Tennessee baseball picked up a crucial series victory over the weekend, taking two of three games over then-No. 4 Texas at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. With the victory, the Vols now boast a 34-18 (13-14 SEC) record with one week remaining in the regular season.
Was Tennessee’s third top 25 series win of the season enough to get the Vols back in the top 25? It was in one poll with the Vols coming in at No. 24 in the latest Baseball America top 25.
The Vols remain unranked in the four other main baseball rankings— D1Baseball, USA Today Coaches Poll, Perfect Game and NCBWA. Both the USA Today Coaches Poll and NCBWA are polls with Tennessee receiving votes in both polls. Tennessee is the equivalent to the No. 29 team in the country in the coaches poll.
Tennessee is one of 10 SEC teams in this week’s Baseball America top 25, coming in behind No. 4 Auburn, No. 5 Georgia, No. 6 Texas, No. 9 Florida, No. 10 Arkansas, No. 12 Mississippi State, No. 19 Alabama, No. 20 Oklahoma and No. 22 Ole Miss.
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Including its lone matchup against No. 1 UCLA, Tennessee has an 8-5 record against top 25 teams this season. The Vols have played well against top competition this season while struggling against lesser foes.
“I think our guys respect the league,” Tennessee head coach Josh Elander said. “We talk about respecting everybody and then fearing none and making sure you’re on the hunt and attacking. But, no, ad nauseam, we tell them that anybody’s good, anybody can win any day. So I think our guys are truly bought into that.”
Tegan Kuhns was the star of the weekend for Tennessee, tossing seven shutout innings while striking out a career-high 15 batters in Friday night’s series-opening win. The performance earned Kuhns SEC Pitcher of the Week honors for the second time in three weeks.
Now with 13 SEC wins, Tennessee is in a solid spot to make the NCAA Tournament. Picking up one more win would all but guarantee a NCAA Tournament birth in Elander’s first season as head coach. The Vols face Belmont in their final midweek game of the season before traveling to Oklahoma for its final series of the season.
