The Vols also hold a commitment from Matt Barr, the top junior college pitcher in the country. Edmondson, Barr and Estrada are all eligible for the 2025 MLB Draft. Barr and Edmondson are both major draft risks. Barr ranks in the top 200 of the MLB Pipeline draft prospect rankings while Edmondson is a submarine pitcher with a mid-90s fastball making him attractive to professional baseball.
Tennessee
Star Bowling Green Transfer Garrett Wright Commits To Tennessee Baseball | Rocky Top Insider
Star Bowling Green catcher and outfielder Garrett Wright committed to Tennessee baseball Sunday night, a trusted source told RTI. Wright became the Vols’ fourth commit in their transfer class to date.
Wright is a two-time First Team All-MAC selection and was the MAC Defensive Player of the Year this past season. The Massillon, Ohio native entered the transfer portal Thursday with a “do not contact” tag.
A two-year standout for the Falcons, Wright is a career .396 hitter with 14 home runs, 28 doubles and 76 RBIs. Wright slashed .406/.513/.663 in his sophomore season while posting a 8.7% strikeout rate and 9.1% walk rate. While Wright hit just eight home runs last season, he broke the Bowling Green record with 20 doubles.
Wright is a catcher who can also play in the outfield and will have a chance to earn playing time at both spots next season. Tennessee likely loses starting catcher Cannon Peebles to the MLB Draft next month.
Backup Stone Lawless is very capable after starting 21 games for the Vols in his redshirt freshman season. Lawless hit .288 with five home runs but only totaled two hits in six SEC starts. Freshman Levi Clark most his starting time at designated hitter last season but came to Tennessee as a catcher. He’s also capable of playing first base and left field.
More From RTI: Three Current Vols, Three Tennessee Baseball Commits Projected To Go In First Round Of 2025 MLB Draft
Wright would potentially give Tennessee a solid catching option to pair with Lawless while his versatility would allow him to stay in the lineup even if Lawless is behind the plate.
The All-MAC transfer is Tennessee’s fifth transfer portal commit but is just the first position player Tennessee has added. Most of Tennessee’s focus in the transfer portal has been on the mound. Big South Pitcher of the Year Clay Edmondson, SoCon Pitcher of the Year Brady Frederick, Kennesaw State’s Bo Rhudy and MIT’s Mason Estrada account for the Vols’ four other commitments in the transfer portal to this point.
Rutgers weekend starter Landon Mack began a visit with Tennessee Tuesday night after posting a 6-5 record, 4.03 ERA and 1.22 WHIP in 80.1 innings pitched.
Seton Hall corner outfielder Aiden Robbins began a visit with Tennessee Wednesday night while Cal middle infielder Jarren Advincula began a visit with Tennessee on Thursday. Both were all-conference selections a season ago and are elite contact hitters. JUCO Player of the Year Tyler Myatt is committed to Tennessee as a utility man but is eligible for the MLB Draft.
The Tennessee Volunteers are in the middle of a bye-week, after last weekend’s loss to Oklahoma.
The playoffs are out of the picture, but there is still plenty of work left to do. The Vols will use this week to work on getting some guys healthy as they prepare for New Mexico State on November 15.
It will be interesting to see if there are any changes for the New Mexico State in terms of players. Will the Vols decide to go a bit younger and work in some younger guys as a way to jumpstart some guys who may battle for playing time and/or a starting position next season.
Josh Heupel met with reporters earlier today to discuss a few things as the team prepares to move forward.
Josh Heupel’s Opening Statement
“How’s everybody doing? Uh, good work today. Um, got another day tomorrow and then some of the coaches will hit the ground recruiting this week. Big focuses again on us during the bye and how we get better. So, open it up,” Heupel said.
Balancing Act
“Yeah, I think wherever your feet are and what’s important at that moment is what you got to be doing. So, uh the development of our current players, our preparation of the opponent that we’re playing, you know, for me, at times the projection of the following year in all departments you’re looking at. So, it’s a combination of all those things. December has changed a little bit on the calendar as well. That gives you a little bit more time potentially in December as well,” Heupel said.
Rotating Young Guys
“Guys that prove that they’re ready to play and play at a really high level, championship level. They earn the right to play and compete and that’s ongoing throughout the course of this season. These guys have worked really hard, disappointed in the results Saturday and a couple other during the course of the year, for sure. But man, it’s constant and consistent growth from everybody,” Heupel explained.
Click HERE to watch and listen to everything Tennessee Football head coach Josh Heupel said during his Wednesday media availability during the bye-week.
