D1 Baseball lauds Vols as having 11th-best Freshman Class  

As we venture on closer to the start of the 2024 season, the D1 Baseball publication is ranking the freshmen classes around the country. On Saturday, the D1 Baseball crew announced that Tennessee’s freshman class ranks 11^th nationally with plenty of upside.

Several first-year players are poised to play impacts for the Vols this spring. Ariel Antigua could see amply time opposite of Christian Moore in the middle infield to kick things off. Derek Scheafer will be competing for starts prior to conference play. Other rookie arms such as Dylan Loy, Cole Eaton, Bryson Thacker and Braydon Sharp could work into defined roles in the Tennessee bullpen as well.

🌟 𝐃𝟏𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐓𝐨𝐩 𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐡𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬: 𝟏𝟏-𝟏𝟓 🌟

Our countdown of college baseball's top freshman classes continues with classes 11-15: @Vol_Baseball, @StanfordBSB, @AlabamaBSB, @DukeBASE and @OleMissBSB.

🔗 https://t.co/WI5W1SxcHV pic.twitter.com/M3PQP6qcBe

— D1Baseball (@d1baseball) January 13, 2024

Individual workouts begin on Monday as the Volunteer baseball team arrived back on campus this weekend. Sources told Volquest that all players who took part in fall practice have arrived back for the spring semester.

Joe Healy of D1 Baseball broke down the Tennessee freshmen class into two groups: headliners and contributors.

“Two-way player Brayden Sharp is a premium athlete who could be the Volunteers’ center fielder of the future. The key to getting at-bats now and in the future, however, is in his ability to add weight to his 6-foot-2, 175-pound frame so he can impact the baseball to a greater degree,” Healy said of the headliners. “On the mound, he works quickly, using a fastball that reaches the low 90s and a mid-to-high-70s breaking ball. Righthander Derek Schaefer, an Arizona product, impressed with his mound presence and moxie in the fall, especially in his fall exhibition outing against Virginia Tech. He shows a low-90s fastball and a low-to-mid-80s slider, and he fields his position well. 

“Infielder Dean Curley is SEC ready physically with a 6-foot-3, 200-pound frame. He has big-time raw power in his swing, but he’s not a stiff defensively. He’s athletic enough to play a few different positions on the infield, but third base is probably his best fit,” Healy continued on the contributors. “Ariel Antigua is a 5-foot-8, 180-pound twitchy waterbug of a player who has the look of the shortstop of the future in Knoxville. For now, he looks more likely to battle for playing time at second base. Cole Eaton is a two-way player from the Omaha area who has a quick arm, a low three-quarters release, a fastball in the high 80s and a breaking ball in the mid 70s. Lefthander Luke Payne shows a fastball into the low 90s with a high-70s breaking ball and a low-80s changeup. Lefthander Bryson Thacker is a Georgia native whose fastball reaches the high 80s to go along with a low-to-mid-70s breaking ball. Lefthander Dylan Loy shows a high-80s fastball, a changeup in the low 80s and a low-70s curveball.”

Stanford, Alabama, Duke and Ole Miss were the freshmen classes ranked 12-15 behind Tennessee while Wake Forest, Oklahoma, Louisville, Georgia Tech and Indiana rounded out 16-20. The top-10 freshmen classes will be released by the publication in the coming days.

According to Perfect Game, Tennessee boasts the fourth-best 2023 signing class with one player (LHP Matthew Dallas) ranking in the Top-100 at No. 97 and eight players total inside the top-300. Other notables in the class who could see some action for the Vols in the spring include Cole Eaton (RHP/OF, No. 121), Dean Curley (INF, No. 129), Ariel Antigua (INF, No. 137), Blake Grimmer (INF, No. 148), Brayden Sharp (LHP/OF, No. 207), Derek Schaefer (RHP, No. 223) and Stone Lawless (C, No. 244).  

In addition to the influx of talent already on campus for Tennessee, the Vols sport the second-best 2024 recruiting class with 23 high school commitments and the No. 4 2025 recruiting class with 20 current commitments. All this, according to Perfect Game.  

Tennessee 2024 Season Freshmen Class

Ariel Antigua MIF
Camden Bates INF
Dane Bjorn LHP
Holden Brauner OF
Jeremy Comer OF
Dean Curley INF
Matthew Dallas LHP
Cole Eaton OF/RHP
Blake Grimmer INF
Hunter High UTL
Stone Lawless C
Dylan Loy LHP
Brayden May LHP
Daniel Parris RHP
Luke Payne LHP
Derek Schaefer RHP
Brayden Sharp LHP/OF
Ashton Sulack LHP
Bryson Thacker LHP