Zane Denton announces return to Tennessee for final season on the diamond
Tennessee’s offseason has already been fruitful and today it got more good news as third baseman Zane Denton announced his intentions to return to Knoxville for his final season of collegiate eligibility.
His announcement was made on instagram Saturday night.
The infielder will utilize his free COVID year of eligibility next season in what will be his second campaign in Knoxville and his fifth collegiate season overall. The Brentwood, Tenn. native went undrafted last month and has spent the weeks since weighing his options with potential undrafted fee agent deals.
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, who was not selected last month in the 2023 Major League Baseball Draft, will return to Rocky Top for the 2024 season with key transfer portal additions of infielder Billy Amick, catchers Cannon Peebles and Dalton Bargo and pitchers Nate Snead, AJ Causey and Chris Stamos.
Tennessee sported eight draft picks, second in the SEC and second-most in program history. The six pitchers drafted were the most in program history while Tony Vitello has now coached up 25 draft picks in the past three seasons.