starters, including Evan Blanco (3.76 ERA) and Landon Mack (4.39 ERA), will need to limit Bama to keep the Vols out of an early hole.

• Tennessee’s Power vs. Alabama’s Bullpen: The Vols rank fourth in the SEC with 70 home runs this season. Blake Grimmer is currently the team’s most dangerous hitter, having tied a program record with three home runs in a single game last Sunday against Ole Miss. Alabama’s relievers will have the task of preventing the multi-run home run innings in high-leverage moments.

• The Weekend Rotation:

  • Game 1 (7 p.m. Thursday, ESPN2): Tennessee’s Landon Mack (3-3, 4.39 ERA) vs. Alabama’s Tyler Fay (6-3, 4.50 ERA).

  • Game 2 (6:30 p.m. Friday, SECN+: Tennessee’s Tegan Kuhns (2-3, 3.35 ERA), who is coming off a career-high 10-strikeout performance, meets Alabama’s Zane Adams (4-2, 3.67 ERA).

  • Game 3 (1 p.m. Saturday, SECN+): UT SR left-hander Evan Blanco (4-2, 3.76 ERA) duals Alabama FR Myles Upchurch (5-2, 3.05 ERA).

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After a slow start to conference play, Tennessee (25-12, 7-8 SEC) enters the weekend on a five-game winning streak, punctuated by a historic road sweep of No. 8/9 Mississippi State last weekend. It was the first SEC sweep of the Josh Elander era, and the Vols kept the bats hot during the midweek with an 11-1 thumping of UNC Asheville.

The Rebels (#25, 27-11, 8-7 SEC) are equally dangerous right now, having won six straight games, including a home sweep of LSU. While Ole Miss has been nearly unbeatable in Oxford (22-4), they have struggled away from home with a 3-5 road record.

This series should be a spectacle, as Saturday night will also be the second-ever Checker Lindsey Nelson Stadium game. The first time the Vols checkered the park in 2021, they won on a walk-off homer against No. 1 Arkansas.

But this weekend is also about the postseason. Ole Miss is fighting to stay on the regional hosting line, while Tennessee is looking to climb back above .500 in league play and firmly remove themselves from the bubble.

Previously on Vols vs. Rebels

While Ole Miss leads the all-time series 52-47-1, the Vols have owned the matchup recently, winning four consecutive series dating back to 2019. Tennessee also holds the edge in the last 10 meetings, going 7-3.

Key Matchups

This series features two of the most efficient pitching staffs in the league, with the Rebels ranking fourth in team ERA (3.70) and the Vols sitting sixth (3.93).

• Friday (6:30 p.m. ET, SECN+): RHP Landon Mack (3-2, 3.75 ERA) takes the ball for the Vols after an impressive outing against LSU where he racked up 10 strikeouts. He faces LHP Hunter Elliott (3-1, 3.69 ERA), who is currently fifth in the SEC with 68 strikeouts.

• Saturday (6:00 p.m. ET, SECN+): In what should be a raucous atmosphere, RHP Tegan Kuhns (2-3, 3.77 ERA) looks to follow up a quality start in Starkville. The Rebels counter with their ace, RHP Cade Townsend (3-1, 2.02 ERA), who has issued only one walk over his last three starts.

• Sunday (1:00 p.m. ET, SECN+): LHP Evan Blanco (3-2, 3.67 ERA) will look to clinch the series following a career-high 7.2-inning win against Missouri earlier this season. He’ll duel with RHP Taylor Rabe (3-1, 3.16 ERA), who recently carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning against LSU.

The X-factor in the late innings is undoubtedly Cam Appenzeller. The freshman lefty was named SEC Freshman of the Week after pitching five dominant relief innings to beat Mississippi State. His 0.69 WHIP currently leads the conference.

At the plate, Tennessee’s offense has found its identity through balance, with 15 different players launching home runs this year. Garrett Wright has been a revelation since returning from injury, leading the team with a .348 batting average and serving as a spark plug in the leadoff spot. He’s joined by freshman Trent Grindlinger, who is currently on a 15-game on-base streak and hitting .429 in SEC play.

Ole Miss relies on raw power, led by Tristan Bissetta (16 HR) and Judd Utermark (13 HR). Utermark is currently just six home runs shy of the Rebels’ all-time career record. However, the Rebels lead the SEC in strikeouts (374), which plays right into the hands of a Tennessee staff that ranks 11th nationally in strikeouts.

For the third consecutive year, Tennessee (6-seed Midwest, 27-11, 11-7 SEC) is one win away from the promised land: the school’s first-ever Final Four. Riding a massive wave of momentum after dismantling No. 2 seed Iowa State 76-62 on Friday night, a game in which Freshman phenom Nate Ament led the charge with 18 points, while the big man duo of Felix Okpara and Jaylen Carey absolutely dominated the paint, both recording double-doubles in the win.

