Randy Smith
The Tennessee Volunteers baseball team has lost two of the last three SEC series they've played. After dropping two out of three to Texas A&M two weeks ago, they dropped another series this past weekend to rival Kentucky and both series losses came at home at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. After starting the season 21-1 and being ranked number one for several weeks, the defending national champs are now 12-6 in SEC play. That's not bad but it's just good enough for a tie with LSU for third place in the current SEC standings.
Is it time to panic? No....
it's not even time to get worried. The Vols were 29-7 in March and April last year on their way to a 60-13 record and the school's first ever national championship. This season they're 24-7 during the same stretch with still a week's worth of games remaining. Last year they did what most all teams do that win championships. They get " hot " at the right time. The Vols lost several key components from last season's squad, including first round draft choices, Christian Moore and Blake Burke. Those two young men are very, very rich right now.
Head coach Tony Vitello has done a wonderful job recruiting and bringing in players from the transfer portal. He's actually done as well as anyone in terms of getting good players from other schools to become Volunteers. However, in today's changing times it's extremely difficult to bring in great players year in and year out. Let's face it; the 2025 Vols are not quite as good as the 2024 team. Some might even say last year's team was one of the very best college baseball teams ever and I concur with that. I think the big difference is offense. Tennessee set all kinds of records for run production last year and while this year's squad is very good offensively, it's no match for the 2024 group.
If there is a silver lining behind the storm clouds that are now brewing in Big Orange Country, it's the fact that record wise, this year's squad mirrors last year's team. There is also a lot of baseball left to be played. Tennessee baseball has traditionally been pretty good, but the seven seasons under Tony Vitello is the high-water mark. Baseball is no longer something to go watch while fans wait for football practice to start. It's a sport that has become really special all around the state of Tennessee and with the talent that Coach " V " has brought to Knoxville, it's certainly no time to panic. The Volunteers may not win it all again but they will make a deep run in the playoffs and I wouldn't be at all surprised if they make it two in a row.
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Randy Smith can be reached at rsmithsports@epbfi.com