Tennessee reserve infielder enters transfer portal
Reserve Tennessee infielder Camden Bates officially entered the transfer portal on Wednesday afternoon. The portal closed on Tuesday, July 2, but several last-minute names across the country were officially filed on July 3. Bates was one of them.
The 5-10, 165-pound infielder just finished his first season on Rocky Top via Washington, Okla. Over 10 appearances while playing on the active roster, Bates registered two hits in eight at-bats (.250) with one home run, four runs batted in and three runs scored. The freshman walked three times and struck out three times, while also recording a sacrifice fly in the process.
A three-run home run highlighted his Tennessee tenure in a win over Alabama A&M on April 9. He picked up his first collegiate hit against Illinois on an infield single on March 9. The sacrifice fly, his first RBI of his career, came against Bowling Green on March 3 and scored his first run after being walked in a win over Albany on February 24.
As a recruit, Bates was considered the No. 74 shortstop in the nation by Perfect Game and the second-best shortstop out of Oklahoma. He was named to the Perfect Game West-All Region First-Team and was a three-time Perfect Game Underclass All-Region selection as a prep student.
Bates becomes the eighth player of Tennessee to enter the transfer portal. He joins a list that includes Bradke Lohry, Robin Villeneuve, Derek Schaefer, Matthew Dallas, Zane Denton, Wyatt Evans and Daniel Parris.
The transfer portal opened June 3 and remained open through July 2. Tennessee picked up a commitment from Junior College pitcher Thomas Crabtree before heading off to Omaha for the College World Series. Right-handed hurler Tanner Franklin became the first commitment out of the transfer portal for Tennessee on Tuesday.
