Tennessee
Tennessee baseball powers past Rice to notch 10-0 start to 2025 season
Tennessee baseball powers past Rice to notch 10-0 start to 2025 season
Tennessee baseball continued its excellent showing in the Astros Foundation Classic in Houston.
The Vols powered past Rice 13-3
to mark its second win in the event in as many days.
This came after Tennessee (10-0) downed Oklahoma State on Friday in the event. This time, it was the Owls (2-7) who were on the tracks for the Vols’ dominant start on the mound and at the plate resulting in 10 uncontested wins to open the year.
TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM
Getting the ball to start was Marcus Phillips. He allowed a run in the first inning off a wild pitch with the bases loaded, but settled in nicely afterward. Phillips went 4.2 innings while giving up five hits and a run while striking out eight.
After Phillips, Brayden Sharp entered. He went 1.1 innings issuing one walk, no hits and striking out two.
Nic Abraham, Michael Sharman, Austin Breedlove, Tanner Wiggins and Brayden Krenzel followed to round out the game.
At the plate, it was another healthy dose of power. Levi Clark ripped his fifth home run of his young freshman season despite still battling for consistent plate appearances given the depth of the roster.
Gavin Kilen also continued his hot streak. After roping two home runs in Friday’s win over the Cowboys, Kilen found the outfield seats again with a solo shot.
That wasn’t it for him, either. He hit his fourth home run in two days with another home run in the seventh. He also smacked a two-RBI triple. He also decided a double to finish 4-for-5 with four RBI, five runs and a walk.
WHAT HAPPENED
Tennessee got its offense rolling early, but without necessarily using its bats. The Vols put up three runs in the first inning without a single hit.
Instead, Tennessee used a double steal and error, throwing error and sacrifice fly to go along with four walks to put the trio of runs on the board.
In the bottom of the frame, Phillips got the ball. He allowed a run to score by tossing a wild pitch with one out and the bases loaded. He stopped the bleeding there, though.
The Vols would have his back in the top of the second. The bats finally woke up with two outs in the inning. After Kilen doubled, Hunter Ensley singled to push him home. Then, with two on, Clark hit a home run to make it a 7-1 game.
Tennessee and Rice would trade 1-2-3 innings before the bats sparked back up in the top of the fourth. It was Kilen who went yard for a solo shot to make it a seven-run game.
Phillips was pulled for Sharp who got out of the fifth. Kilen would add to the lead in the sixth with another home run.
In the seventh, Rice found some success and put up two runs on the Vols’ bullpen. Tennessee fired back with a Kilen triple to score two.
Ensley singled for another RBI, as well. To make it a nine-run game in the middle of the eighth.
In the ninth, Tennessee got another boost to make it a 10-run advantage. Stone Lawless doubled off the wall to push across one more.
UP NEXT
Tennessee has one final game remaining in its trip to Houston. Sunday morning, at 11:05 a.m. ET, the Vols will face Arizona.
You can watch the game on Astros.com.
Tennessee returns to Knoxville on Tuesday to face Radford. The Vols will turn around to play Xavier the following day. That’s before St. Bonaventure comes to town for a weekend slate of games.
Next week is the last full week of out-of-conference games. Tennessee opens its SEC slate at home against Florida from March 14-16.
Tennessee
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.
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.
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.
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.
Tennessee
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.
“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.
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.
“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.
Tennessee
Has Tennessee ever made a Final Four? Vols hope third time’s a charm under Barnes
How Tennessee basketball made it back to third straight Elite Eight appearance
Tennessee basketball wanted to exploit Iowa State’s lack of depth in its 76-62 Men’s NCAA Tournament win
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.
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.
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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