Tennessee
Vol Calls: Hunter Ensley offers to run through wall for Josh Heupel, Tennessee football
Hunter Ensley, one of the heroes of Tennessee baseball’s national title run, made an intriguing offer to Vols football coach Josh Heupel.
“If you have room on special teams, I have another year of eligibility left,” Ensley joked during “Vol Calls” on Wednesday night.
“I played a little (defensive back) in high school – free safety. I think I’d be pretty good at kickoff (coverage) too.”
Ensley was in the crowd at Calhoun’s on the River for “Vol Calls” the weekly statewide coaches call-in radio show on Vol Network. He posed a fan question to Heupel. But it was more of a proposal, which Heupel jokingly pondered.
“We’ll run you down on kickoff cover,” Heupel said. “If you do a good job there, we’ll find a way to get you the pill too on offense. Alright?”
Bob Kesling, the Voice of the Vols, interjected with the perfect line about Ensley’s fitness to be a special teams player.
“He’ll crash into a wall for you,” Kesling quipped.
Of course, Ensley cemented his place in Tennessee baseball lore during the College World Series when he ran full speed into the left-center field wall to make a jaw-dropping catch in a win over North Carolina.
He left a mark on the wall and left the game with an injury. But he played through the pain the reminder of UT’s run to the national championship and scored the winning run in the 6-5 title-clinching victory.
On July 9, Ensley announced that he’s returning to Vols baseball for the 2025 season.
“I’d be good on outside contain too,” Ensley told Heupel, making his pitch to play defense for the Vols.
Ensley will stick to baseball. But he’s more qualified to play college football than just about any athlete playing another sport at UT.
Ensley was a two-time all-state football player at Huntingdon High. He led the Mustangs to a 13-1 record and an appearance in the Class A state semifinals as a senior.
And in 2019, Ensley was a finalist for the Tennessee Class A Mr. Football and Mr. Baseball awards.
Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.
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Tennessee is in the mix to land another prospect for its 2026 football recruiting class.
The Vols made the top six schools for four-star wide receiver Craig Dandridge, along with Georgia Tech, Stanford, Georgia, Florida and Oklahoma.
The 6-foot-1, 172-pound prospect is from Cambridge High School in Milton, Georgia. 247Sports ranks Dandridge as the No. 48 wide receiver in 2026 and No. 38 player in Georgia.
Tennessee offered him a scholarship on Feb. 5. Dandridge unofficially visited Tennessee for a practice on March 14 and will officially the Vols on June 13.
Power Four programs outside of Dandridge’s top six to offer him a scholarship include Arkansas, Kansas State, Wake Forest, Vanderbilt, Kansas, West Virginia, Boston College, Duke, Cincinnati and Clemson.
Tennessee has eight commitments in its 2026 football recruiting class: quarterback Faizon Brandon, wide receiver Tyreek King, tight end Carson Sneed, offensive lineman Gabriel Osenda, wide receiver Tyran Evans, linebacker Braylon Outlaw, defensive lineman C.J. Edwards and defensive lineman Zach Groves.
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The best regional moment of every Tennessee baseball run under Tony Vitello
Tennessee baseball gets its 2025 NCAA Tournament run started on Friday as it hosts another Knoxville Regional.
The Vols are set to play their sixth NCAA Tournament under Tony Vitello with four regional wins already under their belts.
Let’s take a look back at the best moment of every regional UT has been in under Vitello.
TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM
2019: Vols get out of bases-loaded, ninth-inning jam with season on the line
In 2019, Tennessee was down to the bottom of the ninth, up one on Liberty. Both teams had already lost a game, making it an elimination matchup.
With Redmond Walsh on the mound, the Flames loaded the bases and drew a hit-by-pitch to tie the game. With no outs, just one more run crossing would end the season a game short of the regional finals.
Walsh would force a line out then inning-ending double play to force extra innings. Tennessee added one run in the 10th to secure the win.
2021: Drew Gilbert hits walk-off grand slam
In 2021, Tennessee was off to a rocky start. The Vols trailed Wright State at home by three in the ninth.
Tennessee started to get the offense rolling with its back against the wall, though. UT loaded the bases for Drew Gilbert. After taking a hack and missing at strike one, Wright State hung a breaking ball that Gilbert clobbered.
The walk-off grand slam needed each run to clinch the 9-8 victory. The Vols went on to make the first College World Series under Vitello in large thanks to not having to climb out of this early regional hole.
2022: Tennessee rallies in the ninth to beat Georgia Tech
Tennessee entered the 2022 NCAA Tournament as the No. 1 seed in the country. After winning both the SEC regular season and tournament titles, the Vols had put together one of the best years in baseball history to this point.
In the regionals, Tennessee went into the ninth inning against Georgia Tech behind 4-3, though. The Vols got two on base to start the inning before Jordan Beck roped a double to tie the game. He may or may not have signaled his excitement to the outfield, as well.
With the bases loaded, Trey Lipscomb was hit by a pitch to score another run. Christian Moore and Evan Russell added RBI singles and Cortland Lawson produced a sac-fly to provide the necessary cushion to win.
The following video is a breakdown of the inning, but it does use NSFW language.
2023: Zane Denton homers in the ninth to take the lead
On the road, Tennessee had its back against the wall in the ninth against Clemson. Down two runs, the Vols were down to their final out.
