Tennessee (53-7) will host the Knoxville Regional in the NCAA Tournament as a No. 1 overall seed.
The Vols won the Southeastern Conference regular season and tournament championship.
Ahead of the NCAA Tournament, college baseball insider and former Major League Baseball player Michael Huff discussed Tennessee’s season. Huff is currently the Director of Youth Baseball for the Chicago White Sox.
“I think Tennessee has been deservedly the No. 1 seed all year,” Huff told Vols Wire. “You have to have a balanced team to be one, and it starts with their starting pitching.”
Tennessee leads Division I baseball in home runs (141) and earned run average (2.35).
“It’s a great balance, but what stands out to me is the pitching,” Huff said. “Truly the thing that stands out to me is the consistency. You have four, not two, not three, you have four guys that I think on just about any other roster, when it comes to starting pitchers, can be a Friday guy — and if not Friday then definitely Saturday.
“When you have four guys, and you really only need three, or someone has a sore arm, or someone is having a bad day, you can easily swap people out. Your starting pitching is going to give you a chance to win every game, and you also have a good bullpen.”
Huff has communication with a handful of scouts and outfielders Jordan Beck and Drew Gilbert’s MLB stock continues to rise.
“From what I have seen and heard, Drew Gilbert and Jordan Beck have raised a lot of eye brows at the next level,” Huff said. “Everyone has their eye on these guys. There’s a lot of upside potential for both of them, not just what we are seeing in college, but even beyond.”
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