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Tennessee baseball hosting two portal targets on campus

On3 imageby:Eric Cain•06/20/25•

_Cainer

DJ Newman. Credit: Lauren Laudato (BGSU Athletics)
DJ Newman. Credit: Lauren Laudato (BGSU Athletics)

Tennessee baseball is hosting a pair of intriguing transfer portal prospects for parts of the weekend in two-way players Blaine Brown (Rice) and DJ Newman (Bowling Green). The Vols currently sport five additions from the poral and have hosted six different targets since the portal opened.   

TENNESSEE BASEBALL TRANSFER PORTAL TRACKER

Brown was named First-Team All-AAC as a designated hitter this past season and was also named to the league’s All-Freshman squad as a rookie.   

He led the Owls with a .292 batting average, .493 slugging percentage, 61 hits, 38 runs batted in, 12 doubles, 10 home runs and 103 total bases. Brown registered 18 multi-hit games and sported eight contests with multiple runs batted in.

The 2-way player also appeared in seven games with four starts on the mound, pitching to a 20.77 ERA in just 4.1 innings pitched. The southpaw allowed 13 runs off nine hits with 12 strikeouts and 10 walks.

Newman was a two-way star for Bowling Green the past three seasons, logging most starts as the club’s designated hitter with a few appearances in the outfield. The right-handed pitcher also shined on the mound prior to a pair of season-ending injuries that cut short both his 2024 and 2025 campaigns.

As a hitter, Newman appeared in 25 games this past spring, posting a team-best .419 batting average with career-high marks in on-base percentage (.495), slugging percentage (.645) and doubles (9). Newman was named Second-Team All-MAC in 2024 as a designated hitter, logging a .371 batting average and 1.119 OPS (third in the conference) in 35 games.

Newman was named the MAC Pitcher of the year in 2023, to go along with Freshman All-American honors from Baseball America, D1 Baseball, NCBWA and Collegiate Baseball. In three seasons, the righty appeared in 27 games on the mound with 15 starts with a 3.60 ERA over 85 innings pitched.

Baseball Transfer Portal

The 2025 non-graduate transfer portal opened on June 2 and will remain open until July 1. Players must have their name entered in the transfer portal by July 1 if they want to move on, but new destinations do not have to be made by that time.

The Vols have benefited greatly from the transfer portal in recent cycles, reeling in the likes of Chase Dollander (2022), Griffin Merritt (2023), Maui Ahuna (2023), Zane Denton (2023), Billy Amick (2024), Cannon Peebles (2024), AJ Causey (2024), Chris Stamos (2024), Liam Doyle (2025), Andrew Fischer (2025) and Gavin Kilen (2025).

Tennessee has five additions via the transfer portal with right-handed pitchers Clay Edmondson (UNC Asheville), Mason Estrada (MIT), Bo Rhudy (Kennesaw State) and utility Garrett Wright (Bowling Green). Tennessee has also added junior college players such as RHP Matt Barr (SUNY Niagara) and Tyler Myatt (Walters State) and picked up catcher Trent Grindlinger as a late add to the 2025 class in recent weeks.

Tennessee has lost 12 players to the transfer portal so far: INF Jack Jones, INF Robinson Martin, LHP Bryson Thacker, RHP Brayden Sharp, RHP Austin Hunley, RHP Thomas Crabtree, OF Colby Backus, LHP Ryler Smart, LHP Dylan Loy, LHP Andrew Behnke, RHP Austin Breedlove and RHP/OF Beau Revord.

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