Final big recruiting weekend on deck for Tennessee baseball
Tony Vitello and the Tennessee baseball staff will take advantage of Saturday’s final Southeastern Conference regular season contest at Neyland Stadium by welcoming the bulk of the 2025 committed class to town for unofficial visits and four uncommitted players for official trips.
The Vols, who are wrapping up the fall practice window this weekend with the annual playing of the Fall World Series, will have recruits on hand to watch the intrasquad exhibitions. They will also tour campus, see much of Knoxville and take in everything the Big Orange fanbase has to offer on Saturday when the football team takes on Mississippi State.
Tennessee has plenty of momentum on the recruiting trail as two more top-100 recruits committed to the staff this week in LHP Cameron Appenzeller (No. 22) and SS Ethan Moore (No. 94). UT currently sits No. 3 in the country for the 2025 class.
The weekend slate for official visitors will be three 2026s – RHP Jack Smejkal (No. 35 overall), OF Malachi Washington (No. 79 overall) and RHP Cooper Sides (No. 109 overall). One other in town on an official visit will be 2025 prospect RHP Patrick Spencer, who attends Pearl River Community College.
Smejkal boasts a big arm from the right side and stands in at 6-foot-1, 175 pounds. He’s from Woodlands, TX. and attends the same high school that produced current Vol Brayden Sharp. The hurler added some velocity to his fastball in recent months and has been clocked up to 94 miles per hour. He also possesses a plus-slider and is in play with several from the SEC. Smejkal ranks No. 35 overall, No. 6 right-handed pitcher and No. 7 out of Texas.
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Washington is a ‘tooled up’ prospect from the Atlanta, Ga. area. Standing in at 6-foot-1, 195 pounds, the outfielder ranks No. 79 overall in the class and No. 17 outfielder while also being tabbed No. 7 in the state of Georgia. He’s been a member of the 14U and 13U Perfect Game Select Festival events and showcases a strong arm from the outfield. Georgia, Georgia Tech, Mississippi State and South Carolina are also in this one.
Sides has a lively arm from the right side and several other teams from the conference are battling this one out. At 6-foot-5, 200 pounds, his frame is SEC ready right now. The hurler is ranked as the No. 109 overall recruit in the class, No. 25 right-handed pitcher and No. 21 from the state of California. He’s added 14 mph to his fastball the past two years and is sitting in the low-to-mid 90s.
Spencer currently attends Pearl River Community College, the same JUCO that produced current Vols Alex Perry and Thomas Crabtree. He attended high school in Mississippi and was considered the top-overall right-handed pitcher and No. 12 overall prospect from the state. Spencer redshirted in 2024 while recovering from Tommy John surgery, but has since been clocked at 97 mph, so several teams around the country are trying to scoop him up. Huge arm and huge draft risk.
Tennessee currently sits second nationally – behind Texas – with 18 commits in the 2026 class rankings.
