Two-way Rice transfer Blaine Brown committed to Tennessee baseball over Georgia, Oklahoma and Texas Tech. Brown visited Tennessee late last week before taking more visits and committing to Tony Vitello and his staff.
Brown was a First Team All-AAC designated hitter and a unanimous Freshman All-American for his play last season at Rice. The lefty hit .292 with 10 home runs, 12 doubles and 38 RBIs for a struggling Rice team last season while posting an 8.9% walk rate and 17.4% strikeout rate.
The Pearland, Texas native spent most his time at designated hitter during his freshman season but is an outfielder when he plays in the field. Tennessee is likely replacing all three starting outfielders from a season ago and has been active in the portal pursuing outfielders.
The Freshman All-American is just 19-years old meaning he will not be eligible for the 2026 MLB Draft and has to play two more seasons of college baseball.
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Brown also pitched in his freshman season but struggled in seven appearances, allowing 10 earned runs in 4.1 innings pitched for a 20.77 ERA. A good deal of the damage came against Tennessee in the Astros College Classic. Brown was the starting pitcher against the Vols, allowing two earned runs while recording just one out.
While Brown is a Texas native, there is a connection to the Volunteer State. His father, Chris Brown, played for the Tennessee Titans for five seasons combining to rush for 2,757 yards and 16 touchdowns.
Brown is the eighth player to commit to Tennessee baseball out of the transfer portal, joining Virginia outfielder Henry Ford, Bowling Green utility man Garrett Wright, Bowling Green two-way DJ Newman, ETSU RHP Brady Frederick, UNC Asheville RHP Clay Edmondson, MIT RHP Mason Estrada and Kennesaw State RHP Bo Rhudy.
The Vols continue to pursue a handful of targets in the portal, most notably Rutgers starting pitcher Landon Mack and Cal infielder Jarren Advincula.
