Four Tennessee Baseball Fall Practice Takeaways

Tennessee baseball concluded its fall practice on Sunday afternoon with game three of its annual Orange-and-White Fall World Series.

It was a tumultuous six week fall practice for the Vols with Tony Vitello departing for a Major League Baseball opportunity and Danny White tabbing associate head coach Josh Elander as his replacement. But what about the 2026 Tennessee baseball team itself?

Here are four takeaways on from the Vols’ fall practice.

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Tennessee Has A Diversity Of Looks In Its Pitching Staff

Whenever Elander has talked with the media this fall, he has frequently talked about the diversity of looks that Tennessee has on its pitching staff.

The Vols have power arms but also guys with strong pitchability. Transfers Bo Rhudy and Evan Blanco are two guys that won’t overwhelm opponents with velocity but are poised for big roles. But there are still a few power arms on the roster with right hander Tegan Kuhns and left handers Brandon Arvidson and Cameron Appenzeller.

There’s a solid lefty-righty split on this roster. Arvidson, Appenzeller, Blanco and Mark Hindy all look like reliable contributors. Under the radar freshmen Chandler Day and Jackson Estes are also in line for midweek innings and could potentially factor as lefty specialists on the weekend.

ETSU transfer Brady Frederick did not have a great fall but is a submarine pitcher that provides another look for Tennessee’s staff.

Brandon Arvidson Will Get Weekend Starting Opportunities

Left-handed pitcher Brandon Arvidson provided the surprise of the summer when he spurned the MLB Draft to return to Tennessee for his senior year. That decision made him an obvious starting candidate for this year’s team. But Tennessee has often left one of its best three pitchers in the bullpen to use multiple times during a weekend series.

Entering the fall, I wondered if they would do the same with Arvidson after he effectively filled that role down the stretch of the 2025 season.

But Arvidson has the highest potential of any pitcher on Tennessee’s roster and he’s going to get starting opportunities because of that. He had a really strong fall and could be a high level Friday night ace. I don’t know what will happen once the season gets going, but Arvidson will get starting opportunities early in the year.

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The Vols Infield Outlook Is Incredibly Cloudy

Positional versatility and competition were two constants of Vitello’s program that will likely continue to be with Elander taking the reigns. Tennessee often uses non conference play as extended practice and a chance to decide starting positions. That’s going to remain the case this season, particularly in the field.

Any number of combinations could start for Tennessee at second base, shortstop and third base this season. Surely Manny Marin factors somewhere. But besides that, there’s a ton of ambiguity. Jay Abernathy, Chris Newstrom and Tyler Myatt could factor in the infield or outfield. Ariel Antigua is an option to start at shortstop.

Henry Ford spent a lot of time at third base this fall after playing in the outfield in his two years at Virginia. Blake Grimmer is also an option at third after having a strong fall.

San Diego State transfer Finley Bates and freshman Ethan Moore will likely get chances too. Tennessee has a bunch of options in the infield and I don’t leave the fall with much clarity on who lands where. There wasn’t a ton of separation in the fall.

Stone Lawless And Levi Clark In Line To Start

The two spots in the infield that I’m confident about who will start is at first base and catcher. Sophomore Levi Clark had a strong fall, looks like a middle of the order SEC bat and the clear favorite to start at first base. That was my assumption entering the fall and it feels all the more clear now.

Catcher appeared more up in the air to me entering the fall. Bowling Green transfer Garrett Wright both caught and played in the outfield last season. Entering the fall, I tabbed it a toss up between Wright and Stone Lawless as to who would start.

But Lawless had a really nice fall and spent the entirety of the time behind the plate while Wright split duties. Tennessee’s staff has always been high on Lawless which made it not entirely shocking when Elander said Sunday that Lawless could be one of the SEC’s best catchers. But it was still a notable comment.

Multiple players will get opportunities just due to the nature of the position but Lawless is the clear top option behind the plate exiting fall practice.