Tennessee transfer Maui Ahuna inactive in season opener, awaiting eligibility clearance

One of Tennessee‘s biggest offseason acquisitions won’t be taking the diamond tonight for the Volunteers, with Kansas transfer Maui Ahuna inactive as the program awaits eligibility clearance.

Tennessee announced the news shortly before tonight’s first pitch, at 8 p.m. ET against Arizona in the MLB Desert Invitational. Ahuna’s absence is a bit of a bummer in an event that is one of college baseball’s most highly anticipated on opening weekend.

“I know Arizona has probably been looking forward to this game. I assume our guys have been too, we haven’t built things up too much,” Tennessee coach Tony Vitello said earlier this week. “You love when an SEC opponent comes to your place and they are playing in a conference that in comparable to ours anyway. It’s a program with a lot of history, so it’s not like they don’t have a lot to stick their chest out about. When you get an opportunity to beat an SEC team, I’d like to think that you get geeked up.

“I think what it is going to be is – we are going down there, towards their home turf, and everyone is going to be excited across the country to start Opening Day. You got a fresh, clean start. So, it’s going to be all the excitement you can imagine and let’s see what we are all about. No better way to do it than to challenge yourself against an Omaha caliber club in Arizona. For us, we have obviously done some good things lately and so that will come with that.”

Ahuna transferred in from Kansas this offseason and has been a featured addition to the squad.

Ahuna signed a big NIL deal back in February with Weigel’s Stores, and he was featured in a 30-second commercial while decked out in white and orange gear that mimicked a Vols jersey, only with Weigel’s branding instead.

He’s expected to immediately bolster one of the SEC’s top squads when he becomes available.

Maui Ahuna was a big addition for Tennessee, which enters the 2023 season as one of the top-ranked teams in the country. Ahuna arrived in Knoxville from Kansas via the Transfer Portal. His transfer generated national attention and many insiders believe it was fueled by NIL opportunities that would come from playing for one of the top programs in the country.

Ahuna, a shortstop, checks in at No. 22 on MLB Pipeline’s top draft prospects after starting every game as a freshman and sophomore in Lawrence. Batting .396 in 2022, he hit eight home runs, 48 RBI and 13 stolen bases while leading the ballclub in average, on-base percentage (.479), slugging percentage (.634), hits (80), triples (4), walks (28) and stolen bags. The new Volunteer spent his sophomore summer with the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team.