2020 Tennessee Volunteers baseball team

2020 Tennessee Volunteers baseball
2020 Tennessee Volunteers baseball
Conference	Southeastern Conference
	Eastern Division
Ranking
Coaches	No. 11
CB	No. 16
Record	15–2 (0–0 SEC)
Head coach	Tony Vitello (3rd season);
Assistant coaches	Frank Anderson; Josh Elander;
Home stadium	Lindsey Nelson Stadium
	Seasons ← 2019 2021 →

2020 Southeastern Conference baseball standings
v t e	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Eastern
No. 1 Florida ‍‍‍	0	–	0	–	16	–	1	.941
Tennessee ‍‍‍	0	–	0	–	15	–	2	.882
No. 3 Georgia ‍‍‍	0	–	0	–	14	–	4	.778
South Carolina ‍‍‍	0	–	0	–	12	–	4	.750
No. 6 Vanderbilt ‍‍‍	0	–	0	–	13	–	5	.722
Missouri • ‍‍‍	0	–	0	–	11	–	5	.688
Kentucky ‍‍‍	0	–	0	–	11	–	6	.647
Western
No. 8 Ole Miss ‍‍‍	0	–	0	–	16	–	1	.941
Alabama ‍‍‍	0	–	0	–	16	–	1	.941
Texas A&M ‍‍‍	0	–	0	–	15	–	3	.833
No. 17 Mississippi State ‍‍‍	0	–	0	–	12	–	4	.750
No. 18 Auburn ‍‍‍	0	–	0	–	13	–	5	.722
No. 19 LSU ‍‍‍	0	–	0	–	12	–	5	.706
No. 14 Arkansas ‍‍‍	0	–	0	–	11	–	5	.688

‡ – Tournament champion – ineligible for postseason due to NCAA sanctions As of March 12, 2020^[1] Rankings from D1Baseball

The 2020 Tennessee Volunteers baseball team represented the University of Tennessee in the 2020 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Volunteers played their home games at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.

Previous season

The Volunteers finished 40–21 overall, and 14–16 in the conference.

Preseason

SEC media poll

The SEC media poll was released on February 6, 2020 with the Volunteers predicted to finish in fourth place in the Eastern Division.^[2]

Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
Media poll (East)
1	Vanderbilt	87 (9)
2	Florida	77 (3)
3	Georgia	76 (2)
4	Tennessee	50
5	South Carolina	48
6	Missouri	32
7	Kentucky	22

Personnel

Roster

2020 Tennessee Volunteers roster^[3]

Pitchers

11 - Will Heflin - Senior
15 - Kody Davidson - Junior
16 - Camden Sewell - Sophomore
18 - Chase Wallace - Junior
25 - Christian Delashmit - Freshman
26 - Jason Rackers - Junior
28 - Elijah Pleasants - Sophomore
31 - Jackson Leath - Junior
32 - Sean Hunley - Junior
33 - Mark McLaughlin - Freshman
34 - Garrett Crochet - Junior
35 - Kirby Connell - Freshman
36 - Chad Dallas - Sophomore
41 - Will Mabrey - Freshman
43 - Sam Fulton - Freshman
46 - Redmond Walsh - Junior

Catchers

17 - Connor Pavolony - Sophomore
19 - Landon Gray - Senior

Infielders

2 - Max Ferguson - Sophomore
4 - Liam Spence - Junior
7 - Jake Rucker - Sophomore
14 - Austin Knight - Sophomore
20 - Jorel Ortega - Freshman
40 - Luc Lipcius - Junior

Outfielders

5 - Zach Daniels - Junior
6 - Evan Russell - Junior
8 - Christian Scott - Sophomore
9 - Matt Turino - Junior
27 - Jordan Beck - Freshman

Utility

1 - Alerick Soularie (OF/INF) - Junior
10 - Pete Derkay (UTL) - Senior
12 - Drew Gilbert (OF/P) - Freshman
13 - Cortland Lawson (INF/P) - Freshman
21 - Trey Lipscomb (INF/P) - Sophomore
30 - Ethan Payne (INF/P) - Freshman
38 - Ethan Anderson (P/OF) - Freshman
42 - Zane Keener (OF/P) - Freshman

