D1 Baseball tabs Vols No. 9 in preseason Top 25
Fresh off an Omaha appearance in the College World Series, Tennessee enters the 2024 campaign ranked inside the top-10 at No. 9, according to then D1 Baseball poll.
Wake Forest sits atop of the poll with the No. 1 ranking while the Southeastern Conference is heavily present with Florida, Arkansas, LSU is second, third and fourth – respectively – while Vanderbilt checks in at No. 6. Texas A&M sits right in front of the Vols at No. 8 while Alabama comes in at No. 19 and South Carolina at No. 25.
Other notables in the top-10, per D1 Baseball, includes TCU in fifth, Oregon State at No. 7 and Clemson at No. 10.
2024 D1Baseball Preseason Top 25
— D1Baseball (@d1baseball) January 16, 2024
(Presented by @NettingPros)@WakeBaseball almost played for the national title last season. Now, the Deacs headline the 2024 D1Baseball Preseason Top 25 rankings.
🔗 https://t.co/sHTJN7H5re pic.twitter.com/LpqhAmNxDS
Tennessee is coming off another thrilling season that ended in Omaha for the College World Series this past summer – the second time that’s happened in the past three seasons. Tennessee snapped a six-game losing skid dating back to 2001 at the CWS with a come-from-behind 6-4 victory over Stanford on the brink of elimination. It won in both regional play against Clemson and supers against Southern Miss in come-from-behind fashion again to help punch their ticket.
The Vols were active in the transfer portal following the season’s end, bringing in five of D1 Baseball’s Top-130 transfers in catcher Cannon Peebles (No. 5), third baseman Billy Amick (No. 7), right-handed pitcher Nate Snead (No. 18), utility Dalton Bargo (No. 41) and right-handed pitcher AJ Causey (No. 72). Tennessee also earned a commit from left Chris Stamos (Cal) and former Wofford slugger Ryan Galanie, but the latter elected to sign with the White Sox after being selected in the 13th round.
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Tennessee will have to make up some production lost from the 2023 roster this spring, including the likes of Chase Dollander (draft), Chase Burns (transfer), Maui Ahuna (draft), Andrew Lindsey (draft), Griffin Merritt and more.
Last week, Perfect Game tabbed Tennessee pitcher Drew Beam and infielders Billy Amick and Christian Moore as preseason All-Americans. The publication also ranked Tennessee No. 11 in its preseason poll. D1 Baseball recently awarded Tennessee with its third-best transfer portal class and its 11th-best freshmen class.
Tennessee begins the 2024 campaign at the Shriners Children’s College Showdown at Globe Life Field in Arlington, TX on the weekend of Feb. 16-18. The Vols are slated to play Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Baylor over that weekend.
Vols in the Preseason Polls
D1 Baseball – No. 9
Perfect Game – No. 11
Preseason accolades for Vols
RHP Drew Beam: 2nd Team All-American (Perfect Game), Top-100 MLB Draft Prospects (D1 Baseball)
INF Billy Amick: 2nd Team All-American (Perfect Game), No. 7 Transfer (D1 Baseball), Top-100 MLB Draft Prospects (D1 Baseball)
INF Christian Moore: 3rd Team All-American (Perfect Game), Top-100 MLB Draft Prospects (D1 Baseball)
Tennessee named the No. 3 Transfer Portal Class (D1 Baseball)
Tennessee named the No. 11 Freshmen Class (D1 Baseball)
