The University of Tennessee boasts college baseball’s indisputable top-ranked team this season. The Volunteers currently hold a 48-7 record with sweeps of former #1 Ole Miss and 3rd-ranked Vanderbilt. They have amassed 24 non-conference wins and have won 34 of their 37 total home games so far. The Vols are the clear favorite to win the College World Series in Omaha, and their dominance has been on display all season long.
This version of Tennessee baseball didn’t appear by chance: it was a years-long climb to the top of the college baseball peak. The Volunteers finished under 0.500 in 2015 and still hung around that mark through 2018. Unseen by the public during this time, however, were Tennessee’s recruiting efforts to bring more talented prospects as pieces that would fit into the puzzle of success. The first glimpse came in 2019, when the Volunteers racked up 40 wins and an NCAA Regionals berth. That total improved to 50 wins and a College World Series spot in 2021. Now, this 2022 squad has the potential to shatter that 50-win ceiling set last year.
The Volunteers have nine batters who have had greater than 100 at-bats. All but two of them have a batting average greater than 0.300. This pack of excellent hitters is led by Drew Gilbert, notorious for his walk-off grand slam in last season’s NCAA Regionals game against Wright State. Prior to enrolling at Tennessee, Gilbert starred at Stillwater High School in Minnesota, where he was rated as the top player in the state. His two-way abilities were on full display with the Ponies, as he threw a complete-game shutout in the state championship while batting 0.400 during his junior year.
Gilbert is joined by fellow power hitter Trey Lipscomb, who was a three-sport athlete at Urbana (MD). Lipscomb batted 0.473 in high school and also dominated on the football field (scoring seven touchdowns in a single game) and on the basketball court. Lipscomb leads Tennessee this season with 20 home runs, 72 RBI and 73 hits.
Much of the Volunteers’ middle order contains players who can churn out runs. Jordan Beck and Evan Russell, Alabama and Tennessee natives respectively, combine for 89 runs batted in and 114 hits in total. First baseman Luc Lipcius has crushed 16 balls over the fence and is the only regular in the Tennessee lineup with more runs than hits. There is consistency and talent throughout this Volunteer batting order, and that has led to a surely record-breaking season.
What sets Tennessee apart from other power-hitting baseball programs such as Texas, Virginia and Virginia Tech is its pitching. The Volunteers are well-rounded and have suffocated opponents from the mound. Greenbrier (GA) native Chase Dollander has been excellent this season, posting an ERA of 2.30 in over 62 innings pitched. The 8th-ranked player in Georgia, Dollander went 6-1 as a junior, averaging over one strikeout per inning pitched. Dollander began his college career at Georgia Southern, where he struck out 13 batters against Appalachian State in 2021. This season, he’s 8-0 on the mound.
Reliever Kirby Connell has also had an outstanding 2022 campaign with an ERA of 1.29. Connell has allowed only four earned runs in 28 innings. His high school career at both Butler (MO) and Blacksburg (SC) was as impressive with five no-hitters and an ERA of 0.00 during one season at Butler, a current state record. Connell is joined by reliable reliever Ben Joyce, who gained national attention earlier this year when he rocketed a 105.5 MPH pitch, a college baseball record and 0.3 MPH shy of the MLB record. Joyce’s history-making pitch against Auburn earned him the nickname “Volunteer Fireman.”
It’s easy to see why Tennessee has been the highest-ranked program in baseball for much of the season. The Vols’ two-way consistency has been on display all year against both mid-major and Power 5 competition. They were able to outscore Iona 56 to 1 in 18 innings, but were also able to handle #17 Auburn 17-4, #22 Georgia 9-2, and then-#1 Ole Miss 12-1. Only three of Tennessee’s losses came against unranked foes, and only one was by more than a run.
The Volunteers are on pace to lose fewer games than any College World Series champion since 1995. This Tennessee squad may be the best fans have seen in this century, rivaling several championship-caliber teams from past seasons. Now, only one question remains: Will the Volunteers win their first ever College World Series title and cement themselves as one of the greatest teams of all-time?
