Former Tennessee third baseman enters transfer portal
Zane Denton, who took a year off of baseball and was not with the Tennessee baseball program in 2024, has entered the transfer portal, a Tennessee spokesman confirmed to Volquest.
The former Alabama third baseman transferred and spent the 2023 campaign with the College World Series bound Vols. He went undrafted last summer and initially announced he’d be returning to Knoxville to play his COVID year of eligibility.
Tony Vitello then said Denton would be away from the team for the first bit of fall practice.
“This year, the first couple of scrimmages, I know he won’t be a part of,” the coach towards the end of September. “He’s handling somethings that he has to. But again, like last year, he’s been able to manage a lot in his life – on and off the field and done very well at it. I think the fact that he’s in a supportive environment here has kind of helped him progress the way that he has.”
He ended up not playing for Tennessee in 2024 and has one year of eligibility remaining.
Denton’s first season on Rocky Top was a memorable one as the third baseman played sharp defense at the hot corner and provided some clutch hits in the box. He homered twice against Clemson in regional play, the latter a three-run shot coming with two outs in the top of the ninth inning that handed the Vols a lead. He delivered another crucial three-run home run that padded Tennessee’s lead in a Super Regional-clinching win at Southern Miss to advance to the College World Series.
The slugger notched a pair of hits and scored a run against Stanford in a College World Series elimination victory. In all, Denton drove in a team-high 59 runs with 16 home runs while batting .269 on the year in Knoxville.
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Prior to becoming a Volunteer, Denton played three seasons at Alabama before entering the transfer portal. The Brentwood, Tenn. native earned a spot on the Southeastern Conference All-Defensive Team squad for his work at third base during the 2021 campaign. He also led the Crimson Tide with a .308 batting average that season as well.
Denton becomes the second Tennessee player to enter the transfer portal, joining left-handed pitcher Wyatt Evans. The 2024 cycle officially opened on Monday, June 3 and will remain open for 30 days through July 2.
Tennessee is currently still playing baseball in 2024 and is off to super regionals for the fourth-straight season. The Vols have competed in the College World Series twice in the past three seasons and are just two wins away from making it three of the past four years.
The Vols swept both the Southeastern Conference regular season and tournament titles this year and entered postseason play as the No. 1 overall seed for the second time in program history.
