John Wilkerson is THE Voice of Tennessee Baseball.
With 37 years of experience calling Tennessee baseball games, 26 of those as the lead radio broadcaster, the radio booth veteran is getting the attention he deserves.
Wilkerson is heading to the Tennessee Radio Hall of Fame.
The news was delivered to Wilkerson by former Voice of the Vols Bob Kesling, live on Wilkerson’s “SportsTalk with John & Vince” radio program on 99.1 The Sports Animal on Wednesday morning. Kesling, a 2024 inductee of the Tennessee Radio Hall of Fame, planned to “ambush” his longtime friend on the radio show Tuesday, but joked that a few delays got in the way before he finally made it on air.
“I’ve been trying to ambush this broadcast, I’ve been here for 10 minutes trying to butt in – they won’t let me butt in,” Kesling said as the two shared a laugh, live on air. “Great to see you. Haven’t seen you in a while, you and Vince (Ferrara), but I just came here on a mission, that I wanted to let you know that on behalf of the Tennessee Radio Hall of Fame, you have been selected for induction into this year’s class.”
“Wow,” Wilkerson responded, near speechless upon hearing the news. “Goodness gracious!”
Check out the great moment between the two Tennessee radio veterans below:
Hello Hall of Fame!
From one Tennessee Hall of Famer to another. Pretty cool moment.
Well deserved, @JWilkersonWNML! pic.twitter.com/tgkemErHbi
— Tennessee Baseball (@Vol_Baseball) July 2, 2025
More From RTI: LISTEN: John Wilkerson’s Call of Tennessee’s First College World Series Championship
Wilkerson is a graduate of Bearden High School (1982) and the University of Tennessee (1988), and has been ingrained in the local and University radio scene ever since. Along with his duties to Tennessee baseball, he’s also a face of the Sports Animal radio station in Knoxville as a respected and dedicated host.
Prior to Tennessee’s College World Series championship victory in Omaha in 2024, Rocky Top Insider’s Ryan Schumpert wrote an insightful story about Wilkerson’s career in the Tennessee booth, titled “What John Wilkerson’s Partners Want You To Know About the Voice of Tennessee Baseball.”
Here’s a quick excerpt from the story, which is well worth reading in full. It’s no surprise that a dedicated and uber-talented individual like Wilkerson is being recognized – and as Kesling said in the video, it’s well overdue.
*This story was published PRIOR to Tennessee’s National Championship Victory, which is undoubtedly his new most-famous call*
Perhaps Wilkerson’s most famous call came when Drew Gilbert’s walk-off grand slam allowed “Tennessee to say hello win column” in a 9-8 Knoxville Regional opening win over Wright State in 2021.
“The Drew Gilbert call to me stands out above the rest,” (Roger) Hoover said. “I think he met that moment extremely well.”
“I think it was one where you started to see more-and-more people give John the attention and recognition,” (Vince) Ferrara said. “You take them in and you watch, I’m not sitting there staring at him, but you take it in and appreciate it.
Wilkerson checked another call off the list on Wednesday night when Tennessee defeated Florida State to advance to the College World Series finals for the first time since 1951. That leaves only one Tennessee baseball moment left for Wilkerson to call.
The moment.
“He has been building towards a moment that could be coming up later this week in Omaha,” Hoover said. “He’s really well suited to be on the mic if Tennessee wins the National Championship.”
