The Tennessee Baseball team, coming off a huge series win over Florida, has submitted paperwork to the NCAA to potentially host a Regional and Super Regional.
The Vols are currently ranked #3 in the USA-Today coaches poll and host #2 Vanderbilt this weekend, in one of the biggest regular season series in program history. This will be a very hot ticket, with prices already hovering around $240 a piece on the secondary market.
Tennessee has rocketed up the polls this year thanks to solid hitting and pitching from this Tony Vitello led team. The Vols took 2 out of 3 from the #12 ranked Gators this past weekend and will travel to Western Carolina on Tuesday for a mid-week matchup.
This group is currently 28-5 and 9-3 in the SEC, tied with Vanderbilt for first in the East. The Vols have captivated their fanbase and the fans have returned the favor by showing up over the past few home series. I think it’s fair to say that if they were allowed full capacity, the Vols would have no problem selling out just about every SEC home game left on the schedule.
There is a wrinkle now thrown into the equation in regards to Tennessee actually hosting a regional, as the NCAA has commented on the transgender laws pertaining to student athletes that have or are expected to be passed in some states.
BREAKING: @NCAA has released a statement on transgender participation in collegiate sports.
They will withhold NCAA sporting events from states that pass trans-discrimination laws.
This includes TN, MS, AR, ID, and potentially Montana if HB-112 is passed.#mtnews #mtpol pic.twitter.com/ZcCNlCu0Fw
— Ben Wineman (@BenWineman) April 12, 2021
This will be something the university will monitor over the next few weeks, as tournament time draws near. The NCAA released a statement this afternoon, saying “We will continue to closely monitor these situations to determine whether NCAA championships can be conducted in ways that are welcoming and respectful of all participants”.
An NCAA representative told HawgBeat.com that the “Board of Governors is just monitoring the situation and has not yet made a decision to ban states from hosting championships”.
But for now, the focus is on the field, where Tennessee continues to make waves across the conference and country. For the Vols, it’s all about one game at a time, which is Tuesday night at 5pm ET
