Former Tennessee third baseman Zane Denton entered the transfer portal on Thursday afternoon, KnoxNews’ Mike Wilson first reported and a Tennessee spokesperson confirmed to RTI.
Denton started at third base for Tennessee baseball during the 2023 season where he hit .269 with 16 home runs, 25 extra-base hits and a team-high 59 runs batted in.
The Brentwood, Tennessee native was a clutch star on the Vols’ path to the College World Series. Tennessee was down to its last strike against Clemson before Denton’s three-run homer propelled Tennessee ahead. Leading by one-run in game three of the Hattiesburg Super Regional, Denton hit another three-run homer which gave the Vols the breathing room needed to punch its ticket to Omaha for the second time in three seasons.
Denton originally announced plans to return to Tennessee for his super senior season after going unselected in the 2023 MLB Draft. But Denton ended up taking the fall off due to personal reasons and while he returned to Knoxville and had conversations with Tony Vitello in the winter, he never returned to the roster.
The third baseman played his first three collegiate seasons at Alabama before transferring to Tennessee for his senior season. He’s now back in the transfer portal with one season of eligibility remaining.
Tennessee replaced Denton with star Clemson transfer Billy Amick who has been fantastic this season. Despite missing two weeks with an appendicitis, Amick enters this weekend’s Knoxville Super Regional hitting .310 with 21 home runs, 34 extra-base hits and 60 RBIs.
The Vols are back in the super regional for the fourth straight season where they’ll face Evansville as they look to return to the College World Series for the third time in the last four seasons.
Amick will be off to professional baseball after this season leaving a hole at third base on Tennessee’s roster for the 2025 season. The Vols have a handful of solid options to replace Amick including Dean Curley and Dalton Bargo while they could also add someone at the spot via the transfer portal.