Waiting for the Vols on Sunday afternoon is a familiar postseason foe: the top-seeded Michigan Wolverines (1-seed Midwest, 34-3, 19-1 Big 10). Michigan set a program record with their 34th win of the season by beating Alabama 90-77 Friday night. After trailing at halftime, the Wolverines leaned on All-American Yaxel Lendeborg, who put up 23 points and 12 rebounds to flip the momentum and secure Michigan’s fifth Elite Eight appearance in the last 15 years.

Previously on Vols vs. Wolverines

History has not been kind to the Vols in this matchup. Michigan leads the all-time series 7-5 and has won the last four meetings. Even more frustrating, the last three encounters have all come in the NCAA Tournament—2011, 2014, and 2022—with Michigan ending UT’s season every single time.

Additionally, Tennessee and Rick Barnes have some familiarity with Michigan head coach Dusty May, who led Florida Atlantic to the Final Four in 2023, beating the Vols in the Sweet 16 along the way. If your glass is half full, Tennessee gets a chance for the getback for some painful March exits against both May and the Wolverines on Sunday.

Key Matchups to Watch

UT’s Rebounding vs. Michigan’s Size

This is likely where the game will be won or lost. Tennessee is the No. 1 offensive rebounding team in the country, grabbing a staggering 45% of missed shots (though as Rick Barnes pointed out after the Iowa State game, Tennessee gets a lot of those rebounds because they’re missing shots they shouldn’t miss). Michigan, however, features one of the tallest frontcourts in the nation, anchored by 7’3 Aday Mara, 6’9 Morez Johnson Jr., and the relentless Lendeborg. If Okpara and Carey can continue their beast mode performance from the Sweet 16, it will give UT shooters the second chances they need. Otherwise it could be a tough go for the Big Orange.

Ja’Kobi Gillespie vs. Elliot Cadeau

UT’s floor general Ja’Kobi Gillespie is playing at an All-American level, ranking as the fifth-best player in the country according to EvanMiya. He’ll be matched up against Michigan’s Elliot Cadeau, a dynamic playmaker himself who is averaging 5.7 assists per game. Gillespie’s ability to disrupt Cadeau defensively—he leads the SEC in steals—will be a major factor in slowing down the Wolverines’ high-octane offense.

Expectation vs. Reality

The bottom line is simple. As a 6-seed, Tennessee has been playing with house money since the second round. They weren’t supposed to beat Virginia, they weren’t supposed to beat Iowa State, and the only basketball fans in America who wanted the Vols to beat Miami (OH) are those of us with copious amounts of orange in the closet.

So here UT is again: the only program in the nation to reach the Sweet 16 in each of the last four years and the Elite Eight in each of the past three. Volume matters: if you go knocking on the door often enough, eventually it will open. So why not now?

Rick Barnes has this team playing with a chip on its shoulder as they’ve adopted lets go get ‘em as a mantra. UT isn’t supposed to win Sunday. But. If Tennessee can win the battle on the boards and Gillespie keeps playing like the best guard in the country, if Nate Ament plays like a lottery pick and Felix Okpara keeps being an engine, if the turnovers stay reasonable and Jalen Carey keeps finding ways to score, then the Vols will be booking their tickets to Indianapolis for their first-ever Final Four. Why not now?

Volunteers vs. Wolverines | 2:15 ET Sun. Mar 29 | Chicago, IL | CBS

Tennessee (#20/21, 18-7, 3-3 SEC) enters the weekend on a three-game winning streak following a hard-fought series victory over Missouri and a dramatic midweek walk-off win against USC Upstate. The big news heading into Friday is a shakeup in the starting rotation: head coach Josh Elander is moving redshirt junior left-hander Brandon Arvidson into the Game 1 starter role, replacing sophomore Tegan Kuhns. Arvidson has been a force out of the bullpen this year, posting a 3.52 ERA with 21 strikeouts in just over 15 innings.

Offensively, the Vols are led by Henry Ford, who is pacing the team in hits (33), home runs (8), and RBIs (25). Stone Lawless has also found his groove, leading the team in almost every offensive category during the Missouri series, including a massive 1.250 slugging percentage.

This weekend the Vols travel to Nashville to take on Vanderbilt (14-12, 2-4 SEC). The VandyBoys are desperate to right the ship after a rough start to conference play. The Commodores are coming off a disastrous weekend in Starkville where they were swept by Mississippi State, including a 17-7 run-rule loss in the finale.

Despite their struggles, the Commodores possess elite power, ranking second nationally with 56 home runs. Braden Holcomb leads their attack with 11 long balls. However, Vandy’s pitching staff is reeling. They currently rank dead last in the SEC with a team ERA of 5.58. To make matters worse, they recently lost standout sophomore pitcher Austin Nye for the remainder of the season due to a bicep injury.

Previously on Vols vs. Dores

While the series dates all the way back to 1897, the recent history favors the Big Orange. Tennessee leads the overall series 189-170-2 and has won the past two series played at Hawkins Field, posting a dominant 5-1 record in those games. Vanderbilt has won three in a row overall against the Vols, but those came at the end of last season, including a run-rule win in the 2025 SEC Tournament.