After Moore singled to keep the game alive, Blake Burke also reached on an infield single. This brought up Zane Denton with the tying run on first.
Denton uncorked a ball deep to left field to take the lead. This kept the game alive, but the Tigers did respond to tie the match in the ninth. Tennessee ultimately won in 14 innings thanks to a Hunter Ensley double.
Ultimately, the Vols made another CWS run.
2024: Kaveres Tears gives Tennessee the lead in the regional finals
Tennessee had two chances to beat Southern Miss in the regional finals and for a moment, it looked like it’d need them both. The Vols trailed 3-2 entering the sixth inning of game one of the finals.
However, Kavares Tears made up for it. He lifted a three-run shot in the sixth to give Tennessee a lead it wouldn’t surrender. The Vols added one more in the inning, as well, to provide some cushion.
This made way for a rally that pushed Tennessee to a 12-3 win to punch its ticket to the super regionals. Ultimately, the Vols won the national title.
Tennessee softball is heading back to Oklahoma City after beating Nebraska in the NCAA super regional.
The No. 7 seed Lady Vols (45-15) are making their ninth appearance in the Women’s College World Series, and their second in the last three years. Tennessee and star pitcher Karlyn Pickens will face No. 2 seed Oklahoma (50-7) to open the WCWS on May 29 (2:30 p.m. ET, ESPN).
Tennessee’s last trip to Oklahoma City was in 2023 when it made a run to the semifinals before being eliminated.
Buy tickets for Tennessee softball vs. Oklahoma in WCWS
Here’s what you need to know about the matchup with the Sooners.
Tennessee, Karlyn Pickens beat Oklahoma in road series
Tennessee started the road series at Oklahoma with a 5-2 win in extra innings thanks to catcher Sophia Nugent, who started her career as a Sooner. Nugent hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning, giving the Lady Vols a 4-2 lead before Laura Mealer scored on a wild pitch.
Tennessee then lost 4-1 in Game 2, only logging four hits – and Taylor Pannell had three of them and scored the lone run with a solo home run. But the Lady Vols won the rubber match 5-3, scoring all five runs in the fourth inning. Mealer hit a two-RBI double before Ella Dodge blasted a three-run homer to win the game.
Karlyn Pickens had 12 strikeouts, 10 hits allowed, three walks, one hit by pitch and four earned runs in 12⅔ innings over the series. Sage Mardjetko had four strikeouts, six hits allowed, eight walks and five earned runs in 5⅓ innings. Erin Nuwer pitched three innings with two strikeouts, one hit allowed, one walk and one hit by pitch.
Oklahoma softball offense has firepower
The Sooners once again have one of the strongest offenses in the country. They rank No. 2 in home runs per game (2.02) with 115 on the season. Oklahoma is No. 5 in scoring with an average of 7.75 runs per game and 442 total.
Ella Parker leads OU’s offense with a .416 batting average, and Kasidi Pickering is right behind her at .413. Four more batters are hitting above .300, and Gabbie Garcia leads the team with 20 home runs. Pickering has hit 18 homers, and six Sooners total have hit at least 11 this season.
They also don’t strike out often. The Sooners have only struck out 207 times, which is only 3.63 times per game.
Karlyn Pickens vs Sam Landry pitchers’ duel is brewing
Senior right-hander Sam Landry (23-4) became the Sooners’ ace after transferring from Louisiana. She leads the OU staff with a 1.92 ERA with 170 strikeouts in 167⅔ innings pitched.
Tennessee had eight hits against Landry in Game 1, but then it was held to four hits in the next two games.
Pickens (24-9), the back-to-back SEC Pitcher of the Year, leads Tennessee’s staff with a 1.00 ERA. She has thrown 280 strikeouts in 204 innings, and opponents have hit .168 against her. In two straight elimination games against Nebraska, Pickens threw 21 strikeouts in 14 innings with only seven hits allowed, two walks and two earned runs.
Karlyn Pickens throws fastest softball pitch ever recorded – again
Pickens already broke Monica Abbott’s record for fastest softball pitch ever recorded in March when she threw 78.2 mph against Arkansas. But she topped her own record in Game 3 against Nebraska.
In the first at-bat of the game, Pickens threw 79.4 mph. It was Nebraska pitcher Jordy Bahl’s first at-bat of the game, and she fouled off the record-breaking pitch.
Pickens had already hit 77 mph twice this season before breaking the record Abbott originally set the record during a National Pro Fastpitch game in 2012.
Tennessee softball vs Oklahoma: Series history
Tennessee is 7-8 all time against Oklahoma, which owns a 4-3 record vs the Lady Vols at neutral sites. After taking the road series in March, Tennessee is 4-3 against OU in Norman.
Before meeting for the first time in SEC play this season, the last time Tennessee faced the Sooners was in the opening game of the 2023 WCWS. Oklahoma beat the Lady Vols 9-0 in five innings.
Watch Tennessee softball vs. Oklahoma on Fubo (free trial)
What time does Tennessee softball vs Oklahoma start?
- Date: Thursday, May 29
- Time: 2:30 p.m. ET
- Where: Devon Park in Oklahoma City
What TV channel is Tennessee softball vs Oklahoma on?
Cora Hall covers University of Tennessee women’s athletics. Email her at cora.hall@knoxnews.com and follow her on X @corahalll. If you enjoy Cora’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that allows you to access all of it.
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