Tennessee baseball has been without a key piece of its roster in its last three games as they begin to find their footing early in the 2026 season. Infielder Manny Marin played on Opening Day against Nicholls but has missed the Vols’ last three games with a hand injury he suffered in practice the final weekend of the preseason.
“Manny got hit with a pitch last weekend,” Tennessee head coach Josh Elander said Saturday. “He’s been kind of navigating that all week. We feel good about it. Woody (Jeff Wood) and Klenck (Dr. Chris Klenck) have done an amazing job with him. I think with a little bit of the colder weather last night, it was a little bit tight – I guess would be the right term. … He had an X-ray pregame, it was negative, so he’ll be day-to-day.”
Marin was, again, out of the lineup Tuesday in Tennessee’s 10-3 win over UNC Asheville. But Elander provided a positive update postgame and expressed optimism that Marin could be back in the lineup this weekend when Tennessee hosts Kent State in a three-game series.
“Manny’s hand looks great,” Elander said Tuesday. “The swelling has really, really gone down. So feel confident about him going into the weekend. Obviously, want him to be able to play catch and go through a full practice day, so we’ll see what Woody (trainer Jeff Wood) says tomorrow going in. But we got a few days. We got a good team coming in town this weekend.”
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The sophomore started at shortstop on Opening Day, going one-for-three at the plate with a double and a walk. Junior Ariel Antigua started at second base beside Marin in the season opener before sliding over to shortstop in Marin’s absence while Chris Newstrom moves to second base.
Marin started 45 games as a true freshman for Tennessee a season ago, settling in as the Vols’ starting third baseman the back half of the season. He slashed .283/.356/.401 with three home runs, nine doubles and 23 RBIs in his inaugural college season.
The Hialeah, Florida native is in line to move to shortstop in his sophomore season and will likely be an everyday starter for Tennessee when healthy.
Tennessee continues its eight-game home stand to open the season when it hosts Kent State for a three-game series in Knoxville this weekend. First pitch for the weekend is at 4:30 p.m. ET on Friday afternoon.
