Connect with us

Tennessee

Dylan Dreiling is writing his Tennessee baseball legend in CWS. It’s no surprise.

Published

on

Dylan Dreiling is writing his Tennessee baseball legend in CWS. It’s no surprise.


OMAHA, Neb. — AJ Russell smirked and shook his head.

The Tennessee baseball pitcher walked off the field in awe of Dylan Dreiling again. Russell is hardly alone. It’s a state that is enveloping all comers at Charles Schwab Field during the Vols’ crusade through the College World Series.

If it hasn’t caught you yet, you’re not paying attention. 

Advertisement

“If you have been watching Tennessee baseball, you know Dylan Dreiling is pretty clutch,” Vols second baseman Christian Moore said.

Dreiling, the soft-spoken, hard-swinging outfielder, is crafting a legend in Omaha. His latest installment of heroism ensured Tennessee’s season didn’t end Sunday and is giving the Vols (59-13) a shot at the program’s first national title. He bashed a two-run homer that crashed into the railing over the Tennessee bullpen in right field, propelling the Vols toward a 4-1 win and forcing a Game 3 on Monday (7 p.m. ET, ESPN) against Texas A&M (53-14).

This is what Dreiling does.

What makes Dylan Dreiling a lethal presence in the Tennessee baseball lineup

Dreiling greeted Vols hitting coach and third-base coach Josh Elander as he rounded the bases Sunday.

Advertisement

All he did was grin.

“He is just a pro,” Elander said. “He is always under control. It is nothing crazy flashy one way or the other.”

The former is how Dreiling excels. The latter is how he often flies under the radar. He is a professional hitter who shows up and produces.

It starts with an unflappable demeanor, which is why he readily rises in the biggest moments. That presence dates back to his high school career in Hays, Kansas. He played for the Hays Larks, a collegiate summer team managed by his grandfather, Frank Leo. He did that instead of typical summer ball games, surrounding himself from an early age with mature players.

Advertisement

That is the foundation of what Elander labels “a pretty special makeup.”

“He just wants to play ball,” Elander said. “I think that is why he is going to play for a long time. He is more of a pro now than I think a lot of our guys have been.”

Dreiling pairs his settled attitude with insane hitting skills. The draft-eligible sophomore is a master of the strike zone whose analytics and metrics are off the charts, Elander said. He is strong and selective at the plate while making constant hard contact, a dangerous combination for any pitcher to grapple with during an at-bat.

Sunday’s homer was his 22nd of the season, tied for the fourth-most in Tennessee history.

“It is real juice,” Elander said. “He can get you.”

Advertisement

How Dylan Dreiling is becoming a College World Series legend

Dreiling opened a water bottle and beamed at catcher Cal Stark during a postgame interview Sunday before Stark gave his opinion on why Dreiling came through again.

“I think his heart just kind of stays calm, his mind stays calm,” Stark said. “I feel like he’s kind of built for those moments.”

Dreiling has shown it often in his career. He smashed a pinch-hit, two-out, two-strike homer against Vanderbilt in a game that flipped UT’s 2023 season. He hit late homers against Georgia and Queens this season and had a mammoth hit against LSU in April.

He is hitting .422 with five homers, 12 RBIs and 14 runs in the NCAA Tournament.

Advertisement

Dreiling dialed it up in Omaha. He walked off Florida State in UT’s opener with a single to cap a four-run ninth inning. That was his first four-hit day in the College World Series. The second was Saturday in the opener of the final against Texas A&M. He didn’t have a four-hit game in 67 games before the CWS.

He is hitting .500 in Tennessee’s five games in the CWS with two homers and eight RBIs. He hasn’t been held hitless, but was until the seventh inning Sunday. He stepped in with Moore on second and with the tip that Texas A&M reliever Kaiden Wilson had a rising fastball.

The Vols were confident as always in Dreiling.

“I think you are just going to get a quality at-bat,” Elander said. “That is what we are looking for. He has been able to hit some big ones. We want quality there and he is going to give it to us.”

MAKEUP: The summer that set Dylan Dreiling on path as Tennessee baseball’s quiet superstar

Advertisement

Dreiling focused on keeping his heart rate low and to get a ball down in the zone. He crushed a 1-1 pitch, unleashing all of his power and a brief batch of emotion.

“It was a sweet swing,” Moore said. “It was beautiful.”

Dreiling glanced to Stark earlier in postgame interviews Sunday and expressed he had given a “pretty good” answer.

“You could run for office,” Vols coach Tony Vitello said.

If Dreiling does it again Monday, it won’t be a quip anymore.

Advertisement

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





Source link

Tennessee

Flag Day: East Tennessee couple builds wooden American flags by hand

Published

on

Flag Day: East Tennessee couple builds wooden American flags by hand


SEVIERVILLE, Tenn. — Dennis and LaNelle Fawver don’t wave a fabric flag. They build them by hand out of wood.

Six years ago, the couple made their very first wooden American flag — not to sell, but to give to Dennis’s younger brother, who had just been diagnosed with stage four cancer.

“So, we were in the middle of making our very first one when we got a call that my younger brother had stage four cancer and he was about to pass,” Dennis Fawver said.

