Tennessee baseball landed its first commitment in the transfer portal Saturday night when Mercer two-way Braydon Kersey committed to the Vols over Georgia and Wake Forest. Kersey committed to the Vols just two days after completing an official visit with Tennessee.
“The coaching staff just made me feel very, very at home,” Kersey told RTI. “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 Ohama. That’s my goal. I want to go to Omaha.”
A development plan is particularly important for Kersey who Tennessee envisions both hitting and pitching after he did both at Mercer last season. The Vols had a pair of two-way players on their roster last season though Blaine brown ended up settling in more at the plate while Taylor Tracey did more on the mound.
Time will tell how effective Kersey will be able to do both in the SEC, but Tennessee has a plan for him to attack his training.
“ They said every practice I will start and get my throwing out of the way,” Kersey said. “When I do my position work. Like I won’t be throwing than unless I absolutely need to like in intersquads or stuff like that. Like I’ll get my pitching throwing work out of the way and then kind of filter into the rest of the practice based off how that goes and get my hitting BP groups in, mobility and lifts in after that.”
Kersey began his freshman season as a weekend starting pitcher before later moving to the bullpen. He posted a 4.97 ERA in 50.2 innings pitched during the 2025 season. But as Kersey’s bat made him an everyday starter in 2026, his role on the mound decreased.
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The right-handed pitcher tossed just 20 innings but earned six saves while posting a 4.95 ERA in high leverage spots.
Kersey predominately leaned on a fastball that sat 96-97 mph and his slider last season. Developing a third reliable pitch is a point of emphasis for this offseason.
“ I’ve been working a lot recently on adding a change up,” Kersey said. “I’m heavy fastball and slider, but the coaches like they love the change up and they said they want to help me develop the full arsenal so probably also maybe a curveball ball.”
After totaling just 27 at-bats as a freshman, Kersey broke onto the scene as a sophomore. A left-handed hitter, Kersey hit .325 with 21 homers, 11 doubles and 67 RBIs. That level of production makes it easy to pencil him into Tennessee’s lineup next season.
Tennessee head coach Josh Elander’s honesty about the challenge of being a two-way and his low-key nature helped make Tennessee feel right to Kersey.
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“He’s very open in what he sees my role being, and I appreciate someone who’s honest,” Kersey said. “He’s like, it’s gonna be a grind. You’re gonna have to work super hard, obviously, because I’m a two-way, it’s going to be extra work, but he’s open to allowing me to do both.
“I mean, he’s just super down to earth. He’s not one of the coaches that thinks he’s just, like, better than you, because he’s a head coach at an SEC school. So he’s just so very down to earth chill guy which is very, very cool.”
Kersey was apart of a Mercer team that was one of the biggest snubs in the NCAA Tournament this past season. He’ll spend this summer with the Wareham Gateman in the Cape Cod League before arriving in Knoxville this fall where winning is his top priority.
“I want Tennessee fans to know that I am dedicated to winning and I will do everything I can to help the program win,” Kersey said. “That’s really the biggest thing. I just want to win. I want to experience postseason baseball. I haven’t ever got to experience it other than our conference tournament, so I want to play in the postseason and I really just I want to win.”
