The reigning national champion Tennessee baseball team is back in the top-spot in the USA Today Coaches Poll just two weeks into the season.
Tennessee was the No. 2 team in the Preseason USA Today Coaches Poll and jumped preseason top-ranked Texas A&M after the Aggies dropped their series finale against Cal Poly on Sunday afternoon in College Station.
Of course, Tennessee defeated Texas A&M in the College World Series finals last season as both teams battled it out for their respective programs first ever National Championship. But while Tennessee lost the bulk of its lineup and pitching staff from its championship squad, the Aggies returned the nucleus of last season’s team which made them the consensus preseason No. 1 team.
At the time of this publication, the USA Today Coaches Poll is the only one where Tennessee is the top-ranked team as the No. 1 team.
More From RTI: Tennessee Baseball By the Numbers Seven Games Into the Season
The Vols are off to a strong 7-0 start to the season against largely overmatched opponents. Tennessee earned run-rule victories in all three wins over Hofstra and in its midweek victory over UNC Asheville. Samford gave Tennessee a much more competitive series at Lindsey Nelson Stadium last weekend.
Tennessee leaned on dominant pitching from Liam Doyle and Tanner Franklin to win game one 5-1 before an eighth inning Levi Clark grand slam propelled the Vols to a game two victory. Samford ran out of pitching and Tennessee ran-rule the Bulldogs’ 11-1 to complete the series sweep on Sunday.
Doyle dominance has led the way for a pitching staff banged up to open the season while Marcus Phillips has grabbed the reigns of the Saturday starting job. At the plate, there’s no shortage of Tennessee players impressing including a freshman quartet of Levi Clark, Jay Abernathy, Manny Marin and Chris Newstrom.
The challenge gets more difficult for Tennessee this weekend as the Vols face Oklahoma State, Rice and Arizona in the Astros College Classic in Houston.
