Chase Dollander was called up by the Colorado Rockies on Friday, setting up the Tennessee baseball product to make his MLB debut.

Dollander is the seventh player from the Tony Vitello era to reach the major leagues. The No. 9 overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft is the third to do so with the Rockies, following outfielder Jordan Beck and pitcher Seth Halvorsen. Beck and Halvorsen made their MLB debuts last season and are on the Rockies’ roster.

Dollander was ranked as the No. 25 MLB prospect in January and is Colorado’s top prospect. He is 27-11 with a 3.32 ERA in 69 minor league games with 66 starts. He has 466 strikeouts in 339 innings with 120 walks.

He made 23 starts in the minor leagues between High-A Spokane and AA Hartford last season. He was 6-2 with a 2.59 ERA and 169 strikeouts in 118 innings with 47 walks. He opened the season with AAA Albuquerque, where he made one start and struck out five in four innings of one-run baseball.

Chase Dollander called up to MLB by Colorado Rockies

Dollander had 238 strikeouts in 168 innings at Tennessee and had a 3.64 ERA at Tennessee in the 2022 and 2023 seasons. The Evans, Georgia, native went 10-0 with a 2.39 ERA in 2022 and was named the SEC pitcher of the year. He earned numerous All-American honors for his sophomore season. He was 7-6 with a 4.75 ERA as a junior in 2023, but settled in late in the season after a rocky start in the first couple months.

The 6-foot-2, 200-pound Dollander struck out 10 or more batters nine times in 31 starts for Tennessee.

He is the highest-drafted pitcher under Vitello and only Christian Moore was drafted higher. Moore was picked No. 8 by the Los Angeles Angels in the 2024 MLB Draft.

Dollander transferred to Tennessee after a strong freshman season at Georgia Southern, where he was 4-3 with a 4.01 ERA.

Chase Dollander is the seventh Vol coach by Tony Vitello to reach MLB

Dollander is the fifth Vol currently in the major leagues.

Pitcher Garrett Crochet debuted with the Chicago White Sox in 2020 when he skipped the minor leagues and debuted in the same year he was drafted No. 11 overall. He earned an all-star bid in 2024 as a star starter for the White Sox, who traded him to the Boston Red Sox before the 2025 season.

Pitcher Ben Joyce debuted for the Los Angeles Angels on May 29, 2023, less than a year after the hard-throwing reliever was selected in the third round of the 2022 MLB Draft.

RUSSELL: What’s next for AJ Russell after starting for Tennessee baseball vs Tennessee Tech

Beck, who was the No. 38 pick in the 2022 draft, made his debut with the Colorado Rockies on April 30, 2024. Halvorsen was called up on August 30, 2024, and made his debut a day later with the Colorado Rockies.

Andre Lipcius made his debut on Sept. 1, 2023 with the Detroit Tigers, who drafted Lipcius in the third round of the 2019 MLB Draft with the No. 83 pick. Trey Lipscomb debuted with the Washington Nationals on March 30, 2024. He was picked in the third round of the 2022 MLB Draft. Lipcius and Lipscomb are currently at AAA with the White Sox and Nationals, respectively.

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

SELMER, Tenn. (WMC) – The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency reports more than 20 injuries and multiple deaths in McNairy County.

Action News 5 has learned from several county officials that four people lost their lives after an EF-3 tornado hit the county overnight Thursday.

Action News 5’s crews on the ground Thursday saw several areas near the middle of Selmer, Tennessee, and outskirts of the town destroyed.

Some businesses and homes received significant damage, others are gone.

The American Red Cross has opened a shelter at the Selmer Community Center and is offering hot meals to those in need.

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, Congressman David Kustoff, and other state officials surveyed damage in Selmer on Thursday.

Law enforcement agencies in and outside of Selmer are assisting with emergency recovery efforts, including the Selmer Police Department, Tennessee Highway Patrol, and others.

Tennessee Task Force One, from Memphis, also assisted with recovery efforts.

The threat of severe weather is not over yet. Emergency officials are urging residents to be vigilant as rain and potential flooding are expected throughout the week.

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Former Tennessee Volunteers QB Joe Milton is on the move, and he’s going to a very prominent location: the Dallas Cowboys.

Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Milton is heading to “America’s Team” from the Patriots for a very light trade package. The Pats are sending Milton and a seventh-round pick to Dallas for a compensatory (which are the picks at the end of the round) fifth round pick.

That’s an interesting move, as it’s not for much at all. Perhaps just over a round in a pick swap. However, apparently the Patriots had a better offer on the table, but accepted the Cowboys’ offer to send Milton to where he preferred.

The move made sense under the circumstances, as Drake Maye is New England’s unquestioned starter and they obtained fellow former Vol Josh Dobbs last month in free agency. That made it easier to part with Milton, who moves into a pretty decent situation in Dallas.

The Cowboys have only Dak Prescott and Will Grier under contract. Cooper Rush is off to Baltimore and Trey Lance is a free agent. As such, given the roster makeup right now, Milton has a solid shot at the backup gig behind Prescott, although one has to think Dallas will continue to address the QB position the remainder of the offseason.

Prescott has shown to be injury prone, making it through every game of the season just once since 2019 (in 2023). So if Milton finds a way to secure the backup job, history says he could have a solid shot at seeing game action.

We’ll see how things go, but it’s worth monitoring how things go this offseason in Dallas at the QB position.