College baseball season is 42 days away and excitement is building for Tony Vitello’s seventh season in Knoxville.
Perfect Game released its preseason top 25 on Friday with Tennessee coming in at No. 11. The Vols are one of eight SEC teams in the preseason poll coming in behind No. 2 Arkansas, No. 3 LSU, No. 4 Florida, No. 6 Vanderbilt, and No. 7 Texas A&M and ahead of No. 13 South Carolina and No. 15 Auburn.
.@PGCollegeBall 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒 𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐎𝐍 𝐓𝐎𝐏 𝟐𝟓 📈https://t.co/8bkuJQR7fQ pic.twitter.com/dB87eOCyjd
— Perfect Game USA (@PerfectGameUSA) January 5, 2024
Tennessee is coming off a strong 2023 season that saw them advance to the College World Series for the second time in three seasons and earn its first College World Series victory since 2001.
The Vols entered the 2023 season with extremely high expectations but struggled out the gate, opening up SEC play 5-10 before going 11-4 in the back half of conference play and making a run to Omaha.
Tennessee returns a number of key players from last seasons team including position starters Blake Burke, Christian Moore and Hunter Ensley and high-level starting pitcher Drew Beam. But the Vols brought in an impressive transfer portal haul including Clemson’s Billy Amick, North Carolina State’s Cannon Peebles and Wichita State’s Nate Snead.
A trio of Vols landed on Perfect Game’s three All-American teams Thursday: Billy Amick, Drew Beam and Christian Moore.
Tennessee baseball opens its 2024 season at the Shriner’s Children Hospital Classic at Globe Life Field in Dallas, Texas.
