Tennessee

#3 Tennessee clinches seventh straight SEC series win in Gainesville

Published

2 years ago

May 5, 2024

#3 Tennessee clinches seventh straight SEC series win in Gainesville

GAINESVILLE, FL (utsports.com) – No. 3/3 Tennessee exploded for 11 runs in the sixth inning to blow open a close game and secure its seventh straight SEC series win, toppling Florida 16-3 in seven innings on Saturday night at Condron Family Ballpark.

With the win, the Volunteers also recorded their fourth consecutive series win in Gainesville, something that has never been done before in program history.

Hunter Ensley led the way in UT’s offensive outburst with three run-producing hits, finishing with a pair of two-run doubles and a three-run homer for a career-high seven RBIs.

Ensley’s career night started with a big two-out double in the top of the fourth to plate two runs and get the Big Orange on the board, cutting their deficit to one. The redshirt junior center fielder fouled off three straight 3-2 pitches before roping the ninth pitch of the at-bat off the base of the wall in left field to score Billy Amick and Dean Curley.

Tennessee built off that momentum and took control of the game with its 11-run sixth inning. The Vols got back-to-back RBI hits from Curley and Ensley after a walk from Kavares Tears and a Dylan Dreiling double put runners on second and third with no outs.

After five more runs had already crossed the plate, Ensley provided the exclamation point on the inning with a three-run home to right field to give UT a 13-3 lead.

Christian Moore and Blake Burke hit back-to-back home runs in the top of the seventh to provide a little more insurance for the run-rule win. Moore had another productive game at the dish with three hits, two runs and two RBIs.

Curley also had a really solid night with two RBI knocks and a team-leading three runs scored.

Nate Snead was dominant on the mount, striking out a career-high seven batters while allowing just one unearned run on two hits in five innings of relief to pick up the win and improve to 8-1 on the year.

The Gators jumped out to an early 2-0 lead on a Ty Evans two-run home run in the bottom of the first and extended their advantage to 3-0 by scoring on a throwing error in the third, but it was all Vols from that point forward, as Tennessee scored 16 unanswered runs.

STATS OF THE GAME: The Vols posted their fifth run-rule win during SEC play this season, including their third on the road, with Saturday’s victory.

UT’s 11-run sixth inning was tied for its most runs scored in an inning this season, matching the 11 it scored in the third inning of a 16-0 victory over ETSU on Feb. 21.

UP NEXT: The Vols return home to take on Queens on Tuesday evening at 6 p.m. before hitting the road once again for a weekend series in Nashville against Vanderbilt.

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Tennessee

Tennessee football’s 2026 schedule complete with opponents, dates

Published

6 hours ago

December 11, 2025

Press Room

Tennessee football’s 2026 schedule complete with opponents, dates

Tennessee football will host Lane Kiffin, Alex Golesh and possibly Arch Manning at Neyland Stadium in the 2026 season.

UT’s opponents for the next four seasons were previously announced. On Dec. 11, the SEC released the dates of every conference game, providing the full picture of the 2026 schedule.

Game times and television designations will be announced later.

Texas will make its first trip ever to Tennessee on Sept. 26. Manning, the Longhorns quarterback, is expected to return for the 2026 season rather than enter the NFL draft. If so, he’ll face the Vols on the home turf of his uncle, legendary quarterback Peyton Manning.

Golesh, the former UT offensive coordinator, is Auburn’s new coach. He will return to Knoxville for an Oct. 3 game.

Alabama will play at Tennessee on Oct. 17, continuing their Third Saturday in October rivalry game.

Kiffin, the polarizing former UT coach, is now coaching LSU after bolting Ole Miss after the regular season ended. He will return to Knoxville for a Nov. 21 game. Three of the five SEC teams visiting Neyland Stadium will have a first-year coach, including Kentucky’s Will Stein on Nov. 7.

Tennessee will play Alabama, Kentucky and Vanderbilt as annual SEC opponents in the league’s new nine-game conference schedule. Its other six opponents will rotate each season. That means each school will play every SEC opponent home and away every four years.

Tennessee will have one open week on Oct. 31 and thus won’t play on Halloween.

Here is Tennessee’s week-to-week schedule for the 2026 season.

