Roster Construction 2026

#301
#301
NighthawkVol said:
But if you have him as your DH, you could say the same about Grimmer. Good problem to have.
Click to expand...
If Chapman or any of the position players have a bad start, I think it’s likely Elander will be pretty quick to insert some of these guys who are studs but seeing the bench. Too many explosive bats on this team.
 
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#302
#302
cardvolfan said:
If Chapman or any of the position players have a bad start, I think it’s likely Elander will be pretty quick to insert some of these guys who are studs but seeing the bench. Too many explosive bats on this team.
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He needs to continue doing what made this program successful. Play the best player. No matter how long they have been here.
 
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#303
#303
With Blake Grimmer still being held out, I see another DH emerging for opening weekend

Hint: A local kid who was an All-American JUCO stud.
 
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#306
#306
Weekend Rotation:
Tegan Kuhns (R)
Landon Mack (R)
Evan Blanco (L)

Weekend Relievers:
Brandon Arvidson (L)
Brayden Krenzel (R)
Mark Hindy (L)
Brady Frederick (R)
Bo Rhudy (R)
Nic Abraham (R)

Weekday Starter:
Can Appenzeller (L)
 
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#307
#307
Lineup Plan B:
CF Abernathy. L
3B Ford. R
DH Myatt L
1B Clark. R
LF Brown. L
SS Marin. R
RF Chapman. L
C Lawless. R
2B Newstrom R
First Off Bench: Grimmer (L), *Wright (R),Bates (R), High (L), Moore (S), **Antigua
*Once healthy (likely out until March 1st)
**late inning defensive replacement
 
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#308
#308
taylorvol said:
Lineup Plan B:
CF Abernathy. L
3B Ford. R
DH Myatt L
1B Clark. R
LF Brown. L
SS Marin. R
RF Chapman. L
C Lawless. R
2B Newstrom R
First Off Bench: Grimmer (L), *Wright (R),Bates (R), High (L), Moore (S), **Antigua
*Once healthy (likely out until March 1st)
**late inning defensive replacement
Click to expand...
Taylor you see them more than anyone besides Preacher. Do you not feel that Grimmer needs to be in the lineup. His power numbers project very well for the length of a whole season.
 
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#310
#310
tn4elvis said:
Taylor you see them more than anyone besides Preacher. Do you not feel that Grimmer needs to be in the lineup. His power numbers project very well for the length of a whole season.
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If healthy, Grimmer should certainly factor in at DH. The problem is I don’t think he’s back to 100% yet. He didn’t participate in either scrimmage last week and one of the sites reported he was limited or perhaps even out this week as well. It might be the flu or a nagging injury but baseball is here in 2 weeks, and Myatt has been crushing the ball. Of course, a lot could change in the next 2 weeks….
 
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#313
#313
taylorvol said:
Weekend Rotation:
Tegan Kuhns (R)
Landon Mack (R)
Evan Blanco (L)

Weekend Relievers:
Brandon Arvidson (L)
Brayden Krenzel (R)
Mark Hindu (L)
Brady Frederick (R)
Bo Rhudy (R)
Nic Abraham (R)

Weekday Starter:
Can Appenzeller (L)
Click to expand...
We got a Hindu on the team? That's great, diversity is important! 😜
 
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#318
#318
PlayerYearPositionBats26 Status
2 Ariel AntiguaJuniorSS, 2B, 3BRRoster
15 Hunter HighJuniorOF, 1BLeftRoster
8 Jay AbernathySophCF, 2BLeftRoster
14 Blake GrimmerR SophDH,LF,3B, 1BLeftRoster
4 Manny MarinSoph2B,SS,3BRRoster
21 Tegun KuhnsSophRHP/Weekend StarterRoster
27 Stone LawlessR SophC,1B,DHRRoster
16 Levi ClarkSoph1B,DH,CRRoster
10 Chris NewstromSophLF, 2B,3BRRoster
44 Nic AbrahamSophRHPRoster
34 Brayden KrenzelSophRHP, Weekend ReliefRoster
25 Brandon ArvidsonR JuniorLHP/Weekend StarterRoster
13 Reese ChapmanSeniorRF, CFLeftRoster
33 Bo RhudyJuniorRHP, Weekend CloserTransfer In (Kennesaw St)
20 Tyler MyattR SophDH/3B/2BLeftTransfer In (Walter’s St CC)
6 Brady FrederickJuniorRHP, Weekend ReliefTransfer In (ETSU)
5 Garrett WrightJuniorC/OFRTransfer In (Bowling Green)
9 Henry FordJunior3B/OF/1BRTransfer In (Virginia)
1 Blaine BrownSophDH/OF/LHPLeftTransfer In (Rice)
18 Landon MackSophRHP,Weekend ReliefTransfer In (Rutgers)
11 Evan BlancoJuniorLHP/Weekend StarterTransfer In (Virginia)
7 Mark HindyGradLHP, Weekend ReliefTransfer In (Duke)
31 Finley BatesJunior2B/SSRTransfer In (San Diego St)
19 Cameron AppenzellerFreshmanLHP, Midweek StarterRanked 22
30 Trent GrindlingerFreshmanCRRanked 30
29 Taylor TraceyFreshmanOF/RHPRRanked 89
28 Ethan BaiottoFreshmanRHPRRanked 93
32 Ethan MooreFreshmanSS/2BSwitchRanked 94
17 Nathan EisfelderFreshmanOF, DHRRanked 100
12 Evan HankinsFreshman1B/DH/LHPLeftRanked 156
William Haas*FreshmanLHPRanked 197/Med Redshirt
50 Darrell (DJ) McDowellFreshmanRHPRanked 295
Jax BishopFreshmanRHPRanked 336
35 Cash WilliamsFreshmanC, LF, DHRRanked 338
36 Sawyer DeeringFreshmanRHPRanked 356
43 Chandler DayFreshmanLHPRanked 458
40 Jackson Estes***FreshmanLHPRanked 471/Med Redshirt
37 Ari BetheaFreshmanRHPRanked 500
45 Hutson ChanceFreshmanOF, DHLeftRanked 500
NOTES:
39 now on projected roster (Includes 2 likely medical redshirts in Haas and Estes)
3 entered portal post Fall 25
16 Returnees from 2025 season
10 Portal Transfers IN
25 Portal OUT
1 Quit
26 on 2026 projected Roster (Before incoming freshmen signees)
17 Incoming Freshmen Signees (removed Tyler Wood but replaced with Jackson Estes)
Expect Final Roster of 39 (34 + 5 DSAs)
* William Haas will likely take a medical redshirt
***Jackson Estes will likely take a medical redshirt
Freshmen rankings are courtesy of Perfect Game
Bold=Likely Starter
Italics=Weekend Starting Pitcher
 
