The SEC released Tennessee baseball’s 10 series conference schedule Wednesday including home series against defending national champs LSU and eastern division rival South Carolina.
Tennessee opens up SEC play at Alabama on March 15-17. The Vols didn’t face Alabama last season and the Crimson Tide are entering Rob Vaughn’s first season as head coach.
Tony Vitello’s seventh Tennessee team’s SEC home opener comes a week later when the Vols welcome Ole Miss to Lindsey Nelson Stadium on March 22-24. It’s a two-week home stand for Tennessee as the Vols host Georgia on March 29-31.
Tennessee opens April with a road trip to Auburn on April 5-7. It’s Tennessee’s first trip to the Plains of Auburn since 2019.
After the Auburn series, the Vols return home for their most high-profile series of the season. Tennessee welcomes defending national champion LSU to Lindsey Nelson Stadium on April 12-14 after dropping four of five to the Bayou Bengals a season ago.
Tennessee’s schedule softens for two weeks following the LSU series with a road trip to Kentucky on April 19-21 and a home series against Missouri on April 26-28.
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Vitello’s squad had its two-week home stand in March and they have their two-week road trip to open May. The Vols travel to Gainesville to face Florida on May 3-5 before traveling to Nashville to face bitter rival Vanderbilt on May 10-12. Tennessee caps off the regular season with a three-game series against South Carolina.
Expectations are high for Vitello’s sixth squad despite it being a year of transition on the mound. Tennessee lost key pitchers Chase Dollander, Seth Halvorsen and Andrew Lindsey to the MLB Draft, Camden Sewell to graduation and Chase Burns and Hollis Fanning to the transfer portal.
The positives on the mound is that Tennessee returns Mr. Reliable Drew Beam and pitching coach Frank Anderson is still at the helm. While the pitching is a question mark, the Vols’ offense is expected to be better this season.
Christian Moore, Blake Burke, Dylan Dreiling and Zane Denton are all back in Knoxville and Tennessee added North Carolina State catcher Cannon Peebles and Clemson infielder Billy Amick to the roster amongst others.
Tennessee opens what should be a fascinating fall practice in just a few weeks. Stay tuned to RockyTopInsider.com for Tennessee baseball updates all fall long.
*All series dates are subject to change when the SEC season television schedule is released.
