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#3 Tennessee clinches seventh straight SEC series win in Gainesville

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#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.

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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.

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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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Tracking every Tennessee Titans pre-NFL draft visit for 2026

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Tracking every Tennessee Titans pre-NFL draft visit for 2026


The 2026 NFL Draft is less than a month away, which means it’s time to start paying extra close attention to the Tennessee Titans’ moves and visits.

In the weeks leading up to the NFL draft, teams are allowed to bring up to 30 prospects to their facilities for visits with coaches and executives, on top of the meetings coaches, scouts and executives can hold with prospects on college campuses after pro days.

Pre-draft meetings aren’t everything; seven of the nine players the Titans drafted in 2025 never took reported visits or meetings with the team prior to being picked. But touch points like these are interesting looks into the team’s thought process as far as which positions need to be evaluated and which players merit closer looks.

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Based on player comments, social media posts and national reports, here is a running track of which players have visited or are expected to visit with the Titans, sorted by player rank in the consensus player rater.

Tennessee Titans NFL draft 2026 visits tracker: Which best draft prospects available are talking with the Titans?

Jeremiyah Love, RB, Notre Dame (No. 4 prospect)

Love visited the Titans’ facility shortly after the conclusion of his impressive showing at the NFL combine, according to posts he made on social media.

Rueben Bain Jr., DL/Edge, Miami (No. 7 prospect)

Bain told CBS Sports following his Miami pro day workout that he had a visit scheduled with the Titans. Bain also met with the Titans at the NFL combine.

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Carnell Tate, WR, Ohio State (No. 9 prospect)

Tate told reporters after Ohio State’s pro day that the Titans are among the five teams he has scheduled visits with. Other teams picking in the top 10 who have Tate on their radar include the New York Giants, Cleveland Browns, New Orleans Saints and Kansas City Chiefs.

Mansoor Delane, CB, LSU (No. 10 prospect)

Per a report from Ryan Fowler, the Titans scheduled a visit with Delane, the consensus pick for the top cornerback in this draft class.

Makai Lemon, WR, Southern Cal (No. 14 prospect)

The reigning Biletnikoff Award winner as college football’s best wide receiver, Lemon has a visit scheduled with the Titans, per a report from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

KC Concepcion, WR, Texas A&M (No. 32 prospect)

Concepcion, an impressive field stretcher out of Texas A&M, told reporters at his pro day that the Titans are one of six teams he has scheduled meetings with. Concepcion is considered a fringe first-round pick who might be gone or might be ripe for the picking when the Titans use their second-round pick at No. 35.

Caleb Banks, DL, Florida (No. 35 prospect)

Banks told reporters after Florida’s pro day that he had a visit scheduled with the Titans, along with visits to Kansas City, Baltimore, Detroit, Arizona, Denver, Atlanta and the Chargers.

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Treydan Stukes, CB, Arizona (No. 65 prospect)

Stukes told Sports Illustrated that he took a meeting with the Titans, putting him on the radar as a potential third-round pick candidate.

Tristan Leigh, OT, Clemson (No. 271 prospect)

Leigh, a three-year starter at left tackle for Clemson, has visited with the Titans, per a report from Fowler.

Travis Burke, OT, Memphis (No. 354 prospect)

Burke is a bottom-of-the-draft offensive lineman prospect who visited with the Titans, per Sports Illustrated’s Justin Melo.

Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at  nsuss@gannett.com. Follow Nick on X @nicksuss. Subscribe to the Talkin’ Titans newsletter for updates sent directly to your inbox.



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What we learned as Vanderbilt baseball sweeps Tennessee for first time since 2013

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What we learned as Vanderbilt baseball sweeps Tennessee for first time since 2013


For a Vanderbilt vs Tennessee baseball rivalry already full of lore, the Commodores added a unique chapter with their weekend series at Hawkins Field.

Vanderbilt (17-12, 5-4 SEC) won all three games via walk-off: 3-2 win in 10 innings on March 27; 6-5 in 16 innings on March 28, and 16-15 on March 29. The final game ended with an “ultimate grand slam” by Tommy Goodin while down three in the bottom of the ninth inning to sweep the 21st-ranked Vols (18-10, 3-6).

The three games were all different, with the opener being a pitchers duel between Connor Fennell and Tennessee’s Brandon Arvidson and Tegan Kuhns. The second game was a marathon in which each team had one five-run inning. In the third game, pitchers on both sides were still feeling the effects of the previous game as Vanderbilt won a high-scoring shootout.

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“Emotionally, that’s probably going be my biggest concern,” coach Tim Corbin said. ” . . . It’s a lot of baseball. But I think the strength is these kids are young. They’ve got a day to get back, kind of get their body back a little bit, to stay away from here. There’s a ripple effect that takes place from playing three games, emotionally draining and tough games.”

Here’s what we learned.

Vanderbilt’s offense comes through when it needs to

Vanderbilt this season has often struggled to get the big hit, constantly leaving runners stranded. This weekend, the Commodores were able to come through with timely hits. Brodie Johnston recorded eight hits in the series, including a home run, while Ryker Waite had two doubles and a home run among his four hits.