Key Matchups to Watch

The Friday Night Duel

LHP Brandon Arvidson (1-0, 3.52 ERA) vs. RHP Connor Fennell (2-1, 5.74 ERA). Arvidson is making his first career SEC start, and he’ll need to navigate a Vandy lineup that hunts the long ball. Fennell was electric in 2025 but has struggled this season, allowing 20 earned runs in 31.1 innings.

Vol Pitching vs. Vandy Power

The Tennessee pitching staff leads the nation in several strikeout categories and has racked up double-digit strikeouts in 20 of 25 games. They will face a Vanderbilt team that has homered in all but six games this season.

The “New” Hawkins Field Dimensions

If the shadows from Dudley Field seem a little longer this season, it’s because Vanderbilt made significant changes to their ballpark in the offseason, bringing the right field fence in by 15 feet to a distance of just 315 feet. Hawkins is now the second smallest ballpark in the SEC behind just Lindsey Nelson Stadium, showing that once again they tried to be like us and failed at it.

Game Times & Starters

Game 1: Friday, March 27 (8 p.m. ET, ESPNU) Tennessee RS JR LHP Brandon Arvidson (1-0, 3.52 ERA) vs. Vanderbilt JR RHP Connor Fennell (2-1, 5.74 ERA)

• This marks Arvidson’s first career SEC start, as he replaces sophomore Tegan Kuhns in the series-opening role. Fennell was a preseason All-American but has struggled this season, allowing 20 earned runs in 31.1 innings

Game 2: Saturday, March 28 (2 p.m. ET, SEC Network) Tennessee SO RHP Landon Mack (3-2, 3.38 ERA) vs. Vanderbilt FR RHP Wyatt Nadeau (1-1, 3.27 ERA)

• Mack has recorded 39 strikeouts over 32 innings this season. Nadeau was recently named SEC Freshman of the Week after recording 10 strikeouts in a win against LSU.

Game 3: Sunday, March 29 (12 p.m. ET, ESPN2) Tennessee SR LHP Evan Blanco (2-2, 2.73 ERA) vs. Vanderbilt TBA

• Blanco leads the Vols’ rotation in nearly every major category, including strikeouts (44) and ERA. Vanderbilt’s Sunday starter remains a big question mark following a season-ending bicep injury to sophomore Austin Nye. Freshman Tyler Baird started for the Commodores in the previous Sunday finale against Mississippi State

Tennessee (6-seed Midwest, 24-11, 11-7 SEC) secured its spot in Chicago by dispatching two 30-win opponents in the opening weekend—a historical first in the tournament’s 64-team era. The Vols first smashed Miami (OH)’s glass slipper in a 78-56 rout, led by Ja’Kobi Gillespie’s 29 points. They then outlasted a physical Virginia team 79-72, relying on Bishop Boswell’s career-high nine assists and a gutsy second-half performance from freshman star Nate Ament.

Meanwhile Iowa State (2-seed Midwest, 29-7, 12-6 Big 12) arrives after dominating its first two matchups. The Cyclones opened with a 108-74 victory over Tennessee State and followed it by dismantling Kentucky 82-63. Significantly, they crushed the Wildcats without consensus All-American forward Joshua Jefferson, who is currently day-to-day with an ankle injury.

Previously on Vols vs. Cyclones

Tennessee holds a 2-1 all-time lead in the series, with the most recent meeting being a dominant 68-45 Vols road win in Ames during the 2018 Big 12/SEC Challenge. The programs first met in 1968, a 72-66 Iowa State win in Knoxville, followed by an 81-76 Tennessee victory in Tempe, Arizona, in 1977.

Rick Barnes is intimately familiar with the Cyclones, holding a 16-9 career record against them, primarily from his 17 seasons leading Texas. On the other side, Iowa State head coach T.J. Otzelberger has never faced Tennessee.

One other historical note: Tennessee is 1-9 all-time against 2-seeds in the NCAA tourney, while Iowa State is 1-6 all-time in the Sweet 16. Something’s gotta give in Chicago Friday night.

Key Matchups

Gillespie vs. Lipsey

This game features a heavyweight point guard clash between Ja’Kobi Gillespie and Tamin Lipsey. Gillespie is averaging 18.4 points and was the engine of UT’s opening weekend. Lipsey is the veteran heartbeat for the Cyclones, coming off a career-high 26-point, 10-assist double-double against Kentucky.

The Turnover War

Iowa State runs a suffocating defensive system that ranks No. 4 in the nation in forced turnover percentage (22.5%). This is a massive area of concern for Tennessee, which has struggled with ball security and ranks 219th in the country in turnovers per possession. Tennessee was outstanding in the first half against UVA on Sunday, with just one turnover in the game’s first 20 minutes. But the Vols ended up turning the ball over more in the second half (9) than Virginia did all game (7). Gillespie and Boswell straight up cannot be loose with the ball against Iowa State, where every possession will matter.

The Health Factor

Both teams are monitoring star injuries. Nate Ament is battling a high-ankle sprain that limited him against Miami (OH), though he “gutted through” to score 16 against Virginia. Iowa State’s Joshua Jefferson remains the Cyclones’ biggest question mark; his 16.4 points and 7.4 rebounds per game are vital, but ISU proved they could pick their poison offensively even in his absence.

