Roster Construction 2026

[cncchris33]

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.

TEAM.	CONF	PTS %.	RET (RK)	PA (RK)	IP (RK)

167. Tennessee

SEC

27%

33% (286)

40% (235)

20% (293)

I wonder how compelling that data will be for this season given the culling of rosters necessary to get under the new scholarship limits?

 

[taylorvol]

I wonder how compelling that data will be for this season given the culling of rosters necessary to get under the new scholarship limits?

Honestly, I don’t think it’s going to impact it as much as some people think. My guess is most teams that invest in college baseball had 4 to 6 DSAs so rosters are likely closer to 38 or 39 vs 34. With that said, it will be interesting to see…

 

[Gilbert]

Didn’t exactly know where to put this, but didn’t Dylan Loy leave to become a starter? Or just more innings overall? He’s not in GT’s opening weekend rotation.

 

[taylorvol]

Didn’t exactly know where to put this, but didn’t Dylan Loy leave to become a starter? Or just more innings overall? He’s not in GT’s opening weekend rotation.

GT is loaded and #3 in the country. Charlie Wilcox, stud freshman, apparently beat out Dylan Loy for Sunday starts. This could easily change as all 3 weekend starters are RHP. It wouldn’t surprise me if Loy piggybacks with one of the starters this weekend. He‘s in a great spot to succeed.

 

[Gilbert]

GT is loaded and #3 in the country. Charlie Wilcox, stud freshman, apparently beat out Dylan Loy for Sunday starts. This could easily change as all 3 weekend starters are RHP. It wouldn’t surprise me if Loy piggybacks with one of the starters this weekend. He‘s in a great spot to succeed.

I know GT should be really good so I wasn’t sure where he was in the pecking order as a starter or what his role looked like. Sounds like it’s a good situation for him though. Hope he does well.

 

[taylorvol]

I know GT should be really good so I wasn’t sure where he was in the pecking order as a starter or what his role looked like. Sounds like it’s a good situation for him though. Hope he does well.

Yes, for sure. It was apparently super close as a few writers had Loy as the Sunday starter. I bet he will eventually be….