Air Force transfer Wyatt Hanoian jokes that he received close to 50 phone calls the first day that the transfer portal opened. But his phone call from Tennessee recruiting coordinator Ross Kivett was one of three or four that felt different.
“He brings the energy,” Hanoian told RTI. “I like to bring the energy too on all these phone calls, but he’s crazy. He doesn’t stop talking. But his energy is great. I mean, it wasn’t just your stereotypical phone call. We were talking about more than just baseball. He was getting to know me as a person, which was huge, and building those relationships are awesome.”
Hanoian committed to Tennessee baseball on Tuesday over a long list of suitors in the SEC and around the country. He felt confident that Tennessee was the right spot following his official visit last week, cancelling a number of other visits afterwards while keeping his visits to Florida and Ole Miss on the books.
The Freshman All-American made it to Ole Miss late last week before Mother Nature interfered and cancelled his trip to Florida. Hanoian did virtual visits with Florida and Georgia before pulling the trigger on Tennessee.
More From RTI: Saint Mary’s Outfielder Reportedly Visiting Tennessee Baseball
“It really comes down to player development and everything,” Hanoian said. “You look at their track record of what they’ve done with portal infielders and just infielders in general. I mean, it’s really impressive. You look Christian Moore, Gavin Kilen, Andrew Fischer, guys like that. I mean, they’re already great ballplayers, but they get to Tennessee and get developed even more and become first or second round guys, which the end goal, like, you want to get drafted.
“Coaches are awesome. I mean, I want to win. You can’t really go wrong with any team, but Tennessee has a great track record. Fan base is awesome. I mean, I fell in love with Knoxville when I went there. It’s just kind of a no-brainer when you really look at everything.”
Hanoian slashed .357/.498/.573 with six home runs, 14 doubles, four triples and 49 RBIs during his freshman season at Air Force. His .498 on-base percentage jumps off the page with the Costa Mesa, California native walking 32 times, getting hit by 24 pitches and striking out just 21 times as freshman. Being a difficult out is one of the things that Hanoian most prides himself in as a player.
“I just want to be a tough out,” Hanoian said. “I mean that’s kind of a common thing that everyone’s been asking me. I mean, I try not to strike out, I want to get on base a lot, so being a tough out, grind at bats, defensively, just make the routine plays, just be solid wherever I go. Anything I can do to help the team win. I mean, the end of the day, I’m trying to go to Omaha.”
Defensive versatility is a big part of Hanoian’s game. He spent most of his freshman season at second base but also started games at third base and right field. Like most high level infielders, Hanoian played lots of shortstop in high school.
More From RTI: Tennessee Baseball Transfer Tracker — A Look At The Vols Roster After Landing Infield Transfer
Hanoian said that if all goes to plan with Tennessee’s portal class, he will spend most of his sophomore season at second base. However, the 5-foot-9 infielder has the ability to play other positions if the Vols miss out on top targets or suffer injuries.
There’s also a handful of areas where Hanoian is looking to improve as a sophomore while making the difficult adjustment to life in the SEC.
“I’m going to face a lot better pitching this year than I did in the Mountain West, so just getting geared up to face that level of pitching going to stand in a lot of bullpens when I get to school just see the velo, see the better spin,” Hanoian said. “Get used to that, and then we’re going to work with (strength coach) Keegan (Knoll) a lot on my speed, first step, kind of clean up some footwork on the infield that hopefully steal some more bags this year. So that’s what I’m looking forward to, just getting bigger and stronger It’ll be nice to train with Keegan, he’s awesome, so I’m excited for that.”
Hanoian will get a taste of better pitching this summer as he currently plans on spending a few weeks in the Cape Cod League before reporting to Tennessee early to begin training with Knoll and to get acclimated in Knoxville.
