Tennessee baseball star pitcher Tegan Kuhns has officially inked his first professional deal. After going No. 32 overall to the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2026 MLB Draft, he has signed for $3,044,600, according to a report from Carlos Collazo.
That is the exact slot value for the No. 32 overall pick. It’s not uncommon to see players selected in that range sign for undervalued deals if teams reach down the board for them, but that wasn’t the case for Kuhns, who was projected as a first-round pick going into the draft.
Kuhns now joins the Cardinals’ farm system as one of their top pitchers. Another big name arm in St. Louis’ minor league system is former Vol Liam Doyle, who has already turned heads early in his career.
The Cardinals signed Tegan Kuhns for $3,044,600, which is exactly slot value for the 32nd overall pick.
— Carlos Collazo (@CarlosACollazo) July 17, 2026
More From RTI: Tennessee Baseball Star Slotted as Projected Top-15 Pick in 2027 MLB Mock Draft
Kuhns played two seasons at Tennessee before declaring for the draft as a draft-eligible sophomore. The right-handed pitcher was the Vols’ top arm during the 2026 season, recording a 5-5 record, 3.56 ERA and 1.19 WHIP in 81 innings pitched.
Kuhns was used in multiple ways on UT’s pitching staff during the course of this past season. He began the year as Tennessee’s Opening Day starter and served in that Friday night starting role early in the season. Tennessee then moved him to a bullpen role for just one series before sliding him back into the rotation as the Saturday starter. After finding his groove, he was moved back to the Friday spot to end the year.
Twice, Kuhns earned SEC Pitcher of the Week honors. First, he shut out Alabama in an eight-inning, run-rule victory in which he struck out nine batters and allowed just three hits. Kuhns later posted a career-high 15 strikeouts in seven shutout innings against Texas.