Different players came through in every big situation. In Game 1, Logan Johnstone had the walk-off single. In Game 2, Mike Mancini and Ryker Waite both hit home runs and Mack Whitcomb had the walk-off squeeze bunt. In Game 3, Johnston and Rustan Rigdon hit home runs, while Johnstone, Chris Maldonado and Whitcomb each had a pair of RBIs.

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Vanderbilt hit for plenty of power, too, with four doubles and six home runs in the series. The Vols had three doubles and two homers.

“It was a wild series,” Corbin said. “Polarizing, no doubt, felt that way, too. I think that’s why it becomes very emotional, because you have periods of not moving the ball and periods of moving the ball. So always comes down to timely hits, doesn’t it?”

Vanderbilt finds bullpen contributors

With six pitchers injured, including Austin Nye, who is out for the season, Vanderbilt has struggled to get production out of its bullpen. While that group was up and down throughout the series, the Commodores got significant production out of a few arms they hadn’t in the past.

In Game 2, freshman Tyler Baird pitched five scoreless innings, walking two and striking out four. Going into the outing, he’d had an ERA of 6.89, with 12 walks in 15⅔ innings, and hadn’t lasted even an inning last week against Mississippi State. Replacing him, fellow freshman Nate Schlote threw three scoreless innings, with two walks and three strikeouts. In Game 3, Jakob Schulz threw 3⅔ scoreless innings, with one walk and two strikeouts.

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“That’s really what it is, you’re pitching for the first few times in the conference, you get tentative,” Corbin said. “(Baird) was tentative against Mississippi State. But I also know that that bus ride was probably a long one for him, and (pitching coach Scott Brown) did a good job of grabbing him right away, like a little small car accident, getting him back in the driver’s seat again to drive, and he did. Made a good adjustment.”

Vanderbilt gets back on track

The Commodores were reeling entering the week. They’d lost five straight games, including getting swept at Mississippi State. There were questions of whether they would even make the postseason.

Now they are in a better spot. With new contributors in the bullpen and the offense stepping up, Vanderbilt can feel better heading to Texas A&M for a weekend series April 3-5.

“I think it’ll be very huge,” Goodin said. “I think this is a very big, big boost . . . This definitely could be a really good turning point for all of us. And, you know, really going in there and playing at the caliber that we play at, just like this, it’s awesome.”

Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at agerson@gannett.com or on X @aria_gerson.

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Has Tennessee ever made a Final Four? Vols hope third time’s a charm under Barnes

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Has Tennessee ever made a Final Four? Vols hope third time’s a charm under Barnes


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For the third straight season, Rick Barnes has Tennessee basketball in the Elite Eight. After Sunday, March 29’s game against No. 1 Michigan, he’s hoping to have taken the Vols where they’ve never been before.

Despite becoming a March Madness fixture, the Tennessee Vols have never, in their history, made the Final Four. Despite a pedigree of modest success, including 11 regular season SEC titles and and five conference tournament championships (most recently in 2022), Tennessee has not been able to cross the threshold to college basketball’s most coveted weekend.

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The Barnes era marks the closest Tennessee has come, with consistency, even though its best shot arguably came before Barnes’ time. The Vols’ first Elite Eight trip was under Bruce Pearl in 2010, while Barnes was still roaming the Longhorns bench in Texas.

Barnes has taken Tennessee to the 2024, 2025, and 2026 Elite Eights. There’s an argument to be made 2026 is his most impressive run yet, as a No. 6 seed in the Midwest bracket.

The Vols went as a No. 2 seed in both 2024 and 2025, ultimately losing to the No. 1 seeds of their respective brackets in the Elite Eight. While it could be easy to think it will be more of the same Sunday against No. 1 Michigan, Tennessee has now taken down No. 3 Virginia and No. 2 Iowa State to get to this point. So perhaps one more upset is in store.

Has Tennessee basketball ever made a Final Four?

Tennessee has not made a Final Four in its history, making it one of five SEC schools to not get to the national semifinal round.

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The others are Missouri, Mississippi, Texas A&M, and Vanderbilt. Alabama basketball made its first Final Four in 2024.

Tennessee basketball Elite Eight record

The Vols are 0-4 in the Elite Eight, with losses in 2010, 2024, 2025, and 2026.

Here’s a look at their full history in the fourth full round of the tournament.

  • 2010: No. 5 Michigan State 70, No. 6 Tennessee 69
  • 2024: No. 1 Purdue 72, No. 2 Tennessee 66
  • 2025: No. 1 Houston 69, No. 2 Tennessee 50
  • 2026: TBD, vs. No. 1 Michigan

Rick Barnes Elite Eight record

Barnes is not just defined by his career at Tennessee. He does have a Final Four appearance, winning his first Elite Eight game with Texas in 2003. Since then, though, he is 0-4 in the Elite Eight, with two losses at both Texas and Tennessee.



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