Tennessee Baseball Preview 2026
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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.