Transfer short stop Maui Ahuna cleared to play for Tennessee baseball

After missing the first eight games of the 2023 campaign, Tennessee fans received some good news on Monday as their star transfer portal addition was cleared for game activity – he announced on social media. A source with direct knowledge confirmed the news with Volquest. Short stop Maui Ahuna is expected to make his Tennessee debut on Tuesday in a midweek home contest with Charleston Southern.

Suppah man is back

— Maui Ahuna (@MauiAhuna) February 27, 2023

Tennessee announced just hours prior to the season-opener in Arizona that Ahuna would not be in the lineup as the program was ‘awaiting his eligibility clearance.’ Ahuna and the program had one more NCAA hurdle to pass before he could play and that has since been reached.

Redshirt sophomore and Knoxville native Austen Jaslove has filled in at short stop during Ahuna’s absence and has registered a .217 average at the plate with six runs driven in.

On Friday, head coach Tony Vitello was suspended for the three-game weekend series against Dayton as an ‘institutional measure by UT Athletics in collaboration with Tony Vitello’ to ‘address a violation within the program.’ Tennessee’s statement also said it is working collaboratively with the NCAA throughout this process.

Josh Elander, who is filling in as acting head coach for the weekend, provided no comment on the Vitello situation Friday night following a 12-2 Tennessee win over Dayton. Tennessee went 3-0 on the weekend, outscoring the Flyers 22-3.

Tony Vitello comments on Maui Ahuna  (2/21)

On if there’s any update on Maui Ahuna….

“No, I don’t have a specific update. I know we have some professionals at different entities working on it and that makes me feel as good as I can. Hopefully him as good about it too. People who are way more professional than me and there’s a lot of people looking out for the kid’s sole interested. Hopefully an update will come soon, but I don’t have anything specific.”

On how Maui Ahuna is handling being out…

“Like a champ. Like a dang champ. He’s been really about getting extra work in here and on the field because he knows he’s not going to be burning a bunch of calories out there. He’s been Jazzy’s [Austen Jaslove] No. 1 fan and been next to him in warmups. He’s a fun-loving kid in general. I thought his family handled it as well as they could have as well this weekend.”

On when he learned Tennessee would be without Maui Ahuna to start the season…

“Specifically for me, it was I would say about 24 hours before first pitch when we were in Arizona.”

On if he knew this would be a possibility…

“Yeah, there had been some things that alluded to that a little bit.”

Back of the baseball card for Maui Ahuna

The former Kansas Jayhawk came to Knoxville by way the transfer portal this offseason. Ahuna made headlines prior to the opener when it was announced he signed an NIL deal with Weigel’s Stores and was featured in a 30-second commercial decked out in a Tennessee white and orange style uniform. The uniform also featured Weigel’s name in a script font that mimics what the Volunteers wear.

The short stop 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 infielder finished the campaign riding a 20-game hit-streak and tallied 23 multi-hit days, including 10 three-hit performances. Defensively, Ahuna made SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays twice for his work on the dirt. The new Volunteer spent his sophomore summer with the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team.