Tennessee near the top of D1 Baseball's top 10 impact freshman classes

With the start of the 2025 season just one month away, more and more preseason accolades are rolling in for Tennessee baseball and members of the program.

Last week, D1 Baseball named Tennessee as the No. 2 program in the country with the best freshman class. LSU was atop the rankings while wake forest, Ole Miss and Stanford finished off the top-five. Virginia, Auburn, TCU, Indiana and Vanderbilt round out the publication’s top-10 freshman classes.

Shortly after this list was released, the Volunteers checked in at No. 4 in D1 Baseball’s preseason rankings. Tennessee is coming off its first national championship in program history last June, outlasting Texas A&M 6-5 in a Game 3 College World Series Finals thriller.

The website broke down Tennessee’s freshman class into three subsections: ‘Instant Impact Pitcher’, ‘Instant Impact Position Player’ and ‘Don’t Forget About’. A reminder, Perfect Game ranked Tennessee’s freshman class at No. 1 in the country.

Right-handed pitcher Tegan Kuhns was listed as the program’s ‘Instant Impact Pitcher’.

“He was ranked as the No. 25 overall prep prospect for the 2024 draft by Prep Baseball,” the publication said of Kuhns. “The loose-armed 6-foot-3 righthander sat 92-95 against Troy and is another young Volunteer arm who has the look of a top-of-the-rotation winner and potential day one draft pick.”

Kuhns will compete for a spot in the weekend rotation right away for a program that had to say goodbye to it’s enter rotation form a season ago that included Chris Stamos (opener), Drew Beam and Zander Sechrist.

Utility Jay Abernathy was listed as the program’s ‘Instant Impact Position Player’.

“Most impressive of all the Vols’ newcomers – and that’s saying a lot – was leadoff man Jay Abernathy,” d1 Baseball said. “A Georgia prep and another top-100 prospect for last summer’s draft, he’s a top of the order player whose speed will apply pressure on opposing defenses. The lefthanded hitter covers the plate with ease and his zone awareness should provide a smooth transition to SEC ball. He’s a pure hit machine at the plate and showed it early and often against Western Kentucky, finding a barrel in each at-bat, and driving in a pair of runs.”

Abernathy will be in competition this preseason – along with veteran Colby Backus – for the start in left field. His future may be on the infield dirt, but Abernathy showed great arm strength and glove in the outfield over the fall and his contact at the plate, to go with his speed, makes him a capable leadoff candidate for the Vols when in the lineup.

Utility Levi Clark was listed as the program’s ‘Don’t forget About’ player.

“Strong and mature bodied at 6-foot-1, 210 pounds, Clark was one of the youngest prep draft prospects a year ago and had some buzz as a top 100 prospect per Prep Baseball,” the website said. “His impact righthanded bat holds plenty of power thanks to a strong frame and well above average bat speed. He could blossom into a run-producing backstop and day one draft prospect in time. He’s also the rare freshman catcher whose defensive skills stand out first as the reason why he could get on the field right away. He has a plus arm with excellent accuracy, helping him consistently turn in sub-2.00 pop times to second base.”

Clark’s future may be behind the plate, but for now, it’s about finding that bat some consistent swings. The newcomer spent much of fall behind the plate while getting looks at first base and eft field. With the news of Alex Perry stepping away from the program this spring, there’s more opportunity at first base for the rookie this spring. He can also act as the club’s designated hitter routinely if needed. Clark will play some this spring, just a question of how they make it happen.

Tennessee opens the 2025 season at home against Hofstra on Friday, February 14.