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#319
#319
Opening Day Lineup:
Best Guesstimate
CF Abernathy. L
3B Ford. R
LF Brown L
1B Clark. R
DH. Myatt L
SS Marin. R
RF Chapman. L
C Lawless. R
2B Newstrom R

NOTE: likely to see 2 different lineups on opening weekend.
Grimmer is out due to lower back injury; Antigua is questionable
 
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#320
#320
According to research done by D1 Baseball:

“Returning production is pivotal to building a successful program and maintaining success. One takeaway from that story, which looked at Wins Above Replacement (WAR) data from 2022-25, was that “roster retention, not additions, is the strongest driver in the increase in win percentage.”


Worth noting, for the 2026 season, TN ranked #167 out of 300 D1 programs AND 13th in the SEC!

TEAM. CONFPTS %.RET (RK)PA (RK)IP (RK)
167. TennesseeSEC27% 33% (286)40% (235)20% (293)
 
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#321
#321
taylorvol said:
Opening Day Lineup:
Best Guesstimate
CF Abernathy. L
3B Ford. R
LF Brown L
1B Clark. R
DH. Myatt L
SS Marin. R
RF Chapman. L
C Lawless. R
2B Newstrom R

NOTE: likely to see 2 different lineups on opening weekend.
Grimmer is out due to lower back injury; Antigua is questionable
Click to expand...
This feels spot on especially if Antigua is out. Have we gotten confirmation that it was an injury that kept him out Sunday as opposed to an illness? I haven’t seen anything from Ben or Eric saying one way or the other
 
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#322
#322
volforlife15 said:
This feels spot on especially if Antigua is out. Have we gotten confirmation that it was an injury that kept him out Sunday as opposed to an illness? I haven’t seen anything from Ben or Eric saying one way or the other
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It was implied that it was “minor” which could be a variety of things injury related or otherwise. I hope it’s nothing serious but was obviously enough to keep him out of the last inter-squad before opening day.
 
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#323
#323
taylorvol said:
According to research done by D1 Baseball:

“Returning production is pivotal to building a successful program and maintaining success. One takeaway from that story, which looked at Wins Above Replacement (WAR) data from 2022-25, was that “roster retention, not additions, is the strongest driver in the increase in win percentage.”


Worth noting, TN ranked #167 out of 300 D1 programs.
TEAM. CONFPTS %.RET (RK)PA (RK)IP (RK)
167. TennesseeSEC27% 33% (286)40% (235)20% (293)
Click to expand...
Was Tennessee an outlier? That was a pretty nice 4 year stretch to be knocking talent addition vs retention.
 
#324
#324
taylorvol said:
According to research done by D1 Baseball:

“Returning production is pivotal to building a successful program and maintaining success. One takeaway from that story, which looked at Wins Above Replacement (WAR) data from 2022-25, was that “roster retention, not additions, is the strongest driver in the increase in win percentage.”


Worth noting, TN ranked #167 out of 300 D1 programs.
TEAM. CONFPTS %.RET (RK)PA (RK)IP (RK)
167. TennesseeSEC27% 33% (286)40% (235)20% (293)
Click to expand...
This likely one of the factors for TN’s preseason ranking. For some added context, here’s where the rest of the SEC ranked in terms of “returning production”. TN was 13th in the SEC!
SEC Ranking. Team. Overall Ranking
1. FL. 20
2. TX. 27
3. LSU. 29
4. Auburn. 36
5. MSU. 41
6. OK. 50
7. Miss. 57
8 Ark. 63
9. AL. 65
10. Vandy. 70
11. KY. 122
12. A&M. 162
13. UT. 167
14. GA 212
15. Missouri. 220
16. SC 288
Pts % = percent of production back using a fantasy baseball style calculation. Sorted by total points, not just percentage. Ret (RK) = percent of roster that was on roster last year, regardless of playing time. PA (RK) = % of PAs back and national rank. IP (RK) = % of IP back and national rank.
Source: D1 Baseball
 
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#325
#325
chuckiepoo said:
Was Tennessee an outlier? That was a pretty nice 4 year stretch to be knocking talent addition vs retention.
Click to expand...
Good question but it’s a “wait and see” answer. The ranking was for this season (2026). The stats from 22 to 25 were calculated to determine the factors that were most impactful for providing the largest increase in winning percentage. That factor was roster retention. The 26 team is low on roster retention (ie 13th in SEC and 167th overall) due to the MLB draft and attrition like we’ve not seen for UT baseball. We will soon see if UT was an outlier based on 26 season results.
 
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