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Tennessee
Tennessee provides $5 million emergency food funding during government shutdown affecting SNAP benefits
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Tennessee is providing $5 million in emergency funding to food banks as the government shutdown continues to block federal food assistance for low-income families across the state.
The funding comes from TennCare reserve funds and will go to Second Harvest Food Bank, which will distribute the money to food banks statewide based on the number of SNAP recipients in each community.
“It’s an initial response to an immediate need,” Gov. Bill Lee said.
The emergency measure comes as food pantries report overwhelming demand. The Well’s food pantry in Spring Hill served as many families in one hour as they typically see in an entire day.
“It’s hard to see hungry families, senior citizens who have no other alternatives except to wait in the long line at a food pantry,” said Shelly Sassen, CEO of The Well.
SNAP benefits, the federal program that helps low-income families buy groceries, stopped during the shutdown, creating a food emergency across Tennessee.
“They ought to open the government now,” Gov. Lee said.
Even if the Trump administration follows a judge’s order to unlock emergency funds that could provide at least half the normal SNAP amount, Gov. Lee warns the process won’t be immediate.
“But if they release partial funding, the complexity of loading cards with a different formula than before is going to be difficult,” Gov. Lee explained.
The state’s emergency funding represents “the sort of most streamlined way to get dollars to people out, even in rural areas,” Gov. Lee added.
Food pantry volunteers describe the emotional toll of seeing increased need firsthand.
“We’re telling some folks to come back later in the day,” said one volunteer at The Well.
“When you’re here looking people in the eyes and see that they are hungry, that they need some help. That’s what really hits,” another volunteer said.
You are invited to make monetary donations, but Second Harvest Food Bank would also greatly appreciate food donations. Here is a list of suggested items:
- Peanut Butter
- Canned Meat (Chicken or Tuna)
- Canned Vegetables
- Canned Fruit
- Canned Meals (Entree or Soup)
- Pasta
- Pasta Sauce
- Cereal
- Rice
- Beans (Canned or Dry)
You can drop off food donations at the following locations:
- Second Harvest Nashville — 331 Great Circle Road Nashville, TN
- Second Harvest Symrna — 1958 Almaville Road Smyrna, TN
- Second Harvest Camden — 69 Benton Industrial Road Camden, TN
- Any Middle Tennessee Kroger location
You can find your nearest Kroger location by clicking here.
Are you someone being affected by not receiving SNAP benefits? You can email me at Patsy.Montesinos@Newschannel5.com
Vandy’s band of misfits turns heads with 7-1 start
This is a story I immediately went home and showed my boys – young athletes with big dreams. The Vanderbilt football team’s success has stolen the spotlight – what I love about Steve Layman’s story is he reveals the individual hardships it took to get there. As Clark Lea says, “we all have scuff marks.” This team proves perseverance pays off!
– Carrie Sharp
Wide receiver Chimere Dike is the first Tennessee Titans player to find the end zone on a punt return since Darius Reynaud back in 2012.
Dike returned a punt 67 yards in the first quarter to give the Titans a 14-3 lead in the first quarter of the team’s Week 9 matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers. Dike spoke about what it felt like to get his first touchdown on a punt return.
“Oh, it’s good. I mean, I think that — I’m more happy for our unit. We talk about it all the time. So, those guys work their tail off for me every Sunday. Finally do my job and finish off the run and get into the endzone,” Dike said postgame.
Dike nearly scored a touchdown earlier in the season, but it was called back after a penalty from linebacker Cedric Gray. This time, the special teams unit prevailed as Dike got his score.
“Yeah, in a meeting him and KB (Kendell Brooks), we talked about it as a unit, we’ve been increasing teams and having explosive returns, but you know we wanted to have a spark for the offense and the rest of the team and put it in a box, so to be able to do that it felt good,” Dike said of the special teams unit.
Dike has been getting snaps at wide receiver and special teams and it has led to him leading the league in all-purpose yards over the course of the first half of the season. He has a knack for getting strong returns.
“I caught it, I saw the gunners were both split, both of the zeros did a really good job. It was a one-on-one with their net, then he got missed and then popped out to the right. And I saw about three rip by and then a bunch of blue jerseys. I knew it was a touchdown,” Dike said of his scoring play.
Despite Dike’s efforts, the Titans lost the game to fall to 1-8 on the season. They now advance to the bye week, where they will have a chance to correct some errors.
“Yeah, I mean, I think the penalties in first half were really big,” Dike said. “I think just the negative plays, right? We’re running the football really well, but getting behind the sticks is tough. And I’m sure we’re going to look back and there’s other things. But I think that comes to mind.”
Make sure you bookmark Tennessee Titans on SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more!
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