Vols boast highest preseason ranking of cycle with NCBWA

With Opening Day sitting just 11 days away, the Tennessee baseball team received their highest preseason accolade to date with the No. 2 nod by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association on Monday afternoon.

The Vols, who won the national championship last season for the first time in program history, come in just behind the program it beat in Texas A&M as the Aggies top the preseason poll. Virginia, LSU and Arkansas round up the top-five while Florida State, Oregon State, North Carolina, Clemson and Florida cap the first 10.  

Hey look, another preseason ranking just dropped!

Baseball season must be right around the corner…#GBO // #OTH pic.twitter.com/6e3nUhrj1q

— Tennessee Baseball (@Vol_Baseball) February 3, 2025

In total, 10 programs from the Southeastern Conference comprise the top-25 poll, which include five in the top-10. Tennessee already received preseason nods in the top-five from Baseball America (No. 3), D1 Baseball (No. 4) and Perfect Game (No. 5).

The Vols (60-13) finished the 2024 season with the first national championship in program history and became the first team from the Southeastern Conference to eclipse the 60-win marker in a single season. Tennessee went an impressive 10-2 in the NCAA Baseball Tournament and snapped the ‘curse’ of No. 1 overall seeds not winning the title, a streak that dated back to Miami in 1999.  

Tennessee’s 60 wins last year were the most of any team since Florida State in 2002 and the most of any national champion since Wichita State in 1989. It was the second straight trip to the College World Series in Omaha for Tennessee, the third in four years and the first time the Vols played for a national title since their first trip there in 1951. 

Vitello has rewritten the Tennessee Baseball record books, leading the country the last four seasons in wins (211), win percentage (.773), NCAA Tournament wins (25) and home runs (566).

The Vols won everything they could in 2024 – winning the SEC’s regular-season championship, the SEC Tournament championship, Knoxville Regional and Knoxville Super Regional. The team lost back-to-back games on March 16 and 17, then never lost consecutive games again. They went 7-0 while facing elimination in the SEC Tournament and NCAA Tournament, including coming back from down 0-1 in the best-of-three College World Series championship series against Texas A&M. 

Tennessee opens the 2025 season at home against Hofstra on Friday, February 14.

Tennessee Vols in the 2025 Preseason Rankings

NCBWA: No. 2
Baseball America – No. 3
D1 Baseball – No. 4
Perfect Game – No. 5

Tennessee Vols 2025 Preseason Accolades

SS Dean Curley: Second-Team All-American (Perfect Game) | No. 8 sophomore in country (Perfect Game)
RHP Nate Snead: Second-Team All-American (Perfect Game) | No. 38 junior in country (Perfect Game)
3B Andrew Fischer: No. 14 junior in country (Perfect Game)
RHP AJ Russell: No. 30 junior in country (Perfect Game)
INF Gavin Kilen: No. 25 junior in country (Perfect Game) | SEC’s Best Transfer (Baseball America)
LHP Liam Doyle: No. 55 junior in country (Perfect Game)
C Cannon Peebles: No. 92 junior in country (Perfect Game)
OF Hunter Ensley: No. 2 senior in country (Perfect Game)
UTL Alex Perry: No. 73 senior in country (Perfect Game)
UTL Jay Abernathy: No. 3 Best Freshman (Baseball America) | No. 6 Best Freshmen (Perfect Game)
UTL Levi Clark: No. 21 Best Freshman (Perfect Game)
RHP Tegan Kuhns: No. 46 Best Freshman (Perfect Game)
RHP Anson Seibert: No. 52 Best Freshman (Perfect Game)
MIF Manny Marin: No. 56 Best Freshman (Perfect Game)