The Glass vs. Rim Protection

Tennessee leads the nation in offensive rebounding rate, using their size to create high-leverage second-chance points. They will be challenged by Iowa State’s elite rim protection and defensive rotations. Felix Okpara, who has four blocks in each of his first two tournament games, will be the anchor for the Vols’ interior defense.

Volunteers vs Cyclones | 10:10 ET Fri. Mar. 27 | Chicago, IL | TBS/truTV

After a first-round 78-56 rout of Miami (OH), Tennessee (Midwest 6-seed, 23-11, 11-7 SEC) is back in a familiar spot, looking to clinch their fourth consecutive Sweet 16 berth this Sunday in Philadelphia. They’ll face Virginia (Midwest 3-seed, 30-5, 15-5 ACC), who comes in off a tougher-than-expected 82-73 win over 14-seed Wright State in round one.

Despite being an underdog by seed, this is a very winnable game for Tennessee. If you believe in Kenpom, the Vols are rated higher than UVA—in fact the Cavs are the lowest rated of the 3-seeds and Tennessee is the highest rated 6-seed (rated above several 4-and-5 seeds as well).

Previously on Vols vs. Cavs

While Virginia holds a slight 8-6 lead in the all-time series dating back to 1917, the series momentum is currently in Tennessee’s favor. The Volunteers have won the last two meetings, including a dominant 64-42 victory in 2024. In the NCAA Tournament, this is the fourth time these programs have crossed paths. UVA took the first two back in 1981 and 1982, but the Vols got their revenge in 2007.

Key Matchups to Watch

Nate Ament vs. Nate Ament’s Ankle: The biggest question mark for the Vols remains the health of star freshman Nate Ament. The 6’10 projected lottery pick was limited to 0/3 shooting in the Round of 64 and did not play in the second half due to an existing injury. Tennessee is a different beast with Ament on the floor: they are 9-2 when he scores 20+ points, for example. If he can move effectively and approach his season average of 17 points, the Vols’ ceiling rises significantly. If he’s limited, expect even more weight to fall on the shoulders of Ja’Kobi Gillespie, who just became the first SEC player in 30 years to post 29 points, nine assists, and three steals in an NCAA Tournament game.

Ja’Kobi Gillespie vs. Dallin Hall: Gillespie is the catalyst for this Vols team, fresh off a 29-point masterpiece where he shot 6/11 from deep. He will likely be shadowed by UVA’s Dallin Hall, a veteran who leads the Cavaliers with 4.3 assists per game. Gillespie’s ability to get into the paint and either finish or kick to shooters will be the engine of the UT offense.

The “Beasts on the Boards” vs. Elite Rim Protection: This is where the game will be won or lost. Tennessee leads the nation with a 45.0% offensive rebounding percentage—on pace for the third-best mark this century. However, Virginia under Ryan Odom has become the national leader in blocks (6.4 blocks/game). Felix Okpara and J.P. Estrella (who had a 14-point, 10-rebound double-double against Miami) must find ways to score over UVA’s twin towers, Ugonna Onyenso (2.9 bpg) and Johann Grünloh (2.2 bpg). If the Vols can’t turn those second-chance opportunities into points, UVA’s defense could suffocate them.

Perimeter Defense vs. the New-Look Cavs: Forget the slow, methodical Tony Bennett era. Under Ryan Odom, nearly half of Virginia’s shots are 3-pointers. They average over 10 triples per game, which is significantly higher than the 7.8 Tennessee usually allows. The good news for Vol fans is that UT typically does well against teams that rely on 3s—think about Rick Barnes’ success against Nate Odom’s Alabama teams and what Tennessee just did against Miami on Friday.

Volunteers vs. Cavaliers | 6:10 ET Sun. Mar. 22 | Philadelphia, PA | TNT

Tennessee (#6 Midwest, 22-11, 11-7 SEC) is appearing in its eighth straight NCAA Tournament, extending a program record and currently the fourth-longest active streak in the nation. The Vols are 31-28 all-time in the tournament and have found massive success recently under Rick Barnes, reaching the Elite Eight in back-to-back seasons (2024, 2025). UT has reached the Sweet 16 in eight of the past 18 tournaments, but they are still hunting for that elusive first Final Four berth. As the 6 seed, that first trip to the final weekend seems unlikely, but there’s a reason they don’t call it March Regularness.

Meanwhile the RedHawks (#11 Midwest, 32-1, 18-0 MAC) are making their first appearance in the Big Dance since 2007. They are fresh off an 89-79 win over SMU on Wednesday, which marked the program’s first tournament victory since the legendary Wally Szczerbiak led them to the Sweet 16 in 1999. This year’s squad is historic, becoming just the fifth D-I team this century to go undefeated in the regular season.