They finished that flag, put his name on it and a cancer awareness ribbon and took it back to him for a surprise.

Advertisement

“As soon as we gave it to him, you know, he just smiled and got bright and seemed happy,” Dennis Fawver said.

His brother, Randy Behrends, later passed away. But that moment of joy sparked a business, and Dennis says it still drives every flag he makes.

“It just shows patriotic. I mean, just red, white, and blue,” Dennis Fawver said.

The Fawvers make flags for every branch of the military, law enforcement, medical workers, corrections officers and even fully custom flags with names and sayings.

For LaNelle, a former nurse, the reward is different — it’s the moment someone unwraps one.

Advertisement

“I just like seeing people’s faces when they get them. We make a lot of birthday presents, a lot of anniversaries, Father’s Day presents. That’s a biggie for us. And to see the dads and the reactions on their faces when they see it, that’s the best part. I enjoy making them happy when they see. They get something that means something to them,” LaNelle Fawver said.

That joy — the same joy his brother showed — is what keeps Dennis going.

“So that kind of inspired us like, well, if he liked it that much, you know, and other people commented. So we just started making them and would give them away to friends and family,” Dennis Fawver said.

The Fawvers sell their wooden flags at the Great Smoky Mountains Flea Market and online.

Copyright 2026 WVLT. All rights reserved.

Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading

Tennessee

Tennessee Football Hosted SEC Cornerback Commit on Official Visit This Weekend | Rocky Top Insider

Published

on

Tennessee Football Hosted SEC Cornerback Commit on Official Visit This Weekend | Rocky Top Insider


(Photo via Ryan Sylvia | RTI)

Tennessee football is continuing to make pushes for top targets on its board despite prospects’ commitment status. On Saturday, the Vols flipped Alabama commit Kenneth Simon II to join the 2027 class. On Sunday, Dayon Cooper decommitted from Florida State after his official visit to see the Vols.

UT has its eyes set on another currently committed target, as well. Mississippi State commit Brandon Allen Jr. just completed his official visit to Knoxville this past weekend, according to his Instagram story.

Allen ranks as a three-star recruit, according to 247 Composite. He is the No. 627 recruit in the nation, No. 65 cornerback and No. 76 player from the state of Georgia. He plays for Westlake High School in Atlanta. That’s the same school that current UT receiver Travis Smith Jr. played for.

More From RTI: Five-Star Recruiting Target Took Official Visit to Tennessee Football This Weeekend

Tennessee isn’t the only team trying to flip Allen, though. According to 247, along with the Vols and Mississippi State, Allen is also taking official visits to South Carolina, Virginia Tech, Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech. Ironically, UT will face all of those teams, except the Hokies and MSU, next season on its 2026 schedule, with each being played on the road.

Advertisement

Tennessee is a bit late to join the recruitment of Allen, but it could make a big enough impact to reel him in. UT offered him on May 7 of this year. This came from new cornerbacks coach, Derek Jones, who was hired to join the staff of newly hired Vols defensive coordinator Jim Knowles this offseason.

Tennessee currently holds 15 commitments in the 2027 class and sits outside the top 25 nationally in both 247 and Rivals rankings. However, with official visits continuing to be held, the Vols are putting themself in a position to bolster the group and climb the rankings.



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Tennessee

Indiana man found after going missing in Nashville

Published

on

Indiana man found after going missing in Nashville


NASHVILLE, Tenn. — An Indiana man who traveled to Tennessee for the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival has been found after he was reported missing for over 48 hours.

The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department previously issued a statement asking for the public’s assistance in locating 28-year-old Trevor Lines.

28-year-old Trvor Lines, provided by MNPD

Lines reportedly left a short-term rental on Douglas Avenue, where he was staying with friends early Thursday and never returned.

Lines’ friends told law enforcement that they left around 5 a.m. to search for someone’s phone, when they returned within an hour, Lines and his vehicle were gone. His phone and medication were left inside the residence.

Advertisement

His 2016 Lexus with a Purdue University plate was picked up by license plate readers east of Nashville in Mt. Juliet around 7:30 a.m. on Friday and later at 4:30 p.m. in Goodlettsville, which is north of Nashville. Although Nashville does not use LPRs.

Lines had reportedly been visiting Tennessee for the Bonnaroo festival in Coffee County. Nashville police have alerted the Tennessee Highway Patrol and Coffee County authorities to be on the lookout for Lines.

Lines’ older brother, Kyle Smith, told FOX59/CBS4’s sister station, WKRN, he’s worried. Lines is reportedly from the northern part of Indiana, so he’s unfamiliar with Middle Tennessee.

“We’re hoping that maybe he ended up in a local hospital somewhere… The doubts are definitely creeping in, and it feels more and more likely that something bad has happened,” Smith said.

However, shortly before 8:15 p.m. on Saturday, the MNPD announced Lines was discovered in his car outside the Goodlettsville Skate Center, adding that he’s being reunited with his family.

Advertisement

No additional details have been made available at this time regarding the circumstances surrounding Lines’ disappearance or his discovery.



Source link

Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending