Did Tennessee baseball go into a minor slump in the 2026 season? Or is this the reality in the post-Tony Vitello era?
Either way, it’s time for Josh Elander to reload the Vols roster during his first full offseason as head coach.
On this podcast episode of “The Volunteer State,” beat writer Adam Sparks and columnist John Adams review the highs and lows of UT’s 2026 baseball season and where the program goes from here.
To hear the full discussion, listen to the 48-minute podcast. Here are a few highlights.
Was Tennessee baseball season a success or failure?
Tennessee surged at the end of the regular season, which Sparks and Adams talked about optimistically on the previous episode.
Adams contended, as he has for a while, that the 2026 season was already successful because the Vols reached the NCAA tournament. The Vols had 38 wins with a 15-15 SEC mark, and they earned a No. 2 seed in an NCAA regional.
Sparks doesn’t discount UT’s late-season progress against a challenging schedule. But he said most fans judge success or failure by how far the team advanced in the postseason.
The Vols went 0-2 in an NCAA regional for the first time, snapping a five-year streak of making at least the super regional.
What was missing in 2026 besides Tony Vitello?
Sparks said UT offensive struggles in the NCAA regional were indicative of the problems throughout the season. It had power but also inconsistency. The Vols hit 100-plus home runs for a fifth consecutive season (an SEC record), but they went 1-for-17 with runners in scoring position in the NCAA tournament.
But there were more problems in the bullpen throughout the season despite solid starting pitching. As UT beat writer Emmett Siegel wrote, pitchers not named Tegan Kuhns, Evan Blanco or Landon Mack had a combined ERA of 7.61 in SEC play. It seemed Elander never knew which reliever he could rely on.
So what were the common themes? UT had incompatible pieces and inconsistent performances, where nothing came easy in 2026.
Elander inheried the 2026 roster. But as Vitello’s top assistant, he also helped build much of it. Sparks and Adams discussed whether Elander gets a pass for the deficiencies on the team.
How does Josh Elander reload Tennessee for 2027?
Tennessee already has lost 10 players to the transfer portal, and most of them were predictable. The list includes some contributors and a few young players that didn’t make an impact in 2026.
The starting rotation must be replenished. Presumably, Kuhns will go in the MLB Draft, and Blanco has exhausted his eligibility. Freshman Cam Appenzellar looks like a future ace, so UT must protect him from teams potentially luring him to the portal.
UT will probably lose some of its best hitters: Reese Chapman (eligibility), Henry Ford (draft), Garrett Wright (draft). But other promising bats will return in the 2027 lineup.
Trent Grindlinger has a bright future after a breakout freshman season. His younger brother, two-way player Jared Grindlinger, is an elite recruit already committed to Tennessee. He is one of the gems of UT’s strong recruiting class.
Sparks said the incoming recruits must be major factors on a rebuilt 2027 team. Adams said the Vols must be very aggressive in the transfer portal. They discussed different strategies. To hear that full discussion, listen to the podcast.
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 atknoxnews.com/subscribe.
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee baseball 2026 season review, Josh Elander reloads in transfer portal