However there have been questions about the rigor of Miami’s schedule. The RedHawks played just a handful of top-150 Kenpom rated teams this year, and only one rated in the top 100 (Akron, who Miami beat by three points on January 3). Miami also played schools like Mercyhurst, Illinois East, and Milligan (the Skipper too?) on the way to 31-0. The games were increasingly close as well, with the last three regular season games decided by just two points apiece before dropping their first MAC tournament game to a tissue-thin UMass squad.

But that win against SMU Wednesday night was dang impressive. Powered by runs of 11-0 in the first half and 15-1 in the second half, as well as an incredible 39% on 41 three-point shots, it was easily the most impressive win Miami has played to date, over the highest-rated team the RedHawks have faced. Is Miami really good? A team of destiny? Or do they remain simply untested?

Previously on Vols vs. RedHawks

This will be the seventh all-time meeting between the two programs, with Tennessee holding a 4-2 lead in the series. However, you’d have to go back to the previous millennium to find the last time they shared the court, 78-59 UT victory in Knoxville on December 1, 1999, led by 19 points from Vincent Yarbrough. Interestingly, the programs met three times in 25 month during the late 90s, including a RedHawk win over the Vols in 1998. While Tennessee is a perfect 4-0 at home against Miami, they are 0-1 on neutral floors, but you have to go back to 1947 for that one, a 51-54 loss for the Vols in Cincinnati.

Key Matchups

UT Frontcourt vs. Miami’s “Small” Ball

Tennessee’s greatest strength is its offensive rebounding, ranking first in the nation with a 45.1% offensive rebounding rate. The Vols are led by physical forces like Felix Okpara, J.P. Estrella, and the versatile Nate Ament. Conversely, Miami is not a big team; their tallest rotation player is 6-foot-9 Antwone Woolfolk, and they ranked near the bottom of the country (330th) in offensive rebounding percentage during the season. If the Vols can turn missed shots into second-chance points, they can bully the RedHawks into submission.

Miami’s Shooters vs. Vols’ Defense

Miami lives and dies by the three, as evidenced by their First-Four record 16 three-pointers against SMU. They feature four players—Eian Elmer, Justin Kirby, Peter Suder, and Brant Byers—shooting better than 40% from deep. Tennessee’s defense is its trademark, ranking 15th in adjusted defensive efficiency. The Vols need guards Bishop Boswell and Ja’Kobi Gillespie to force Miami’s shooters off their spots and prevent another 16-triple explosion.

(Tennessee is the nation’s 22nd-best team at limiting opponent 3s, if that make you feel better Vol fan.)

Ja’Kobi Gillespie vs. Peter Suder

This game features two of the best guards in the country. Tennessee’s All-SEC PG Ja’Kobi Gillespie (18.0 ppg, 5.5 apg) is the engine of the Vols’ offense and a defensive menace, recently setting a UT record with 8 steals in a single game. He will likely be matched up against MAC Player of the Year Peter Suder (14.4 ppg), a senior who co-leads Miami in scoring and assists. Whichever star guard can control the tempo of the game will likely lead their team to Sunday’s Round of 32.

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Volunteers vs. RedHawks | 4:25 ET Fri., Mar. 20 | Philadelphia, PA | TBS

It’s SEC opening weekend, and Tennessee (#19, 13-4, 0-0 SEC) is beginning a grueling 10-week league grind by heading to Athens to face Georgia (#6, 15-3, 0-0 SEC). The Vols hit Foley Field with momentum, having won seven of their last eight games and fresh off a dominant 20-2 midweek victory over Tennessee Tech.

Previously on Vols vs. Dawgs

The Vols hold a narrow 128-123 all-time lead in the series, which dates back to 1909. However, UGA has 72-53 record against Tennessee in Athens, and the home team has won the last three series between these programs. Tennessee’s last series win in Athens was in 2021.

Schedule & Starters

Game 1: Friday, March 13; 6:00 p.m. ET (SECN+)

• RHP Tegan Kuhns (1-1, 3.09 ERA) vs. UGA RHP Joey Volchko (4-0, 3.00 ERA)

Game 2: Saturday, March 14; 5:00 p.m. ET (SEC Network)

• RHP Landon Mack (3-1, 2.38 ERA) vs. UGA RHP Dylan Vigue (3-1, 1.93 ERA)

Game 3: Sunday, March 15; 1:00 p.m. ET (SECN+)

• LHP Evan Blanco (1-2, 2.75 ERA) vs. UGA LHP Kenny Ishikawa (1-0, 0.00 ERA)

Preview

It’s been an inconsistent start of the season at the plate for Tennessee’s offense. They seem to have found their stride in the midweek against Tennessee Tech, blasting five home runs—including two grand slams—on a season-high 17 hits. Junior third baseman Henry Ford leads the charge, entering the weekend with a nine-game hitting streak and team-high marks in batting average (.380), home runs (6), and RBIs (20). It will be a much tougher challenge this weekend as SEC play begins.

The weekend will feature a clash of high-caliber arms, with Tennessee’s staff looking to contain a potent Georgia offense. Tennessee’s pitching staff has been a strength this season, ranking 16th nationally in ERA (3.10) and eighth in WHIP (1.05). The bullpen, in particular, has been brilliant, posting an 8-0 record and a 3.51 ERA with 89 strikeouts in 74.1 innings.

