Tennessee picks up two-way transfer Reggie Crawford from UConn

Tennessee baseball had a magical 2021-2022 season, even if they could not find their way to Omaha for the College World Series. Head coach Tony Vitello does not want the story to end there, as he is looking to build up an impressive roster for next year. He added another star player on Tuesday, with two-way player Reggie Crawford.

Spending the last two seasons at UConn, Crawford announced on social media that he would be joining Tennessee via the transfer portal. He spent his time in the Northeast as a left-handed pitcher and a first baseman but missed the entire season due to Tommy John surgery. Crawford thanked the Huskies and his head coach, Jim Penders, for his time at UConn.

“Thank you to everyone at UConn for an unbelievable past couple of years,” Crawford said. “I am extremely thankful for Coach Penders as well as the rest of the coaching staff, my teammates, friends, etc. who made it such a great experience. I will forever be grateful.”

However, there is one hold-up with Crawford as he is projected to be a first-round pick in the upcoming 2022 MLB Draft. Schedule to take place on Friday night, the two-way player could be in the Tennessee program and out before the weekend even begins.

D1 Baseball analyst Kendall Rogers said the move by Crawford could be seen as “leverage” to MLB clubs when it comes to negotiating his slot value.

If Tennessee is able to retain Crawford, they will be getting a player who can excel both on the mound and in the batter’s box. During his freshman season at UConn, Crawford had six pitching appearances and threw 7.2 innings. He only gave up two earned runs while striking out 17 and walking just three.

Crawford was even better at the plate, batting .309 during 64 games and posting a .908 OPS. He hit 14 home runs and drove in 78 RBIs. The strikeout to walk ratio may not have been ideal, nearly a 4/1, but Crawford would still instantly become one of the top players in the SEC if he remains in Knoxville.