Tennessee Baseball and head coach Josh Elander landed their first transfer commitment of the offseason on Saturday night with two-way player Braydon Kersey. The 6-foot-1 Alpharetta, GA, native was a pitcher and infielder for the Bears last season, and will now take his talents to Rocky Top for the next season.
A left-handed hitter, Kersey slashed .325/.438/.684 while hitting 21 homers and 11 doubles and driving in 67 runs last season, mostly in a designated hitter role. He also posted a 24.7% strikeout rate and a 14.7% walk rate during his sophomore season.
When Kersey committed to Tennessee, he posted a picture of himself and his family alongside former Vols quarterback Joshua Dobbs in 2016. There’s an interesting connection there. According to Volquest’s Mike Wilson, Kersey’s mother served as the principal of Alpharetta High School when Dobbs was there. Dobbs invited the Kersey family to Tennessee for his final home game for the orange and white during the 2016 season.
Dobbs, who was a backup quarterback on New England’s Super Bowl runner-up team last season, commented on Kersey’s commitment post: “Full circle! Congratulations.”
Braydon Kersey posted a picture as a kid with Josh Dobbs when he committed to Tennessee.
His mom, Shannon, was the principal at Alpharetta High School, where Dobbs attended. Dobbs invited the Kerseys to UT for his final home game.
His mom sent him the picture before his visit pic.twitter.com/8TRigtUDsS
— Mike Wilson (@ByMikeWilson) June 8, 2026
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Kersey was on a standout Mercer squad this past season that was snubbed from making the NCAA Tournament. He’s hoping that Tennessee can get him to where he wants to go – the College World Series.
“The coaching staff just made me feel very, very at home,” Kersey told RTI’s Ryan Schumpert. “They were all super young and, like, easy to talk to. The way they talked about their development plan and the way they saw me fitting onto their team. Also I want to win and they’re known for winning. And Coach Elander said the expectation at the beginning of every year, if you go to Tennessee, is that you’re gonna go to Omaha. That’s my goal. I want to go to Omaha.”
Perhaps Kersey’s connection brings Dobbs back to Rocky Top for a baseball game next season, maybe crossing over with a future Orange & White spring football game. We’ll just have to wait and see.
For more on Braydon Kersey’s impressive season with Mercer and his goals at Tennessee, check out Rocky Top Insider’s interview with him here.