The Vols will need every bit of that production to keep pace with a Georgia squad that leads the nation with 61 home runs and averages 11.4 runs per game. Georgia’s Daniel Jackson leads the country in home runs (14) and total bases (75), while Brennan Hudson boasts an NCAA-leading 1.162 slugging percentage.

You can see that as an obstacle or an opportunity. Tennessee was projected to finish sixth in the SEC preseason poll, while Georgia was projected ninth. This opening weekend provides a massive opportunity for the Vols to prove those projections wrong and set the tone for the conference season. It really wouldn’t even take winning the series to do that. If the Vols could steal a game Friday or Saturday to make Sunday’s contest a rubber match, it could get the SEC season started in the right direction.

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Extraneous

I played around with writing a preview of Friday’s basketball game against Vandy, but it was hard to come up with something different than what was in last week’s season finale preview (other than Nate Ament will be playing).

But in the course of paying around with a SECT preview, I asked for an AI preview graphic, and for giggles instructed Notebook LM to make the graphic in an “anime” style:

There’s a lot going on there. From Wolftrooper Smokey to Super Saiyan Ja’Kobi. But it’s anime Rick Barnes for me.

Volunteers vs. Commodores | Knoxville | Sat. March 7 | 2:00 EST | ESPN

It is officially Senior Day on Rocky Top, and the stakes are high as Tennessee (#23, 21-9, 11-6 SEC) hosts Vanderbilt (#24, 23-7, 10-7 SEC) to close out the regular season. This will be the first AP Top-25 clash in the series since 2010, and the winner likely secures an all-important double-bye in the SEC Tournament.

Nate Ament Injury Watch

The most pressing question for Vol fans is the status of star freshman Nate Ament, who missed the South Carolina game with a right leg injury/high ankle sprain. Ament, who leads the team in rebounding and ranks second in scoring at 17.4 points per game, was sidelined after a scary fall against Alabama. While Coach Rick Barnes has been optimistic, stating that Ament “absolutely” will play again this season, his availability for Saturday remains a question mark. Barnes even suggested the rest could be a “blessing in disguise” for a freshman who has taken a physical beating all season

Frontcourt Dominance

If Ament can’t go, the Vols have proved they’ve got plenty of firepower in the paint. In Tuesday’s blowout win over South Carolina, Felix Okpara and J.P. Estrella combined for 42 points and a flurry of rim-rattling dunks. Okpara tied his career high with 20 points, while Estrella was nearly perfect from the floor, adding 22 points in arguably his best performance of the year.

Tennessee currently leads the nation in offensive rebounding percentage. If the “Big Four” of Okpara, Estrella, Jaylen Carey, and DeWayne Brown can dominate the glass like they did against the Gamecocks, Vanderbilt will have a long afternoon in the post.

Matchups to Watch

Ja’Kobi Gillespie vs. Tyler Tanner: With Vanderbilt’s Frankie Collins out for the season, the pressure falls on sophomore guard Tyler Tanner (19 ppg). He faces a red-hot Ja’Kobi Gillespie, who is coming off a career-high 12 assists. Gillespie is currently ranked as the fifth-best player in the country according to EvanMiya and has been the undisputed engine of UT’s offense. For his part, Tanner leads the SEC in steals, and could have a field day against what has been a turnover-prone Vols offense this season.

Jaylen Carey’s “Bad Blood” Return: Junior forward Jaylen Carey transferred to Knoxville from Vanderbilt this offseason, and there is reportedly some “bad blood” between him and his former team. Carey was a beast for Vandy against UT last year, but now he has the chance to seal a season sweep of the ‘Dores.

Amari Evans vs. The Moment: If Ament is out, freshman Amari Evans will likely get his second career start. Evans played a career-high 32 minutes at South Carolina, proving he isn’t afraid to compete and providing the defensive intensity Rick Barnes demands.

What is at Stake?

The math is simple: Win and UT seals the double-bye. A victory secures a top-four finish in the SEC for the eighth time in the last nine years. However, a loss would mean Vanderbilt wins the tiebreaker over Tennessee, potentially forcing the Vols to play an extra game in Nashville next week.

And I know there are Vol fans for whom the SEC tourney seed is inconsequential, and who’d rather just go one-and-done in the SECT anyway, since the Vols’ NCAA seed won’t likely change regardless of what happens next week in Nashville. I personally feel like that is loser talk, and any time there is hardware on the line, you should work like heck to bring it home.

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#22 Volunteers vs. #17 Crimson Tide | Sat. February 28 | Knoxville, TN | 6:00 EST (ESPN)

Rick Barnes and the Vols welcome Alabama to Thompson-Boling Arena Saturday for a game that will be critical for postseason positioning. The Tide enters at 21-7 (11-4 SEC), currently holding a one-game lead over the Vols, who sit at 20-8 (10-5 SEC). A Tennessee victory would bolster the Vols’ chances of securing a double-bye in the SEC Tournament.

