With each spring, fans see a different UT baseball team field the diamond, and three players find themselves in the middle of the latest Tennessee youth movement.
Among the 13 new faces joining the Vols this year are first baseman Cody Stubbs, second baseman/shortstop Khayyan Norfolk and third baseman Matt Duffy.
Of the three, Duffy had the most whirlwind experience getting to UT. The junior played his first two years of collegiate ball at the University of Vermont, but his sophomore year began with turmoil when the university announced that 2009 would be the last year for the baseball program.
"It was crazy for that whole season," Duffy said. "Everyone was going in different directions, but we still had to play and go through the entire season knowing we wouldn't play together the next season."
Duffy said the team held together through the entire season, but he described the experience as bittersweet.
"It didn't really hit you until the end, when you're on the bus from your last game, and the school year's over too so everybody's going their separate ways," he said.
Despite all the sadness of the breakup of the team, he said the decision gave him an opportunity.
"It was kind of a blessing in disguise almost, because I kind of wanted to test myself in different waters as far as baseball goes," he said. "I had done what I wanted to do in Vermont."
That included batting .388 in his final season at Vermont and tying the program's single-season record with 13 home runs, according to a Sept. 9 Daily Beacon article and Boston.com.
Not only is Duffy changing universities and teams, but he's also changing positions. The Needham, Mass., native said he played shortstop his entire life -- throughout high school and his two years at Vermont -- but he's making the move to third base at UT. He became acquainted with the base this past summer as a member of the Chatham Anglers in the Cape Cod League.
"I played third the whole summer, and it went great. It's been an easy adjustment," he said.
He said there are advantages and disadvantages to playing both positions.
"Shortstop, you had a lot more time to react to balls that are hit at you, but you also need a lot more range at shortstop," he said. "And third base is more first-step reaction. You don't have to move around as much. You just have to have quick reactions."
Duffy said the team has helped him get acquainted with the university and particularly one of his roommates, UT junior outfielder P.J. Polk.
Khayyan Norfolk, who said he'll most likely play second base with the Vols, said the team has good chemistry already.
While he says that changing from Jackson State Community College to UT has been an adjustment as far as the size of the university goes, he emphasized how strenuous workouts have been as a major change.
"My body tells me that they're (workouts) hard," he said. "I come home every night, and a different muscle on my body is sore, but that's part of it."
He described the game as "faster" at UT, but it's still baseball. And he comes from a family that knows baseball. He said he got his passion for the sport from his father, who played throughout school and still plays softball, as do his mother and older sister.
He started playing baseball at about five years old, he said, and, as a middle infielder, he loves turning the double play.
Cody Stubbs passed up a major-league opportunity when he agreed to come to UT. He was drafted in the 29th round of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft in 2009 by the Boston Red Sox.
But Stubbs said his aim is improving.
"I know what kind of coach Coach Raleigh is, and I know he can make me better and stronger," he said. "And I always wanted to come to college."
The true freshman, who was born in Atlanta, Ga., and then lived in Cherokee, N.C., and Waynesville, N.C., has been near Tennessee all his life, but he's seen other sights.
Through travel baseball, he said he went to Cooperstown, N.Y., and saw the Baseball Hall of Fame, among other locations, and he's enjoyed the travel experience baseball has afforded him.
"When you're in Arizona, you can see a tumbleweed go by, and you're like, '˜Alright, I never thought I'd see a tumbleweed, but OK,'" he said.
Stubbs, who has played both first base and third base in his career, will try the hot corner full-time at UT. He said alertness is vital at that position.
"You gotta get your glove on the ground and be ready," he said. "It's gonna be coming quick, and you better be ready for it, or you're gonna lose some teeth probably."
All three players expressed confidence in coach Todd Raleigh and the upcoming season, and Norfolk said the ultimate goal is Omaha, Neb., with everything else building to it. It's just September, but thoughts of spring linger during baseball workouts.