As Tennessee baseball continues to dominate at the college level under Tony Vitello, his former players are beginning to take over the MLB, as well.
With a handful of alumni playing well in the big leagues, one has been tabbed an All-Star for the second time in his career. Garrett Crochet, the ace for the Boston Red Sox, was named to the exclusive roster for the second straight season. He played for Tony Vitello’s Tennessee program from 2018-20.
Crochet entered Sunday with a 2.34 ERA and an 8-4 record. His WHIP is at 1.04, and his 144 strikeouts led the entire league. In 18 appearances, all starts, and 115.1 innings pitched, he has earned a 3.5 WAR while allowing just 88 hits and 32 walks for a 4.5 K/BB.
He got the ball against the Nationals just prior to the All-Star teams being announced and logged another productive outing. Crochet produced five innings of work while conceding nine hits, two walks and two runs. He struck out seven while tossing 98 pitches, as well. Ultimately, he earned a win with Boston holding on to its early lead.
This is Crochet’s first season with Boston after he earned a massive off-season contract worth $170 million over six years. His previous four seasons were spent with the White Sox, where he came out of the bullpen until his final year. In 2024, he was named an All-Star while posting a 3.58 ERA on one of the worst teams in MLB history.
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Crochet is from Ocean Springs, Mississippi, and was selected in the 34th round of the 2017 MLB Draft. He opted to head to Knoxville instead, over Texas and Tulane. As a freshman, he threw in 16 games while starting in 11. He was tied for second on the team with five wins and was second in strikeouts at 62. The strikeout mark ranked fifth in program history for a freshman season at the time.
As a sophomore, he helped Vitello make the postseason, where the Vols lost in the Chapel Hill Regional. Crochet finished with a 4.02 ERA and 5-3 record in 18 appearances and six starts. Opponents hit just .268 off of him that year.
His junior season was cut short due to COVID-19. He started in his only appearance, where he went 3.1 innings while allowing no runs on two hits and striking out six batters. He was drafted with the 11th pick of the following draft by the White Sox.
