Tennessee baseball broke several records in its first ever National Championship winning season in 2024.
From single-season records to national records to SEC records to even some game records, let’s take a look at all the records Tennessee baseball broke in its historic 2024 season.
Team Single-Season Records
Wins – 60
Previous Record – 57 (2022)
The 2022 team’s former record of 57 wins stood for just two years, as this year’s Vols set a new one with 60 victories. The Vols broke the previous record with a 7-2 win over Florida State last Wednesday in Omaha to reach the College World Series Finals, where they would beat Texas A&M in two of three games to win the National Championship.
Games – 73
Previous Record – 70 (1995)
No surprise here as Tennessee went on a run in the postseason to ultimately win a National Championship.
Home Runs – 184
Previous Record – 158 (2022)
Tennessee’s home run total this season was the most impressive part of this Vols’ offense. Their ability to hit the long ball at such a frequent rate was nearly incomprehensible. Tennessee shattered the 2022 team’s record of 158 homers, and while the Vols played seven more games than the team two years ago, they set the record in the 64th game of the season, two games less than Tennessee played in 2022.
Doubles – 160
Previous Record – 156 (2022 & 2005)
Tennessee set the doubles record in the penultimate game of the season. The 160 doubles combined with the 184 home runs is incredibly impressive and shows that Tennessee did not live-or-die with the long ball.
RBI – 609
Previous Record – 574 (2022)
Another big offensive record Tennessee set was RBI. In large part thanks to Christian Moore and Dylan Dreiling who drove in 149 combined runs, Tennessee was mostly great at delivering with runners on all season. Kavares Tears and Blake Burke also recorded 60+ RBI on the season.
Grand Slams – 12
Previous Record – 7 (1998)
Tennessee had this record halfway through the season. The Vols were great with the bases loaded and nearly set the NCAA grand slam record, finishing two behind Arizona State’s 2003 team.
This year’s Georgia team was also nearly historic when it came to hitting grand slams, as the Bulldogs tied the Vols with 12 to co-own the SEC single-season record.
Slugging Percentage – .607
Previous Record – .604 (2022)
Another stat to show how complete Tennessee’s offense was. The Vols finished with the best slugging percentage ever, and it should come as no surprise given the previous records listed.
And neither should these. Here are the other records Tennessee’s offense set in the 2024 season.
Extra-Base Hits – 353
Previous Record – 337 (2022)
Runs Scored – 657
Previous Record – 613 (2022)
Total Bases – 1,494
Previous Record – 1,380 (2022)
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Individual Single-Season Records
Home Runs – 34 (Christian Moore)
Previous Record – 24 (Sonny Cortez – 1998)
Moore had the best season of any Tennessee hitter ever. Thirty-four home runs certainly jump off the page, but there’s a lot more records Moore set this year that we’ll get to. The junior did not receive the recognition he should’ve, as he wasn’t a Golden Spikes finalist, All-American or SEC Player of the Year. But Moore was the best player in the SEC. He hit .429 against SEC pitching and was the most significant reason Tennessee won the league and earned the top overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Moore had not just one of the best seasons in Tennessee baseball history but in Tennessee athletics history. He set the home run record by 10 blasts and finished his Tennessee career as UT’s home run king with 61 bombs.
Here are the other records Moore set this year.
At-Bats – 296 (Christian Moore)
Previous Record – 293 (Matt Whitley – 1995)
Extra-Base Hits – 55 (Christian Moore)
Previous Record – 52 (Chris Burke – 2001)
Total Bases – 236 (Christian Moore)
Previous Record – 221 (Chris Burke – 2001)
Games Played – 72 (Christian Moore & Blake Burke)
Previous Record – 70 (Matt Whitley – 1995)
Appearances – 36 (Kirby Connell)
Previous Record – 35 (Sean Hunley – 2021)
Connell got Hunley with his 36th and final appearance in the National Championship game. Connell also smashed the career appearance record at Tennessee this season, topping former teammate and fellow lefty Redmond Walsh’s record.
