Can Tennessee repeat?
Links are your daily dose of news and notes on Tennessee athletics.
Can Tennessee baseball repeat?
Tennessee baseball is +1100 to repeat as National Champions, according to Circa Sportsbook. Those are the fourth-best odds in the country, trailing Texas A&M, Virginia and LSU. Tony Vitello and the boys will get things rolling in two weeks, opening the season with a three-game series against Hofstra.
The Tennessee Summitt?
Candace Parker, Peyton Manning, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill and Bill Haslam have teamed up to form a bid for a new WNBA franchise that would be based in Nashville. The news was announced on Thursday. If awarded, the team would share Bridgestone Arena with the Nashville Predators.
The move would certainly make sense with Tennessee’s ties to women’s basketball success. Honoring Pat Summitt would be the perfect way to do it, too. The WNBA recently expanded to 13 teams, which will begin next season with Golden State. Toronto and Portland will have teams in the future, and Tennessee is bidding on the 16th slot. Charlotte, Cleveland and Houston are also in the mix.
Rat Poison
Tony Vitello met with the media on Thursday to preview the 2025 season. He busted out a rat poison reference when discussing sophomore shortstop Dean Curley.
“It’s just all the externalities, um, it’s you guys. I like you so I won’t call you rat poison or anything evil like that — they do that in other states,” Vitello deadpanned Wednesday. “But there are externalities there with social media and other fans knowing what you did or what you eat or what your girlfriend’s name is or any of that stuff. And a lot of it at the end of the day doesn’t have anything to do with the job you’re trying to do between the lines. And Dean was able to do that as a freshman, and I don’t see why he wouldn’t be able to do it this year.”
Isaiah Campbell upgraded to a five-star
A Tennessee signee got upgraded to a five-star prospect this week, according to On3. Isaiah Campbell, a big get for Tennessee after he decommitted from Clemson, is now a five-star prospect. The 6-3, 265 pound prospect has been flirting with five-star status for months, ranking just outside of the top 30 overall. On3 pushed him over the edge this week, ranking him as the No. 31 overall prospect in the class.
Tight end DaSaahn Brame also made a significant move, jumping up to No. 62 overall in the class.