Tennessee football 2026 schedule

Sept. 5: Furman
Sept. 12: At Georgia Tech
Sept. 19: Kennesaw State
Sept. 26: Texas*
Oct. 3: Auburn*
Oct. 10: At Arkansas*
Oct. 17: Alabama*
Oct. 24: At South Carolina*
Oct. 31: Open
Nov. 7: Kentucky*
Nov. 14: At Texas A&M*
Nov. 21: LSU*
Nov. 28: At Vanderbilt*

*SEC game

Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.

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Dragos Cazacu signs with Tennessee

Published

18 hours ago

December 11, 2025

Press Room

Tennessee announced the signing of graduate student Dragos Cazacu on Wednesday. He is from Constanta, Romania.

“Dragos is someone we believe can translate all of his professional experience and success seamlessly to high level college tennis,” Tennessee associate head coach Matt Lucas said. “He’s a very mature young man who has finished university in Romania, so we know the type of student athlete we are getting. Winning ITF Pro Circuit titles, all while doing his degree back home shows he will transition nicely to Tennessee in January.”

Cazacu competed on the ATP Tour prior to Tennessee. His highest ranking was No. 763 in singles and No. 495 in doubles.

Tennessee will begin its spring men’s tennis season versus ETSU on Jan. 9, 2026 at Goodfriend Tennis Center. SEC competition will begin Feb. 21, 2026 at Kentucky.

The Vols’ home opener in SEC play is scheduled for Feb. 27, 2026 versus Auburn at Goodfriend Tennis Center.

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Tennessee cornerback Jermod McCoy, potential top-10 pick, declares for NFL Draft

Published

1 day ago

December 10, 2025

Press Room

Tennessee cornerback Jermod McCoy, potential top-10 pick, declares for NFL Draft

Tennessee cornerback Jermod McCoy announced Wednesday that he will enter the 2026 NFL Draft. McCoy is a potential top-10 pick in this draft class, despite having missed the entire 2025 season with a knee injury.

A transfer from Oregon State following the 2023 season, McCoy earned first-team All-SEC and second-team All-America honors following his first season at Tennessee, in which he registered four interceptions, nine pass breakups and 44 tackles. However, McCoy suffered an ACL injury in January and did not take the field during the Volunteers’ regular season.

“(E)ven though my time on the field was cut short,” McCoy wrote in a statement shared on social media, “I will forever be grateful for my time here at the University of Tennessee. It has been a true honor, and I’m appreciative for every moment I had in the orange and white.”

McCoy (6 feet, 195 pounds) will be one of the most closely scrutinized prospects during the pre-draft cycle, as interested teams wait to see what his updated medical reports reveal.

The junior ranked No. 9 (and as the No. 1 cornerback) on Dane Brugler’s most recent draft board. He was the 16th pick, by Dallas, in Brugler’s mock draft last week.

Dane Brugler’s immediate reaction

A prospect carrying first-round tape from 2024 but no tape from 2025 is not ideal. That said, McCoy will be more than a year removed from his ACL injury when NFL team doctors examine his knee at the combine in February 2026, to (hopefully) verify full health and no long-term concerns.

The timing of his injury could turn out to be something of a positive, because McCoy should be able to work out and test at some point before the draft, giving him a chance to remind teams why he was considered a potential top-10 pick after last season.

LSU’s Mansoor Delane closed ground with his senior season — he’s made a strong case to be CB1 in this class. But McCoy is very much still in that conversation, assuming the medicals come back clean.

HOW DID HE COME UP WITH THIS? 😲
Tennessee shuts down Vandy in the end zone ❌ pic.twitter.com/aUHZeAWC8i
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) November 30, 2024
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Nick Baumgardner’s scouting report

McCoy was in a really tough spot. A case certainly could’ve been made for McCoy to return to college next year, as he’s played only one full season as a starter in the SEC. And though his 2024 season was pretty great, that performance and 400 or so snaps at Oregon State are all we have to go on here.

Physically, though, McCoy is everything you look for in a high-first-round cornerback. He’s big with very quick feet, natural instincts and terrific ball skills in coverage. Despite not playing a snap this season, McCoy still stacks up as an easy first-rounder on this year’s board, largely because of his physical potential.

Testing will be critical here, and I’m eager to see if McCoy is healthy enough to compete in either the Senior Bowl or Shrine Bowl. He should do as much as he can. We saw a talented player in a similar situation last year when now-Cardinals rookie corner Will Johnson tumbled down the board after not testing or taking part in anything physical during the pre-draft process.

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