The rankings and rating between these teams couldn’t be closer. The Vols/Tide are respectively ranked #22/#17 by the AP, #20/#19 by Kenpom, and #20/#19 in the NET rankings. Tennessee is currently projected as No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament, while Alabama is tracking as a No. 4 seed.

Recently, Tennessee has owned the series, winning five straight games against Alabama. Under Rick Barnes, the Vols are 8-5 against the Tide, including a hard-fought rally down 10 leading to a 79-73 victory in Tuscaloosa back on January 24. Tennessee has a knack for slowing down Nate Oats’ high-powered offense: in nine meetings during the Oats era, the Vols have held Alabama to just 70.9 points per game, nearly 15 points below their non-UT average.

What to Watch For

• Once Nate Ament turned the corner this season, he’s been playing at an elite level, averaging 21.6 PPG over his last 13 contests. The six-time SEC Freshman of the Week scorched the Tide for 29 points and seven rebounds in the first meeting this year.

• Ja’Kobi Gillespie has been the most consistent offensive force for the Vols, scoring in double figures in 27 consecutive games. He leads UT in scoring (18.1 PPG) and assists (5.4 APG).

• Tennessee leads the nation with a 45.0% offensive rebounding percentage. Felix Okpara and Jaylen Carey lead that charge, but it’s also been noted lately that Tennessee’s shooting at the rim, Carey especially, has been terrible (Carey is 79-147 on “close 2s” this season, just 54%. Okpara shoots 70% on those shots for comparison).

• Alabama ranks 16th in the SEC in scoring defense.

• Alabama’s Labaron Philon Jr. is a lethal sophomore guard averaging 21.3 PPG, including a massive 35-point performance against Arkansas earlier this month.

• Alabama leads the country in three-point attempts and makes per game. However, the Vols boast the top three-point defense in the SEC, holding opponents to just 30.2% from deep.

• In the first meeting, Tennessee rallied from a 10-point deficit to win. With Alabama currently on a seven-game winning streak and scoring 100+ points in their last outing, the Vols cannot afford a slow start.

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In general, baseball offseason news is hard to come by. Teams typically have way more dudes on the team that what ends up on the Spring roster, and if coaches weren’t required to publish those rosters, we might not ever know who exactly is with the club. But one bit of offseason news that couldn’t be ignored is Tony Vitello’s unprecedented move to become the manager of the San Francisco Giants, making Vitello the first-ever college coach to jump straight into managing a MLB team without any prior major league experience.

So now the Josh Elander era begins. Elander was instrumental in the program Vitello built in Knoxville over the last eight seasons, holding the title of Associate Head Coach under Vitello the last three years. Elander’s reputation is built on developing hitters, having 27 UT position players/hitters drafted in the last eight years, with 17 of those taken in the first five rounds of the draft.

The question for Elander becomes not can he coach? but can he run a program? Unlike his predecessor, he will not have the expertise of long-time pitching coach Frank Anderson, who followed Vitello to the west coast. Josh Reynolds will have the title of pitching coach—but will Elander hand the whole pitching operation over to the rookie coach Reynolds the way Vitello did to the veteran Anderson? Will Tennessee allow pitchers to throw a ball on an 0-2 count? (Anderson was famously a “strikes-only” guy.) Elander has already said the pitchers will focus more on holding runners on base, a departure from Anderson’s mentality that the only battle on the field that mattered was between the pitcher and the hitter.

Will Elander get thrown out of a game? Vitello’s fiery personality was good for firing up the team and the home crowd—but that personality got Vitello and his players in trouble almost as much. Elander seems to be much more stoic. Does he have another gear to kick in when the ump makes one too many bad calls?

Personnel

As previously stated, offseason baseball news is hard to come by. There’s probably a little more known about the Vols’ pitching staff than the defense or batting order heading into the season though. We do know the pitching rotation for opening weekend at least: Tegan Kuhns, who dominated the Cape Cod League this summer and enters the season as a Baseball America Preseason Second Team All-American, takes the mound Friday, followed by Rutgers transfer Landon Mack on Saturday, and Virginia transfer Evan Blanco on Sunday

The pitching depth behind them is equally formidable. Tennessee leads the SEC with three players on the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Preseason Watch List: Brandon Arvidson, Brady Frederick, and Bo Rhudy. Arvidson is a major weapon returning to the bullpen, having averaged 16.3 strikeouts per nine innings last season. Meanwhile, Frederick, a transfer from ETSU, brings a unique “fingers scraping the ground” delivery that Elander believes will provide a tough look for opponents. There’s also the story of Cameron Appenzeller: will the highly-touted 6’5 freshman gain enough of the staff’s trust to make weekend appearances?

I’m not going to try to guess the batting order, but out in the field you might see:

• C: Stone Lawless, a name you’ve heard around the program for a while now; it’s probably finally his turn (although the Vols do have options here and could do some catching-by-committee).

• 1B: Levi Clark, who is a legit home run threat and could also see action behind the plate.

