Tennessee
Tony Vitello Provides Tennessee Fall Ball Injury Updates Ahead Of Weekend Exhibitions | Rocky Top Insider
Tennessee baseball heads west on Interstate-40 to play a pair of fall exhibitions this weekend. The Vols face Western Kentucky in Nashville on Friday night before facing Troy in Jackson on Sunday afternoon.
The exhibitions will provide a chance for Tennessee to get some work against an opponent other than themselves while also providing fans to get a look at Vitello’s eighth Tennessee squad with an abundance of new faces.
A few of the noticeable returning faces from Tennessee’s 2024 National Championship team won’t be available for the Vols this weekend against the Hilltoppers or Trojans according to Tony Vitello. Both utility man Dalton Bargo and infielder Ariel Antigua will be out after suffering injuries.
Bargo has been out the last week with a hand injury and Vitello noted that “he’s a little banged up right now” and that he doesn’t expect him to play this weekend.
The former Missouri transfer played in 50 games and started 27 a season ago for Tennessee, hitting .280 with eight home runs, four doubles and 27 RBIs. Bargo can play a number of different positions but will be thick in the competition to start at both first base and left field.
More From RTI: Everything Tony Vitello Said As Tennessee Baseball Works Through Fall Practice
Sophomore infielder Ariel Antigua has also been out as of late with a finger injury. He’s played in the field a little bit the last week but hasn’t been hitting or throwing overhanded.
“It’s frustrating because he really loves to play and therefore plays at a hundred miles an hour all the time and you’d much rather have that as a coach and you gotta rear it in, but it definitely still needs to be reared in,” Vitello said. “So that’s my preface to a story where he slides into first base, a crazy play, defensively, not sliding in as a base runner and jammed his finger.”
A similar injury sidelined Antigua to begin last season and hampered his offensive development as a freshman where he hit .217 with two doubles and four RBIs. Antigua earned a role as a late inning defensive replacement at shortstop last season. But while he’s worked there some this fall, he’s spending more time at second base and has worked at third base.
Another player worth monitoring their availability this weekend is Louisville infield transfer Gavin Kilen. The star transfer has missed some time in recent weeks and since returning this week has only served as designated hitter and hasn’t played in the field.
The Vols will play 14 innings against Western Kentucky on Friday. The number of innings are not yet set for the exhibition against Troy on Sunday. First pitch on Friday is at 7 p.m. ET at First Horizon Park while first pitch on Sunday is at 1 p.m. ET at Jackson Baseball Stadium.
J.P. Estrella backpedalled down the court.
The Tennessee basketball forward had already nodded his head and flexed after dunking for second-chance points. He threw in a clap for good measure, the smallest of his celebrations after a flurry of eyebrow-raising scoring plays against Northern Kentucky.
“It changes everything and he can do more,” Vols coach Rick Barnes said. “I promise you he can do more of that.”
Estrella gave the latest glimmer of his vast offensive talent for No. 17 Tennessee (2-0) in its 95-56 win against Northern Kentucky (1-0) on Nov. 8 at Food City Center. He scored 17 points and had 11 rebounds, leading to Barnes’ glowing review after he poured in points in 20 minutes.
The 6-foot-11 Estrella had a 12-point, five-rebound debut against Mercer on Nov. 3, which was a good start in his first game back following foot surgery in November 2024.
His game against Northern Kentucky was a declaration of the offensive talent the Vols have always known he possessed.
“It really helps because nobody can really stop him down there in the paint,” Vols guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie said. “If he is using his size and playing how he has been playing, we should be really good.”
Estrella is Tennessee’s best post-up threat and around-the-rim scorer, which is what he was expected to be.
Felix Okpara and Cade Phillips both can score, but not like Estrella. He’s a player the Vols can play through and toss the ball into with his back to the basket whenever they desire. He also can step out and shoot 3-pointers.
It’s that skill that made him a four-star recruit and a player the Vols — as well as the likes of Duke and Kansas — coveted. He flashed it as a freshman in 2023-24, but missed all but three games in the 2024-25 season due to a foot injury.
The sophomore from Maine is finally healthy and is a perfect fit for a team that will lean heavily on Gillespie and Nate Ament to be the leading scorers. He looks like the top candidate to be the third-leading scorer.
But there is no question he changes the offense as defenses have to watch him closely.
“They’ve got to respect him,” Ament said. “They have to help on his post-ups. The better he is playing offensively, the better we will be playing as a team.”
Estrella proved that against Northern Kentucky with every touch.
He scored through contact. He made multiple short lefty hook shots. He got second-chance points. He tipped in his own miss. He facilitated his teammates scoring. He placed himself well to get the ball and score.
After it all, Barnes still thinks Estrella has no clue how good he can be yet. But he thinks he will find out — and Tennessee will be at its best if he does.
“There is so much more there,” Barnes said. “I think he will get there.”
Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on X @ByMikeWilson. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.
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Tennessee
Trump pardons former Tennessee House speaker and his aide, who were convicted on federal corruption charges
President Donald Trump pardoned former Tennessee House Speaker Glen Casada and his former chief of staff, Cade Cothren, who were convicted on federal corruption charges.
Casada, a Republican, was sentenced in September to 36 months in prison after being convicted on 17 charges, including wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Cothren, the aide, received a shorter sentence.
Casada confirmed the pardon on Thursday in a statement to NBC affiliate WSMV in Nashville, saying: “Yes the president called me today and granted me a full pardon. I am grateful of his trust and his full confidence in my innocence through this whole ordeal.”
In a statement, a White House official confirmed Trump’s decision to pardon Casada and Cothren and blamed the Biden administration for over-prosecuting the two men.
“The Biden Department of Justice significantly over-prosecuted these individuals for a minor issue involving constituent mailers — which were billed at competitive prices, never received a complaint from legislators, and resulted in a net profit loss of less than $5,000. The Biden DOJ responded with an armed raid, perp walk, and suggested sentences exceeding 10 years — penalties normally reserved for multimillion-dollar fraudsters,” the official told NBC News.
The investigation of both men began during Trump’s first term — and the raids of their homes — were conducted in January 2021, while Trump was still in office. The judge who oversaw the case and handed down Casada and Cothren’s sentences was appointed by Trump in his first term.
The charges against Casada and Cothren centered on a consulting firm they founded with another lawmaker, called Phoenix Solutions. Prosecutors alleged that the former House speaker and his aide used the company to illegally funnel money to themselves for campaign and taxpayer-funded work, including by organizing a $52,000 mailer program for Tennessee lawmakers.
Prosecutors said they used a false name — Matthew Phoenix — to run the company.
Several years before Casada was charged, he served as House speaker in Tennessee, but resigned in 2019 after a no-confidence vote by his fellow lawmakers. The vote came in the wake of another scandal involving Casada and Cothren, where the two were accused of exchanging sexually explicit text messages about women. Casada apologized for the texts and said that they were “not the person I am.”
The president this term has also pardoned several other former politicians, including former Democratic Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, former Tennessee GOP state Sen. Brian Kelsey and former GOP Las Vegas City Councilmember Michele Fiore. He also commuted former GOP Rep. George Santos’ prison sentence.
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