Coaching Staff

2020 Tennessee Volunteers coaching staff^[3]
Name	Position	Seasons at Tennessee
Tony Vitello	Head Coach	3
Frank Anderson	Assistant Coach/Pitching	3
Josh Elander	Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coordinator	3
Ross Kivett	Volunteer Assistant Coach/Camp Coordinator	3
Richard Jackson	Student Assistant Pitching Coach	1
Quentin Eberhardt	Director of Baseball Sports Performance	3

Schedule and results

2020 Tennessee Volunteers baseball game log

Regular season

February (11–0)
Date	Opponent	Rank	Site/stadium	Score	Win	Loss	Save	TV	Attendance	Overall record	SEC record
February 14	Western Illinois		Lindsey Nelson Stadium Knoxville, TN	W 3–0	C. Dallas (1–0)	J. Drake (0–1)	S. Hunley (1)	SECN+	1,227	1–0
February 15	Western Illinois		Lindsey Nelson Stadium	W 19–0	C. Wallace (1–0)	J. Warkentien (0–1)		SECN+	1,744	2–0
February 16	Western Illinois		Lindsey Nelson Stadium	W 23–4	J. Leath (1–0)	J. Carberry (0–1)		SECN+	1,470	3–0
February 18	Charlotte		Lindsey Nelson Stadium	W 8–2	E. Pleasants (1–0)	T. Starnes (0–1)		SECN+	983	4–0
February 21	vs. No. 6 Texas Tech		Dell Diamond Round Rock, TX	W 6–2	C. Dallas (2–0)	C. Beeter (1–1)	S. Hunley (2)		4,552	5–0
February 22	vs. Houston		Dell Diamond	W 8–4	J. Leath (2–0)	T. Bayless (0–1)				6–0
February 23	vs. No. 25 Stanford		Dell Diamond	W 7–2	D. Gilbert (1–0)	A. Williams (1–1)	R. Walsh (1)			7–0
February 25	Northern Kentucky	No. 24	Lindsey Nelson Stadium	W 15–1	C. Delashmit (1–0)	N. Richardson (0–1)			1,454	8–0
February 26	UNC Asheville	No. 24	Lindsey Nelson Stadium	W 12–1	M. McLaughlin (1–0)	B. Little (0–1)			1,016	9–0
February 28	George Washington	No. 24	Lindsey Nelson Stadium	W 7–1	C. Dallas (3–0)	H. Cohen (1–1)	S. Hunley (2)		1,034	10–0
February 29	George Washington	No. 24	Lindsey Nelson Stadium	W 7–3	R. Walsh (1–0)	C. Harris (0–1)			1,598	11–0

March (2–0)
Date	Opponent	Rank	Site/stadium	Score	Win	Loss	Save	TV	Attendance	Overall record	SEC record
March 1	George Washington	No. 24	Lindsey Nelson Stadium	W 10–0	J. Leath (2–0)	E. Raimo (2–1)			2,157	12–0
March 3	Longwood	No. 20	Lindsey Nelson Stadium	W 28–2	C. Delashmit (2–0)	D. Champagne (1–1)			1,413	13–0
March 6	Wright State	No. 20	Lindsey Nelson Stadium
March 7	Wright State	No. 20	Lindsey Nelson Stadium
March 8	Wright State	No. 20	Lindsey Nelson Stadium
March 10	East Tennessee State		Lindsey Nelson Stadium
March 13	at South Carolina		Founders Park Columbia, SC
March 14	at South Carolina		Founders Park
March 15	at South Carolina		Founders Park
March 17	Georgia State		Lindsey Nelson Stadium
March 20	Vanderbilt		Lindsey Nelson Stadium
March 21	Vanderbilt		Lindsey Nelson Stadium
March 22	Vanderbilt		Lindsey Nelson Stadium
March 24	vs. UT Martin		Smokies Stadium Kodak, TN
March 26	LSU		Lindsey Nelson Stadium
March 27	LSU		Lindsey Nelson Stadium
March 28	LSU		Lindsey Nelson Stadium

