Tennessee baseball survived this summer’s MLB Draft well despite three of its high school commits signing professionally after being selected in the first round of the draft. High school players being eligible for the MLB Draft makes baseball recruiting rankings tricky. Schools want to sign the top players in the country while also getting those players to campus.
But with the MLB Draft and signing decisions in the rearview, we now have a better feel for which schools have the top prep players coming to campus. Perfect Game released its team recruiting rankings earlier this week with Tennessee baseball landing the nation’s top class for the second straight season.
Perfect Game released their updated top 80 player rankings Thursday, adjusting for which players signed professionally and won’t be making it to college campuses. Tennessee landed two of the nation’s top five prep prospects and six players ranked in the nation’s top 57.
Tennessee left-handed pitcher signee Cameron Appenzeller is the No. 2 prep player in the 2025 recruiting cycle while catcher Trent Grindlinger is the No. 5 prep player in the class.
Other Tennessee signees in Perfect Game’s top 80 rankings include outfielder Taylor Tracy (No. 50), RHP Ethan Baiotto (No. 54), shortstop Ethan Moore (No. 55) and outfielder Nathan Eisfelder (No. 58).
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No other school has more signees ranked in the top eight than Tennessee. LSU also has five commits while Alabama and Virginia have four, Texas A&M, Arkansas and Auburn have all three commits.
Tennessee baseball’s fall practice begins later this month and members of the Vols freshmen class will get their first taste of college baseball and will compete for positions. Both Appenzeller and Moore will particularly have the chance to push for playing time as freshmen.
The Vols do not have an abundance of left-handed pitching and one of their top lefties, Brandon Arvidson and Evan Blanco, will likely earn a weekend starting spot. That opens up the possibility for Appenzeller to earn a bullpen role in his true freshman season.
Tennessee will have a number of position battles this fall and middle infield is one of the main open competitions. Moore will compete for a starting spot, likely at second base, with others like Manny Marin, Ariel Antigua and San Diego State infielder Finley Bates.
Vitello’s program is coming off a strong season where they made it to the super regionals. But after the program’s recent success even Vitello has admitted that missing Omaha has left a sour taste in everyone’s mouth. Over the last five years, Tennessee has won the SEC Regular Season and Tournament twice each, won five regionals, made it to the College World Series three times and won the 2024 National Championship.
