Rutgers transfer pitcher Landon Mack committed to Tennessee baseball Monday morning. The Vols beat out rival LSU to land one of the top pitchers in the transfer portal over two weeks after the right hander visited Tennessee.
Mack was a weekend starter for the Scarlett Knights a season ago, posting a 6-5 record, 4.03 ERA and 1.22 WHIP in 80.1 innings pitched. He totaled 70 strikeouts for a 20% strikeout rate while posting a fantastic 4.9% walk rate.
The 6-foot-1, 200-pound pitcher started the season as Rutgers’ Saturday starter before eventually working in to the ace role by the end of the season. Mack’s conference numbers slightly dipped but remained solid with the right hander posting a 4.74 ERA and 1.28 WHIP in a by far team-best 57 innings pitched. Mack landed on the All-Big 10 Freshman Team last season.
A rising sophomore who is still 19-years old, Mack has to spend two more seasons playing college baseball before he is eligible for the MLB Draft. The New Jersey native boasts a mid 90s fastball that he offsets with a cutter, changeup and a curveball that is his primary out pitch.
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At Tennessee, Mack will almost certainly step into a weekend starting role and potentially even the Friday night starting spot. The Vols lose their top two starters, Liam Doyle and Marcus Phillips, from their 2025 season. Freshman Tegan Kuhns is the only weekend starter remaining and Kuhns had a shaky freshman season in Knoxville.
Mack is the ninth player to commit to Tennessee in the transfer portal this cycle, joining Bowling Green two-way DJ Newman, Rice two-way Blaine Brown, ESTU RHP Brady Frederick, UNC Asheville RHP Clay Edmondson, Kennesaw State RHP Bo Rhudy, MIT RHP Mason Estrada, Virginia outfielder Henry Ford and Bowling Green utility man Garrett Wright.
Frederick was the SoCon Pitcher of the Year while Edmondson was the Big South Pitcher of the Year last season.
The Vols also hold a commitment from Matt Barr, the top junior college pitcher in the country. Edmondson, Barr and Estrada are all eligible for the 2025 MLB Draft. Barr, Edmondson, Newman and Ford are all eligible for the 2025 MLB Draft and are risks not to make it to campus. Barr ranks in the top 200 of the MLB Pipeline draft prospect rankings while Edmondson is a submarine pitcher with a mid-90s fastball making him attractive to professional baseball.
