In what was supposed to be a “down year” for Tennessee baseball, it made history. Following their second trip to Omaha in the past three seasons, many believed the Vols would regress after losing key pieces in the offseason.
Chase Dollander and Andrew Lindsey were selected in the MLB Draft. Dollander was chosen in the first round, and Lindsey was selected in the fifth round. Additionally, standout flamethrower Chase Burns elected to transfer to Wake Forest. These three pitchers combined for 14 Vols’ 44 wins in 2023.
It didn’t stop there, as the Vols also saw departures in the batting lineup. Maui Ahuna and Jared Dickey were key contributors in the Vols’ 2023 campaign, totaling 144 hits and 98 runs. Both declared for the draft, where Ahuna was selected in the fourth round and Dickey went in the 11th round.
Despite the losses, Tennessee bolstered its lineup through the transfer portal, signing standout ACC players Billy Amick and Cannon Peebles.
Tennessee was picked to finish second in the SEC East, behind Florida in the SEC preseason poll. The Vols also earned spots on both preseason All-SEC teams, as pitcher Drew Beam earned first-team honors. Two infielders also made the second team, with Christian Moore at second base and Amick at third base.
The season started on a strong note, with the Vols crushing their non-conference opponents. They boasted an 18-1 record heading into conference play, with their only loss coming to Oklahoma at the Shriners Children’s College Showdown.
Tennessee’s first significant setback was their first conference series, losing two of three to Alabama despite winning the opener by a wide margin. The Vols quickly bounced back, winning their next series against Ole Miss.
The Vols didn’t lose another series the rest of the year, and they finished with a 46-10 record and a 22-8 record in SEC play.
Tennessee faced an early scare in the SEC Tournament, falling to unranked Vanderbilt in the second round. From then on out, the Vols took over. They rebounded with three straight wins, including a rematch with the Commodores, to make the SEC Tournament title game. They faced the LSU Tigers, who had knocked them out of the previous season’s NCAA Tournament.
After going down 1-0 in the first inning, the Vols responded, taking a 4-1 lead into the bottom of the ninth thanks to a three-run home run by Amick. Tennessee held on through a late comeback attempt to win its fifth SEC title in a 4-3 victory.
The Vols cruised through the Knoxville Regional with no matchups who proved difficult as they went 3-0. The Super Regional came with its share of chaos. Tennessee hosted Evansville for what looked like a simple opponent before the College World Series. The Purple Aces, however, took the fight to the Vols. Tennessee suffered a surprising 10-8 loss to Evansville in game two, forcing a game three. The Vols returned to their usual ways, winning by a 12-1 margin to advance.
Tennessee opened against Florida State in the first round, overcoming a three-run deficit in the bottom of the ninth inning to win. They moved on to face North Carolina, collecting a 6-1 victory for a rematch with the Seminoles in the next round. This time, Tennessee won handily, 7-2, to advance to the title game.
In the championship series, it took on Texas A&M for a chance at immortality. The Vols suffered a loss in the first game of the series, leaving them no room for mistakes the rest of the way. Game two fell the Vols’ way, collecting a 4-1 win for a winner-takes-all finale.
Game three was everything a fan could hope for. The Vols controlled the game for the first seven innings, but the Aggies wouldn’t go down without a fight. Two runs for Texas A&M in the top of the eighth inning made it a 6-3 game heading into the final inning. The ninth inning was a nail-biter, as the Aggies added two more runs to make it a 6-5 game, but Aaron Combs struck out the final batter to make history. The game-winning run came from Hunter Ensley, evading the tag at the plate on an acrobatic slide.
“No better team to win for the University of Tennessee than a bunch of guys who were truly the definition of a team,” head coach Tony Vitello said after the win. “And no better play for our program to be the winning run on that slide, a guy that’s just built with a ton of grit. And his teammates follow his leadership. And it’s a great example of how this group got things done.”
The season was historic, not only for the program’s first College World Series National Championship title. Tennessee mashed 177 home runs, just behind LSU’s record 188 in 1997. The Vols also became the first team with five players to hit 20 or more home runs, led by Christian Moore’s 34, tied for ninth-most in a single season. They also matched the NCAA record for wins in a season and became the first SEC team to win 60 games in a season.
The Vols look to build on the best season in team history this year. The 2024 Vols drafted eight players in the first 10 rounds, setting a new program record. Head coach Vitello faces a tough task this year, looking to make a return to Omaha as many new faces take the field for the Vols this season.
