Bowling Green transfer DJ Newman heard from a number of assistant coaches when he entered the transfer portal last week but didn’t expect to immediately hear from any head coaches. But two hours after officially entering the portal, one of the sport’s most successful head coaches called.
“I entered the portal at 8 a.m. and he (Tony Vitello) called me at 10, 10:30,” Newman told RTI Wednesday morning. “He called me pretty early and we got that show on the road. We set up a visit the next couple days.”
Newman arrived at Tennessee last Thursday night for a Friday visit. The Ohio native originally planned on taking more visits the ensuing week, but he knew Tennessee was the place for him by the end of the visit. Newman committed to Vitello the morning after his visit and made it public a day later.
“It honestly just felt like home,” Newman said. “It just felt like the right place to be with all the coaching and mainly the coaching staff. I didn’t get to meet any of the players but the coaching staff welcomed me and my coaching staff in with open arms and we liked the campus, liked the community and places around the campus. It was a perfect fit for me.”
As a two-way player, Newman has one of the most unique skillsets of anyone in the transfer portal. Over the course of his three seasons at Bowling Green, Newman hit 15 home runs, 20 doubles and drove in 64 runs. He’s posted an impressive .388/.474/.606 career slash line.
Newman came out of the bullpen as a freshman and then was Bowling Green’s Friday night starter as a sophomore and junior. He comes to Tennessee with a career 3.60 ERA and 91 strikeouts in 85 innings pitched. In two seasons as a starting pitcher, Newman posted a 24.1% strikeout rate and a 5.8% walk rate.
The 6-foot, 189-pound transfer boasts a low-90s four-seam fastball, a 12-6 curveball and a circle change. Tennessee’s coaches talked to him about potentially adding a slider to his repertoire during his visit.
Newman is the second Bowling Green transfer to commit to Tennessee this offseason joining catcher/outfielder Garrett Wright. There’s already a great deal of comfort between Newman on the mound and Wright behind the plate.
“Once he entered and committed to Tennessee I was like congratulations and we talked a little bit but nothing much because at the time I hadn’t even entered the portal,” Newman said. “When I entered, he sent me a text and it was like ‘you know what to do.’ Just a little thing like that. It will be pretty cool to share the field with him again.
“The last two years, I think probably every time I’ve pitched he’s been the catcher.”
More From RTI: Three Tennessee Baseball Freshmen Enter Transfer Portal
Newman plans on being a two-way player at Tennessee and will compete for a weekend starting pitching job. He admitted that it would be a little bit of an adjustment to go back to the bullpen but that he’s more than willing to do so. Competing and winning are Newman’s top two priorities at Tennessee.
“I’m more than willing to do that if it comes down to it or if they want me to do whatever,” Newman said. “I want to win. I want to win. That’s pretty much what it is. I’m going to compete and I want to win. I’m going to do whatever it takes to win. If that’s me coming out of the bullpen, if that’s me starting, if that’s me not pitching, if that’s me only playing the outfield then I’m going to do it for the team.”
What Newman’s role on the mound looks like could affect his role in the field. As a weekend starter at Bowling Green, Newman served as a designated hitter to help save his arm. But Newman played left field while coming out of the bullpen as a freshman and is comfortable playing all three outfield spots.
Newman’s junior season came to an end early when he suffered a right knee injury on April 4 against Miami (Ohio). But the two-way star avoided the worst case scenario and expects to be fully ready for the start of fall practice.
“I was sliding into home plate and tore my PCL and a partial meniscus tear in my right knee,” Newman said. “We got three opinions from doctors and all said no surgery. No surgery was done and they initially told me 8-12 weeks and I’m at 11 right now. I’ve been running, hitting, throwing and all that stuff. Doing squats. Lifting with it. I still wear the brace right now. Probably still have to wear the brace for a little while longer with doing physical activity. But it sounds like early fall I’ll be able to completely lose the brace.”
Newman is one of four Tennessee transfer commits who is eligible for the 2025 MLB Draft. The Vols have to get past that date to feel 100% confident that they’ll get the valuable two-way transfer to campus. If they do, Tennessee will be getting a competitor.
“I’m going to compete to the highest my ability lets me,” Newman said. “Whatever that is and I’m never going to give away outs, pitches, whatever it is. I’m going to compete with the best of them and see where that takes us.”
