Year End Review: Looking back at a big year for Tennessee athletics

No. 6 Tennessee’s 31-14 romp over No. 7 Clemson in the Capital One Orange Bowl Friday night was only fitting. It was an exclamation point on a turnaround season that no one saw coming. From three wins in 2020, to cleaning house to start 2021, then eight wins last year and an 8-0 start in Year 2 under Josh Heupel. 

It was the first 11-win season for the Vols since 2001, after they won 10 games in the regular season for the first time since 2003. But football wasn’t the only high-water mark for Tennessee athletics in 2022.

Tennessee baseball won 23 straight games, won the SEC Tournament championship and was the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. Tennessee basketball won 27 games and won the SEC Tournament for the first time in 43 years. The Lady Vols won 18 of their first 19 games and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen.

Here’s a look back at all the highlights from the last calendar year:

January 23 — No. 5 Lady Vols beat No. 13 Georgia to improve to 18-1 (7-0)

Jordan Horston had a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds, Rae Burrell had 13 points and Alexus Dye and Tamari Key combined for 16 points and 13 rebounds in a 63-55 win at Georgia. The Lady Vols improved to 18-1 (7-0 SEC) with the win, their fifth over a ranked team at that point in the season. Tennessee was off to its best start since 2007-08 (22-1) and best start in SEC play since 2014-15 (13-0).

February 15 — Basketball beats No. 4 Kentucky at Thompson-Boling Arena

Tennessee bounced back from a 107-79 loss at Kentucky on January 15 by winning seven of the next eight games, then avenging the loss to the Wildcats with a 76-63 win at Thompson-Boling Arena when Kentucky came to town on February 15. Santiago Vescovi scored 18 points, Kennedy Chandler had 17 and Zakai Zeigler and John Fulkerson scored 14 each off the bench. 

March 13 — Basketball wins SEC Tournament

Tennessee got a double-bye into the quarterfinal round of the SEC Tournament after finishing second in the regular-season standings, then beat Mississippi State, Kentucky and Texas A&M over the course of three days to win the conference tournament title for the first time since 1979.

March 21 — Football gets commitment from five-star QB Nico Iamaleava

Tennessee football got the headliner in its recruiting class in March, when five-star quarterback Nico Iamaleava committed to the Vols. The 6-foot-5.5, 195-pound Iamaleava, out of Long Beach, Calif., picked the Vols over Miami, Alabama and Georgia. He finished as the No. 2 overall prospect in the 2023 recruiting class according to the On3 ratings. He was ranked No. 2 at quarterback and was the No. 1 overall prospect in California.

March 21 — Lady Vols advance to Sweet 16

Alexus Dye had a double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds, Tamari Key scored 18 points and Sara Puckett had 12 off the bench as Tennessee beat Belmont 70-67 in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament at Thompson-Boling Arena, advancing to the Sweet 16. The Lady Vols beat Buffalo in the opening round in Knoxville. 

March 27 — Baseball sweeps No. 1 Ole Miss in Oxford

Tennessee started SEC play with a home sweep of South Carolina, outscoring the Gamecocks 23-5 over three games, but made an even bigger statement a week later. The Vols went to Oxford and swept No. 1 Ole Miss at Swayze Field. They did it in style, too, scoring the Rebels 35-4 in three games.

April 1-3 — Baseball sweeps Vanderbilt in Nashville

Tennessee ran its win streak to 19 games and started 9-0 in SEC play for the first time in program history while sweeping No. 5 Vanderbilt at Hawkins Field in Nashville. Tennessee won 6-2 in the Friday night opener, when Tony Vitello famously dubbed Jordan Beck as “Mike Honcho” during a dugout interview, then outscored the Commodores 10-2 over the final two games.

May 29 — Baseball wins SEC Tournament, beats Florida 8-5

Tennessee beat Florida 8-5 in the SEC Tournament championship game, winning the conference title in front of 13,270 fans at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover, Ala. The Vols improved to 53-7 on the season, on their way to the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.

