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Finley Bates commits to Tennessee baseball as San Diego State transfer infielder

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5 months ago

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Finley Bates commits to Tennessee baseball as San Diego State transfer infielder


Finley Bates has committed to Tennessee baseball as a San Diego State transfer infielder.

Bates is a career .296 hitter in two seasons. He has an almost even strikeout-to-walk ratio in his career with 65 strikeouts and 62 walks. He walked 40 times while striking out 30 times in 2025, while hitting .300. He announced his commitment on social media on July 10.

The 5-foot-10 infielder was named the Mountain West Freshman of the Year in 2024. He played 55 games at second base and 60 at shortstop in his college career. He is from Castle Rock, Colorado.

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Bates is the fifth hitter in Tennessee’s transfer class, including the two two-way players among its 12 members.

UT also landed first baseman/outfielder Henry Ford from Virginia and catcher/outfielder Garrett Wright from Bowling Green. It landed former Bowling Green two-way player DJ Newman and ex-Rice two-way player Blaine Brown.

Ford hit .348 with 28 homers and 115 RBIs in two seasons at Virginia. 

The right-handed Ford was a second-team All-ACC selection as a sophomore after hitting .362 with 11 home runs and 46 RBIs in 51 games.

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TRACKER: Tennessee baseball transfer tracker: Vols, Tony Vitello building 2026 roster in portal

Wright is coming off his second straight All-MAC season. He hit .406 with eight homers and 48 RBIs. He also had 20 doubles and four triples to post 32 extra-base hits with a .663 slugging percentage. Wright is a career .396 hitter with 14 homers and 76 RBIs in two seasons at Bowling Green. .

Newman hit .388 with 15 home runs and 64 RBIs in 101 games in three seasons at Bowling Green.

Brown was a unanimous freshman All-American and an All-AAC pick as a designated hitter after hitting .292 with 10 homers and 38 RBIs. He hit 12 doubles among his 61 hits and walked 21 times. The left-handed hitter played some outfield.

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Tennessee also has seven pitchers committed.

Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on X @ByMikeWilson. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.





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Tennessee

Tennessee football’s 2026 schedule complete with opponents, dates

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9 hours ago

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December 11, 2025

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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.

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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.

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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

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22 hours ago

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December 11, 2025

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Dragos Cazacu signs with Tennessee


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.

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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.

More: Tennessee tennis signs No. 1 ranked junior player

Follow Vols Wire on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter).



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

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1 day ago

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December 10, 2025

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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.

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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.

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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