Jared Dickey discusses level of expectation created by 2022 roster

Tennessee is expected to do big things during the 2023 college baseball season, and standout outfielder Jared Dickey isn’t afraid of the high expectations.

“I think it has set the standard pretty high. Having Q back for the whole year, it’s awesome. We’ve been getting to work in the weight room,” Dickey said in an interview with VolQuest earlier this week. “Obviously, that’s something very important to us. We take our health very seriously and our diets very seriously as well. Training with coach [Tony Vitello] is always going to be intense, but he’s also the type of guy to have your back on the field and off the field no matter what.

“It’s been really exciting and like I said earlier, just seeing all the guys getting the work done and doing everything they can — it’s been pretty cool to see.”

Dickey, a 2023 Baseball America third-team preseason All-American, batted at team-high .380 last season in 40 apperances for the Vols as a redshirt freshman. He recorded 29 runs on 38 total hits to go along with seven home runs and 19 RBI’s. to set him up for a breakout sophomore campaign.

In 2022, Tennessee finished the season winning the SEC in both the regular season and postseason tournament. They earned a program record 57 wins before losing to Notre Dame in the Knoxville Super Regional two games to one.

Following their stellar season, the Vols were heavily predicted to win the SEC East this preseason by media members, but was not picked to repeat as SEC champions for a second year. Instead, LSU was predicted to win the conference, picking up 11 votes.

It was definitely a disappointing end to a historic season for the Vols, but it has only added fuel to the fire for 2023. UT will play its season opener against Arizona in the MLB Desert Invitational next Friday on Feb. 17. First pitch is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET live on the MLB Network.