April
Date	Opponent	Rank	Site/stadium	Score	Win	Loss	Save	TV	Attendance	Overall record	SEC record
April 1	Georgia Southern		Lindsey Nelson Stadium
April 3	at Missouri		Taylor Stadium Columbia, MO
April 4	at Missouri		Taylor Stadium
April 5	at Missouri		Taylor Stadium
April 7	Alabama State		Lindsey Nelson Stadium
April 8	Alabama State		Lindsey Nelson Stadium
April 10	at Alabama		Sewell–Thomas Stadium Tuscaloosa, AL
April 11	at Alabama		Sewell–Thomas Stadium
April 12	at Alabama		Sewell–Thomas Stadium
April 14	Alabama A&M		Lindsey Nelson Stadium
April 17	Florida		Lindsey Nelson Stadium
April 18	Florida		Lindsey Nelson Stadium
April 19	Florida		Lindsey Nelson Stadium
April 21	Morehead State		Lindsey Nelson Stadium
April 23	at Georgia		Foley Field Athens, GA
April 24	at Georgia		Foley Field
April 25	at Georgia		Foley Field
April 28	Lipscomb		Lindsey Nelson Stadium

May
Date	Opponent	Rank	Site/stadium	Score	Win	Loss	Save	TV	Attendance	Overall record	SEC record
May 1	Kentucky		Lindsey Nelson Stadium
May 2	Kentucky		Lindsey Nelson Stadium
May 3	Kentucky		Lindsey Nelson Stadium
May 8	at Texas A&M		Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park College Station, TX
May 9	at Texas A&M		Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park
May 10	at Texas A&M		Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park
May 12	Belmont		Lindsey Nelson Stadium
May 14	Arkansas		Lindsey Nelson Stadium
May 15	Arkansas		Lindsey Nelson Stadium
May 16	Arkansas		Lindsey Nelson Stadium

Post-season

SEC Tournament
Date	Opponent	Seed	Site/stadium	Score	Win	Loss	Save	TV	Attendance	Overall record	SECT Record
May 19–24			Hoover Metropolitan Stadium Hoover, AL

Legend: = Win = Loss = Cancelled
Bold = Tennessee team member

Schedule Source:^[4]

*Rankings are based on the team's current ranking in the D1Baseball poll.

Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	Final
Coaches'	RV	RV*		11
Baseball America	—	—	—	18
Collegiate Baseball^	RV	—	23	16
NCBWA†	RV	RV	24	16
D1Baseball	—	—	24	20

^ Collegiate Baseball ranked 40 teams in their preseason poll, but only ranked 30 teams weekly during the season.
† NCBWA ranks 35 teams in their preseason poll, but only ranks 30 teams weekly during the season.
* A new poll was not released for this week, so for comparison purposes, the previous week's ranking is inserted in this week's slot.

2020 MLB Draft

Player	Position	Round	Overall	MLB Team
Garrett Crochet	LHP	1	11	Chicago White Sox
Alerick Soularie	OF	2	59	Minnesota Twins
Zach Daniels	OF	4	131	Houston Astros

References

^ "2020 Standings". Southeastern Conference. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
^ "Vanderbilt picked to win 2020 SEC Baseball Championship". secsports.com. Southeastern Conference. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
^ ^a ^b "Official Baseball Roster". Tennessee Volunteers. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
^ "VOLS RELEASE 2020 BASEBALL SCHEDULE" (Press release). University of Tennessee Athletics. November 5, 2019. Retrieved November 30, 2019.

[1] "2020 Standings". Southeastern Conference. Retrieved March 12, 2020.

[2] "Vanderbilt picked to win 2020 SEC Baseball Championship". secsports.com. Southeastern Conference. Retrieved February 23, 2020.

[roster-3] "Official Baseball Roster". Tennessee Volunteers. Retrieved June 13, 2020.

[4] "VOLS RELEASE 2020 BASEBALL SCHEDULE" (Press release). University of Tennessee Athletics. November 5, 2019. Retrieved November 30, 2019.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

v t e Tennessee Volunteers baseball
Venue	Waite Field (1897–1920) Lower Hudson Field (1921–1992) Lindsey Nelson Stadium (1993–present)
Rivals	Kentucky Vanderbilt
People	Head coaches
Seasons	1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932–1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943–1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
National Championships in bold; College World Series appearances in italics

2020 Tennessee Volunteers baseball

Conference	Southeastern Conference
Division	Eastern Division
Ranking
Coaches	No. 11
CB	No. 16
Record	15–2 (0–0 SEC)
Head coach	Tony Vitello (3rd season)
Assistant coaches	Frank Anderson Josh Elander
Home stadium	Lindsey Nelson Stadium
Seasons ← 2019 2021 →