Connell was a horse for Tennessee this season, improving drastically from his 2023 campaign when he would usually face just a few batters. Connell flashed the ability to pitch near 100 pitches in an outing this season and gave Tennessee extended relief multiple times.
In his final season, Connell was one of the most important pieces to the Tennessee bullpen.
Games Played for a Freshman (Tied) – 67 (Dean Curley)
Tied with – J.P. Arencibia (2005)
Curley emerged as a big-time player for Tennessee this season and was the plug-and-play shortstop, but he needed one more game to set the program record for most games played by a freshman.
Doubles (Tied) – 30 (Blake Burke)
Tied with – Jeff Pickler (1998)
Burke’s final double of the season in game two of the CWS Finals tied him with Jeff Pickler for the single-season program record of 30 doubles. Burke got to 20 in a hurry then waned in double tally as the season progressed (and the homers picked up), but Burke’s 30 doubles still led the nation and nearly set a UT record.
Burke led the team in doubles by 11.
Other Individual Records
Hit Streak – 31 games (Blake Burke)
Previous Record – 27 (Condredge Holloway)
Burke was on a tear in March and April, totaling a hit in 31 games to break a longstanding record previously held by UT great and trailblazer Condredge Holloway.
Burke began his streak on March 1, broke the record on April 19, and his streak came to an end on April 26.
Single-Game RBI for a Freshman – 9 (Dean Curley vs. Kansas State)
Curley emerged as a weapon at the for Tennessee early in the season, but his monstrous, record-breaking performance against Kansas State was when Curley put himself on the map as a dangerous bat.
The freshman from California hit a whopping three home runs – one two-run shot, one three-run shot and grand slam – to assist Tennessee in its 15-5 slaughtering of a good Kansas State team on Tuesday, March 5 in Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
No other Tennessee player accounted for nine RBI in a game this season, and only one other player had a three-homer game (Christian Moore vs. Kentucky).
Curley’s record-breaking outing also officially solved Tennessee’s shortstop situation, as Tony Vitello and the rest of the Vols’ coaching staff knew they had someone to rely on.
Career Records Set This Season
Home Runs – 61 (Christian Moore)
Previous Record – 40 (Luc Lipcius)
Initially broken by teammate Blake Burke, Moore eventually became Tennessee’s home run king and didn’t look back. Moore’s 61 long balls stands as far and away the most in program history, with Burke in second at 49.
Appearances – 129 (Kirby Connell)
Previous Record – 104 (Redmond Walsh)
Mentioned earlier, but Connell broke his former teammate’s record of most appearances by a Vol. Connell’s single-season-breaking tally of 36 this year helped catapult him well past Walsh, and with COVID year eligible players slowly but surely getting pushed out of college athletics, Connell’s record may stand for many, many years.
NCAA & SEC Records
Single-Season Wins for an SEC Team – 60
Previous Record – 59 Vanderbilt (2019)
Tennessee’s 60th and final win to win the National Championship gave it the single-season record for most wins by an SEC team, beating Vanderbilt’s 2019 team.
Most Players with 20+ Home Runs – 5
Previous Record – 4 (Alabama – 1997)
The Vols’ offense wasn’t carried by just a few players this season, as five different players tallied 20 or more home runs.
Christian Moore led the way with 34, Dylan Dreiling and Billy Amick each hit 23, and Blake Burke and Kavares Tears each totaled 20.
Tennessee’s lineup could get anyone from top-to-bottom this year but the top six of the order was truly special, as it featured all five players with 20 or more homers and Hunter Ensley, who hit 12. Dean Curley, who hit in the seven-hole, also finished with 12 long balls.
Cal Stark was the eighth and final Vol to hit 10 or more homers, finishing with 11.
There may be more records Tennessee set this season that RTI has not yet identified. If any more are uncovered, this article will be updated.
