Tennessee baseball eager to put ‘own stamp’ on ’25 season following national title

It was a season for the ages in 2024 as the Tennessee Volunteers were crowned the king of college baseball following thier first-ever national title.

The season was hardly how’d you draw it up as a coach. Opening Day starter AJ Russell missed most of the season due to injury and was a complete nonfactor in postseason play. UT utilized an ‘opener’ on Friday nights and a piggyback starter on Sundays for half the year. A true freshman started nearly every game at shortstop and the Vols returned a starting catcher who hit for .180 the year before.   

But great teams find a way. Great teams have guys step up and the 2024 Vols were a great team.

So, the 2025 edition of Tennessee baseball has quite the shoes to fill. Good luck. In all seriousness, however, it’s going to be a typical Vitello coached ball club. There’s plenty of talented arms fans will become accustomed to and several additional powerful bats that will be added to the lineup.   

It’s a new year and a clean slate. It’s a chance for a different group of guys to make it their own.

“They kind of want to put their own stamp on this particular year,” Vitello said of his new-look team at Wednesday’s media day.

Hunter Ensley’s return was massive for the Vols last summer. Not only is the fifth-year veteran an above average centerfielder, but his presence from the right side in the batter’s box was one that helped fuel Tennessee’s journey through postseason play and on to Omaha last season.

The leader knows what it takes to win it all and it starts with coming together as a team and focusing on one common goal every day. That vision began in fall and is now carrying over into preseason work with the season-opener two weeks away.  

“It’s still kind of the same thing we’ve put together the last few years. I think the great thing about it is we’ve definitely won national championship now and we kind of know what it takes and how to navigate to get to eat into the championship series,” the senior said. “So, that definitely gives us a little bit of confidence, knowing that we’ve done it before.

“I think we’re all excited. The returning guys, kind of letting the new guys and freshmen know, this is kind of how you do things. This is kind of how you get around the league, winning the postseason stuff like that. So, we’re excited to get going. Hopefully we’re able to make [another] run.”

Vitello admitted that the month of December was a good time to ‘reset’ for all returning players and coaches. The season began in February and lasted all the way through the end of June. The celebrations that followed were fun, but fast & furious, to say the least. The coaches immediately had to then make up for lost time on the recruiting trail and then head back to campus for the start of fall workouts.  

“I didn’t say anything to them — maybe Hunter Ensley did or (someone) — I don’t know, but they just seem to have a little more personality and a little more energy to them,” the coach said of the start of preseason work this winter. “So, it’ll be interesting to see if they can keep that level of those two things or other positive traits, or, even better build off it.”

The annual First Pitch Banquet, which is emceed every year by Voice of the Tennessee Baseball team John Wilkerson, is the unofficial start to the new year for the program. The players, their families, coaches and many fans get together for a night of greeting, eating and fellowship together. This usually takes place a few weeks before the season starts and this year, it took place this past weekend.  

It’s a time to really kick things into high gear for the season ahead.

“The first-pitch banquet, hopefully, was the final cut off for last year’s stuff. I think our guys are ready to move on,” Vitello concluded. “The one positive about Vol fans, they’ll celebrate better than anybody in the country. The one other caveat that comes with that is they’ve celebrated so much and talked so much about things; I think our guys are ready to move on and kind of use this blank canvas they have and start splashing some paint on there. If I could go crazy with the analogy there. Picasso.”

Tennessee opens the 2025 campaign at home on February 14 against Hofstra.