• 2B: Manny Marin, although the middle infield is probably UT’s deepest and most contested spot. IF Ariel Antigua wins the spot at SS, the Marin is likely 2B. Otherwise Marin might be SS and Chris Newstrom would land at 2B. There’s also San Diego State transfer Finley Bates, top-100 prospect freshman Ethan Moore, and JUCO transfer Tyler Myatt competing for time here

• 3B: Henry Ford, UVA transfer who shows up on multiple preseason All-SEC and All-American lists, as well as the Golden Spikes Award preseason watch list. Ford batted .362 with 46 RBIs and 11 HR for the Cavs last year, and could play in the outfield or at 1B if needed as well.

• SS: Ariel Antigua, who we all know has the glove, but will his bat keep him out of the lineup? See also the discussion about 2B.

• LF: Blaine Brown, transfer from Rice with a big bat and can also pitch (listed as a two-way player: OF/LHP). The bat is good enough that if he is pitching, he’ll likely be his own DH. Brown is also on some preseason All-American teams.

• CF: Jay Abernathy, sophomore speedster with some pop in his bat that could also play in the middle infield (as if there’s not already a log jam there).

• RF: Reese Chapman, unless I’m missing something, this would be the only same-position returning starter for UT this season. Chapman had 13 HR and 53 RBIs along with a perfect fielding percentage in right for the Vols last year.

Outlook

Tennessee starts the season in a new-look Lindsey Nelson Stadium with weekend series against Nichols State and Kent State, with a couple of midweek games against UNC Ashville and Bellarmine sprinkled in. Then things get real. The Vols head to Texas at the end of February for the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series at Globe Life Field to face UCLA, Arizona State, and Virginia Tech. The Bruins especially are a marquee matchup, as UCLA is ranked 1 or 2 in most preseason polls (UT is in the 10-15 range is most polls, although Perfect Game has them at #3).

Then comes an expectedly brutal SEC schedule. By mid-April Tennessee will have had series at UGA, at Vandy, vs. LSU, and at Mississippi State, all of which are preseason top-15 teams. On the bright side, there are a ton of questions heading into this baseball season, the schedule is going to give the opportunity to come up with some answers.

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Volunteers at Wildcats | Lexington, KY | Sat., Feb. 7, 8:30 pm EST | ESPN

• Tennessee enters the game having won six in a row is a statement I could make if the Vols had not blown an 17-point lead against the Cats when these teams played in Knoxville a few weeks ago.

• Since Jan. 10, these two teams are a combined 12-3, with UK going 7-1 and UT posting a 5-2 record over the last four weeks.

• Kentucky’s SEC Preseason Player of the Year Otega Oweh has scored in double figures in each of UK’s 23 games this season, tying him with Kansas State’s PJ Haggerty for the most double-digit games in college basketball over the past two seasons.

• Oweh’s eight 20-point games in SEC play this season is the most of any player in the conference, and he’s 26 points away from 1000 career points at Kentucky.

• Rick Barnes is 4-4 against UK over the last eight years in Lexington. UT was 2-36 in Lexington the previous 38 years.

• Tennessee’s Nate Ament has scored 17+ in each of UT’s last seven games, and 22+ in four of them.

• Ament is averaging 22.1 points/game over the last seven, shooting 39.3% from three and 80% at the line, with an average of 9.3 made FT in those games.

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Volunteers vs. Tigers | Knoxville, TN | Sat. Jan. 31, 8:30 pm EST | ESPN

• Arguably the two hottest teams in the SEC square off on a Saturday night in Knoxville.

• After starting off with two SEC losses, Auburn has won four in a row, including a win at Florida last Saturday night.

• Tennessee has won two in a row and three of their last four with consecutive road wins over Alabama and Georgia. Only an epic collapse against Kentucky in the Vols’ last home game keeps them from matching Auburn’s win streak.

• Nate Ament and Auburn's Keyshawn Hall are the reigning co-SEC Players of the Week. Hall dropped 31 points against Texas Wednesday, with 25 of those coming in the second half.

• Auburn’s Kevin Overton also scored 25 against Texas (5-7 from three point range). Overton has scored 20+four times this year.

• Auburn leads the nation in free throws attempted (28.8) and free throws made (21.3) per game. So go ahead and prepare to be frustrated about that.

• Tennessee remains the top offensive rebounding team in America, but also is still among the worst when it comes to turning the ball over. The Vols did have just 12 turnovers against UGA Wednesday, which isn’t good in general but is pretty dang good for them.

• Ja’Kobie Gillespie has scored 20+ in three straight games, joining Chaz Lanier and Dalton Knecht as Vols who have pulled that feat in the last few years.

• Bishop Boswell has recorded a double-double in two of the last four games. He had never recorded a double-double before that.

• VFLs Chris Lofton (Vol Network) and Dane Bradshaw (ESPN) will be calling the game for their networks. Both played alongside Auburn head Coach Seven Pearl in the late 00’s. Pearl is 14-7 in his first year as a head coach.

• Wednesday’s win against Georgia was Rick Barnes’ 850th career win. In his time at UT, Barnes has more SEC wins (116) than he has total losses among all games (115).

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