Tony Vitello and his staff have been busy working in the transfer portal to date. The Vols have landed 10 commitments in the last month as Tennessee undergoes a roster overhaul, particularly on the mound.
Not only have the Vols landed a large quantity of players, they have also landed high quality players. According to 64Analytics, Tennessee has landed five of the nation’s top 50 transfers in this transfer cycle.
Virginia outfielder Henry Ford is the No. 6 transfer in the country, Rice two-way Blaine Brown is the No. 18 transfer in the country, Rutgers RHP Landon Mack is the No. 24 transfer in the country, Kennesaw State RHP Bo Rhudy is the No. 37 transfer in the country and Virginia LHP Evan Blanco is the No. 44 transfer in the country.
Tennessee is tied with Mississippi State for the most transfer additions that rank in the top 50 of 64Analytics rankings. Arkansas has three top 50 commits while Georgia, Florida State and Texas A&M all have two.
A draft eligible sophomore, Ford hit .362 with 11 home runs, 21 extra-base hits and 46 RBIs in 51 games played while missing time due to an injury. He hit .336 with 17 home runs during his true freshman season.
Brown is coming off a strong freshman season at Rice where he hit .292 with 10 home runs, 12 doubles and 38 RBIs while pitching 4.2 innings on the mound.
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Mack was a Freshman All-Big 10 contributor a season, posting a 4.74 ERA and 1.28 WHIP in 57 innings pitched as a weekend starter for the Scarlett Knights.
Rhudy has been a key piece of Kennesaw State’s bullpen each of the last two seasons, posting a 2-0 record, 3.16 ERA and 0.92 WHIP in 37 innings pitched during his sophomore season with the Owls.
Blanco posted a 3-5 record, 6.23 ERA and 1.72 WHIP in 39 innings pitched while dealing with an injury during his junior season at Virginia. He was much more effective during his sophomore season when he posted an 8-3 record, 3.62 ERA and 1.29 WHIP in 99.1 innings pitched.
The Vols five other transfer commits include Bowling Green two-way DJ Newman, Bowling Green utility man Garrett Wright, ETSU RHP Brady Frederick, UNC Asheville RHP Clay Edmondson and MIT RHP Mason Estrada.
