It was a sad ending to an up and down season for Tennessee baseball, as the Vols missed out on the College World Series for just the second time in five years after an 11-4 loss to Arkansas ended their postseason run.
But despite not making it back to Omaha, it was still another example of an overall strong year for Tennessee athletics.
For the first time ever, Tennessee football made it to the College Football Playoff at 10-2. Unfortunately, thanks to the foolish scheduling quirk that gave the top four conference winners byes, the Vols went from hosting a playoff game (would have been against a beatable SMU team) to having to go on the road against eventual national champion Ohio State in one of the coldest environments in program history. We know what happened next.
Still, it was a 10-win season – something fans around here wont’ sneeze at for a long time – and it was tangible progress with the CFP berth.
Rick Barnes’ squad absorbed the loss of Dalton Knecht fine, even if there were ups and downs along the way that left Vol fans scratching their heads, particularly on the offensive end of the court. But, for the second straight year, the Vols made it to the Elite Eight, something not many schools can claim. What really made the basketball season tough to swallow was exactly HOW it ended. The Vols had an impressive run to the doorstep of the Final Four again, but when they got to that doorstep, they turned in perhaps the worst performance of the season – and in an area where they’d struggled too often: getting the ball through the hoop. Tennessee scored just 18 points in the first half against Houston and was basically out of the game by the halftime whistle.
Still, we’re talking about Elite Eight runs and top seeds. Basketball continues to be in a very good place after another season that Vol fans should consider successful.
Baseball feels a little bit like basketball in that there were ups and downs, the Vols made a postseason run, but it ended just short of the biggest stage in lopsided fashion. Tennessee’s struggles in the second half of SEC play after a hot start were maddening. The Vols were red hot on Fridays thanks to Liam Doyle’s steady arm, but the roster seemed one starting pitcher short of being a true Omaha contender. The clutch offense from Christian Moore, Blake Burke, Kavares Tears, Billy Amick, and others was noticeably missing as well at times.
However, the Base Vols still made a strong run to the edge of Omaha again, but they enter the offseason with a bitter taste in their mouths, knowing they could have given a better showing in bowing out.
And softball gave Vol fans a thrill by making it to the College World Series and giving us some memorable moments. Some good (walk off win over UCLA), and some bad (the walk off loss to Oklahoma and home plate fiasco against UCLA).
The bottom line is that Tennessee athletics are in a great place right now across a number of important sports. And that’s about all you can ask for at this point. Hopefully we’ll see one or more of them take a memorable step forward in 2025-26.
Go Vols!