Five intriguing storylines for the Knoxville Regional

Tennessee baseball is hosting postseason action from Lindsey Nelson Stadium this weekend as Wake Forest, Cincinnati and Miami (OH) comprise the Knoxville Regional as the NCAA Tournament gets underway.

There’s several layers to the madness that will be discussed as the week continues, but here’s five noteworthy storylines fans can watch out for.

The Griffin Merritt Dilemma

Former Tennessee outfielder and designated hitter Griffin Merritt will be in town this weekend for the Knoxville Regional, but it’s not a given he will be rooting for the Big Orange in every game. Say what? Well, he’s got good reason. It will be interesting to catch up with the former slugger to get his thoughts on the draw because his allegiance is split.

Merritt was homegrown in Cincinnati and played his first four years of collegiate baseball with the Bearcats. Before transferring to Tennessee ahead of the College World Series 2023 season with the Vols, Merrit played in 154 games at Cincinnati and hammered 34 home runs. His brother also played and graduated from Cincinnati.

While in Knoxville, Merritt split time in right field and as the designated hitter for the Vols in 2023, hitting .311 in his first year in the SEC with 18 home runs and 48 RBI. He was an instant impact player and a huge piece to that Omaha squad.

Volquest hopes to catch up with him sometime this week ahead of the regional for a chat. Merritt still has former teammates on both teams who will be playing this weekend.     

Matthew Dallas Returns

Wake Forest starting pitcher Matthew Dallas began his career in Knoxville with Tennessee in 2024. One of the highest-rated signees for the Vols, the southpaw appeared in 15 games with two starts and pitched to a 4.76 ERA across 17 innings. He did not appear in a postseason game for Tennessee on the national championship run and entered the transfer portal with the eventual landing spot of Wake Forest.

The lefty finished the season as the No. 2 weekend starter for Wake Forest as he compiled a 4-1 record and 5.09 ERA across 13 starts and 53 innings pitched with 59 strikeouts and 28 walks. There’s a very real chance Dallas can be on the mound facing his former team at some point this weekend. It could even be as the starting pitcher in the inning bracket.

Josh Reynolds Against his Former Squad

Josh Reynolds may not be a name known by the common fan, but he is one of the more interesting pieces to this weekend’s dynamics. The current Tennessee Director of Baseball Operations and Pitching Performance was hired away from Cincinnati by Tony Vitello last summer. Prior to coming to Rocky Top, Reynolds served as Pitching Coach for the Bearcats in 2024.

Reynolds helped Cincinnati reach its first 30-win season in 2024 since 2019 as the squad finished fifth in the Big 12 after being voted to finish last in the preseason rankings. Over the course of the season, Reynolds was instrumental in helping All-Big 12 hurlers Christian Mitchell and Nathan Taylor. The Cincinnati staff, overall, boasted an ERA of 5.89 – the lowest since 2019 and nearly a full run lower than in 2023 before his arrival.

He certainly knows a lot about the pitching staff if Tennessee does end up facing Cincinnati at some point this weekend.

Cincinnati Loves to Run

Something to be mindful of if Tennessee indeed plays Cincinnati at some point this weekend is the fact that the Bearcats love to run on the base paths. The club is tied for 18^th in the country with 128 stolen bases. Cincinnati base runners have been caught stealing just 14 times on the year. The Volunteers have had issues controlling the run games at times in 2025, so the aggressive Bearcats will definitely test the host squad if they face off.

Five players have recorded over 10 stolen bases on the season for Cincinnati. Leadoff man Landyn Vidourek has swiped an incredible 37 bases this season on 38 tries. Shortstop Charlie Niehaus has taken 19 of 21. Third baseman Kerrington Cross has recorded 15 stolen bases, outfielder Christian Mitchelle has logged 11 and fellow outfielder Derrick Pitts has stolen 10. Second baseman Lauden Brooks has added nine stolen bases.

Huge potential storyline in this one between Cincinnati and Tennessee.

Sloppy in the Field

Where Wake Forest impresses at the plate (fourth in the ACC with a .308 team batting average), the Demon Deacons rank dead last with a fielding percentage of 0.963. Wake Forest committed a league-high 71 errors on the season and allowed nearly 90 percent of based stealers to swipe their intended bag.     

The left side of the infield has been particularly problematic with shortstop Marek Houston (11) and third baseman Kade Lewis (10) combining for 21 errors alone. Infielder Dalton Waltz, who splits time as designated hitter, has added nine errors in the field as well.

Tennessee, meanwhile, ranks 15^th in the SEC with a .969 fielding percentage. Cincinnati fields much better with a .978 clip while Miami (OH) contributes a .974 fielding percentage.