August 19 — Football gets commitment from four-star in-state edge rusher Caleb Herring

Four-star edge rusher Caleb Herring picked Tennessee over Georgia and Auburn, fishing as the highest-ranked in-state prospect to sign with the Vols. The 6-foot-5, 220-pound Herring, the younger brother of Tennessee freshman Elijah Herring, is the No. 66 overall prospect in the On3 ratings. He’s ranked No. 10 among edge rushers and is the No. 1 overall prospect in the state of Tennessee.

September 10 — Football wins 34-27 (OT) at Pitt

Tennessee’s magical football season started gaining momentum in Week 2 at Pittsburgh. Hendon Hooker passed for 325 yards and two touchdowns and Cedric Tillman caught nine passes for 162 yards and the game-deciding touchdown in overtime. The Vols trailed by 10 in the first half, scored 17 straight to take a 27-20 lead, but had to go to overtime after Pitt scored on fourth-and-goal with 2:23 left.

September 24 — Football wins 38-33 vs. Florida 

Hooker completed 22 of 38 passes for 349 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 112 more yards and another score to lead Tennessee to a 38-33 win over Florida, snapping a five-year losing skid to the Gators. 

October 8 — Football wins 40-13 win at LSU

Tennessee recovered an LSU fumble on the opening kickoff and jumped out to a 20-0 lead by the first minute of the second quarter. The game was never close. The Vols made their biggest statement of the season to that point by going to Baton Rouge and blowing out LSU at Tiger Stadium.

October 15 — Football wins 52-49 vs. Alabama

Chase McGrath kicked the walk-off 40-yard field goal as time expired to beat Alabama for the first time since 2006. Hooker complete 21 of 30 passes for 385 yards and five touchdowns, throwing all five to Jalin Hyatt, who caught six passes for 207 yards. Tennessee fans rushed the field after McGrath’s kick, tore down the goal posts then carried them out of Neyland Stadium.

November 1 — Football ranked No. 1 in first CFP Top 25

Tennessee was the No. 1 team in the first College Football Playoff Top 25 of the season. The Vols started the season 8-0, picking up ranked wins over No. 17 Pitt, No. 20 Florida, No. 25 LSU, No. 3 Alabama and No. 19 Kentucky.

November 25 — Football gets commitment from five-star DL Daevin Hobbs

Tennessee won another five-star recruiting battle when defensive lineman Daevin Hobbs picked the Vols over Alabama, Georgia and Ohio State. The 6-foot-4, 270-pound Hobbs, out of Jay M Robinson High School in Concord, N.C., is the No. 20 overall prospect in the On3 ratings in the 2023 class. He’s ranked No. 3 among defensive linemen and No. 2 in the state of North Carolina.

November 26 — Football beats Vanderbilt 56-0, first 10-win regular season since 2003

Tennessee bounced back from the loss at South Carolina by running all over Vanderbilt. The Vols ran 31 times for 362 yards and six touchdowns. Joe Milton passed for 146 yards and a touchdown, stepping back into the starting role after Hendon Hooker was lost to a torn ACL a week earlier.

December 14 — Football gets commitment from four-star LB Arion Carter

Tennessee won a huge recruiting battle for an elite in-state prospect, landing four-star linebacker Arion Carter over Alabama. The 6-foot-1, 210-pound Carter, out of Smyrna High School in Smyrna, Tenn., is ranked by the On3 Consensus as the No. 157 overall prospect in the 2023 class. He’s the No. 15 linebacker in the country and the No. 2 prospect in the state of Tennessee.

December 30 — Football beats Clemson 31-14 in Orange Bowl

Milton threw for 251 yards and three touchdowns, leading No. 6 Tennessee to a 31-14 win over No. 7 Clemson in the Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. It capped the first 11-win season for the Vols since 2001 and it was the first time they won the Orange Bowl since 1939.