Tony Vitello and Tennessee checking all the boxes in the transfer portal

Tennessee isn’t done in the 2025 transfer portal cycle, but the bulk of the work is completed with nine commits so far and another mammoth win with right-handed hurler Landon Mack announcing on Monday.  

The ability to evaluate, recruit, sign and develop from the high school ranks is a strength and has and will continue to be the backbone of the Tennessee baseball program under Tony Vitello and staff, but the staff has shown the ability to be just as fierce in a condensed timeframe – winning year over year in the transfer portal as well.  

2025 TENNESSEE BASEBALL TRANSFER PORTAL TRACKER

Chase Dollander, Griffin Merritt and Zane Denton. Maui Ahuna, Billy Amick and Cannon Peebles. AJ Causey, Chris Stamos and Liam Doyle. Andrew Fischer and Gavin Kilen. There’s some major wins in there that resulted in College World Series appearances, No. 1 overall rankings, SEC champions, and of course, a national championship.  

Time will tell what this group has in store for Tennessee baseball in 2026, but three areas the staff has already passed with flying colors with this class include earning commitments from players with great versatility and star power, as well as attacking a key need on the mound (pitching).  

The Vols are still seeking infield help and left-handed pitching, but let’s take a look at were the Vols stand now with the nine portal additions.

Versatility

As if it wasn’t already made abundantly clear with the additions so far, the 34-man roster coming to college baseball puts an added emphasis on versatility to your roster. There’s always been some with good teams as players moved around to make the best lineup. Now, it’s not just a ‘want’ but a necessary ‘need.’

We will see how many more players emerge as 2-way guys in the coming cycles. Most high-level pitchers who sign out of high school also swing a pretty good bat and play somewhere in the field (see Kruz Schoolcraft as an example). I think there will be an added emphasis moving forward on these prospects in the high school ranks. If you can play multiple positions, you’re in. If you can pitch and hit – let’s go.  

In the short-term, Tennessee has done a great job of adding real versatility to its roster. DJ Newman is a legit two-way player who has excelled both on the mound and at the plate at a very high level in the MAC. He will do both at Tennessee. Blaine Brown made seven appearances on the mound with four starts, albeit, not a ton of length (4.1 IP). The former Rice freshman standout was All-Conference at the plate as a designated hitter. He’s got some growth on the mound to do, but he absolutely will pitch here as well in some capacity.  

Henry Ford – yes, he’s got to get to campus – can play first base and outfield. The two-way players listed above can play the outfield. Garrett Wright can legit play all three outfield positions and was a two-time All-Conference catcher. Even the pitchers who are committed have both starting and bullpen experience.

Versatility is the name of the game. Tennessee has already gotten an abundance of it from the transfer portal.  

Pitching

Tennessee is set to lose some serious fire power on the mound in two weeks as Liam Doyle is an expected top-15 pick in the Major League Baseball Draft. Marcus Phillips and AJ Russell shouldn’t escape the second round. Nate Snead and Tanner Franklin will be drafted in the early rounds. Brandon Arvidson is a likely draft pick.

Dylan Loy, who led the Southeastern Conference with 33 appearances, entered the transfer portal. Tennessee has lost 20 pitchers total to the portal, although none played a vital role other than Loy. Still, that’s a lot of departures as the roster trims down to 34.

With that being said, the arms added so far in this transfer portal class have been real good.   

Landon Mack was considered one of the top starting options in the portal. Tennessee channeled in on him early and got it done. The Vols earned commitments from a pair of submarine hurlers from the right side in Clay Edmondson (draft risk) and Brady Frederick. Who doesn’t love that look out of the bullpen from the Tennessee dugout? Mason Estrada (draft risk) dominated in Division III and brings another power arm to campus, looking to prove his worth. Bo Rhudy and his elite control aim to strengthen a Tennessee bullpen that is hitting a complete reset.

And then there’s the two-way commits with Newman and Brown. We will see what their roles end up being, but the stats from the former are super impressive and the ability to throw mid-90s from the left side by the latter, well – that’s a lot to work with.   

Tennessee needed pitching and has done a good job of getting some. Will there be more arms to join the class? Only one left-handed pitcher is in the group with six righties. The Vols would love to add a southpaw.

Star Power

Not every five-star turns out to be an All-American. There’s plenty of examples this staff has shown of taking lower-level players and turning them into absolute studs. It’s why this staff continues to prove they’re one of the best developers in the game.  

With that being said, however, this staff can flat out recruit.

Ford was considered the No. 1 overall player in the baseball transfer portal by On3. Check. Mack was considered one of the elite starting pitching options in this cycle. Check. Wright’s versatility, along with his offense, made him a hot commodity around the SEC. Check. Newman and Brown’s ability to do both pitch and hit allowed them to be heavily sought after. Check.    

I think we can all agree we like the commitments of Edmondson, Estrada, Rhudy, Frederick and some others. But when some elite players enter the portal and Tennessee jumps in the mix – fans expect Vitello and staff to win some battles. They’ve done just that over the likes of LSU, Arkansas and others.

We will see what this class ends up looking like when it is all said and done. There will be some that will come down to the wire in regards to the MLB Draft – along with the high school signing class – but this staff’s approach to the transfer portal is checking all the boxes.

Just like we all expected.