Roster Construction 2026

[WGWTFA98]

I'll miss Bargs. Genuinely.

Great, great guy. I hope he absolutely goes off on the ACC.

I bet he has a big year. Good landing spot for him. Very proven very productive hitter that a lot of our fanbase hated for no reason because he was a little streaky at the wrong time

 

[WallyBalls]

I bet he has a big year. Good landing spot for him. Very proven very productive hitter that a lot of our fanbase hated for no reason because he was a little streaky at the wrong time

Man I hope so. That kid was all in every second he was here.

I hope he leaves on good terms and is always fond of this place.

 

[VolFan_stuck_in_the_901]

Man I hope so. That kid was all in every second he was here.

I hope he leaves on good terms and is always fond of this place.

I heard Tony V helped him to find a landing spot, so I would assume that means we did indeed part w/Bargs on good terms. I'll root for him and hope he does well, unless he ends up playing against us of course

 

[VolFan_stuck_in_the_901]

Since this means Chapman is returning, I hope he spends the entire rest of the Summer/Fall working on nothing but getting better at his approach at the plate. We know he can hit a fastball, his time in the batting cages/BP should be a steady diet of breaking pitches: curveballs, sliders, changeups, etc. If he can get better at recognizing those pitches, laying off them and being patient in his approach, then his ceiling as a hitter goes way up. That being said, he should probably hit no higher than 8th in the order in 2026 until he can show how far he's come in his development at the plate.

 

[kong]

Since this means Chapman is returning, I hope he spends the entire rest of the Summer/Fall working on nothing but getting better at his approach at the plate. We know he can hit a fastball, his time in the batting cages/BP should be a steady diet of breaking pitches: curveballs, sliders, changeups, etc. If he can get better at recognizing those pitches, laying off them and being patient in his approach, then his ceiling as a hitter goes way up. That being said, he should probably hit no higher than 8th in the order in 2026 until he can show how far he's come in his development at the plate.

Felt like Chapman and Levi were having the same issues. Both of their swings go low to high and they had a hard time reaching the up and away heaters imo.

 

[TheMookieMonster]

I bet he has a big year. Good landing spot for him. Very proven very productive hitter that a lot of our fanbase hated for no reason because he was a little streaky at the wrong time

I know you probably have some personal connection or relationship to Bargo which is why you have such a strong emotional opinion about this topic but our fanbase did not hate Dalton Bargo. Come on. That’s such a strong word. I think most people really appreciate the effort he gave the program while he was here and the leadership he showed, there are just different opinions about what his ceiling as a player is.

If he crushes the ACC next year, I’ll be thrilled for him.

 

[taylorvol]

Man I hope so. That kid was all in every second he was here.

I hope he leaves on good terms and is always fond of this place.

Considering he wanted to return to TN after going undrafted, I doubt Bargo is happy with how things transpired at TN. I wish they would have made a spot for him.

 

[volfan411]

Since this means Chapman is returning, I hope he spends the entire rest of the Summer/Fall working on nothing but getting better at his approach at the plate. We know he can hit a fastball, his time in the batting cages/BP should be a steady diet of breaking pitches: curveballs, sliders, changeups, etc. If he can get better at recognizing those pitches, laying off them and being patient in his approach, then his ceiling as a hitter goes way up. That being said, he should probably hit no higher than 8th in the order in 2026 until he can show how far he's come in his development at the plate.

I feel like SEC coaches figured out Chapman's weakness and if he doesn't figure out how to hit the off speed he shouldn't be in the line-up IMO. We brought in too many good hitters to be having a weakness in the order this season.

 

[WallyBalls]

Considering he wanted to return to TN after going undrafted, I doubt Bargo is happy with how things transpired at TN. I wish they would have made a spot for him.

I truly hope its the more positive of the options (he knew this was a possibility, helped him land somewhere, etc), but I know there's a chance its not.

There's a needle to thread where UT is able to work its corner OF/corner IF spots better without having to spread reps even thinner, and Bargo flourishes with getting more consistent and abundant opportunities at NC State. Its pollyannish to think its that clean and easy, but I hope its at least something close to that.

 

[rockytop25]

 

[vols1024]

Considering he wanted to return to TN after going undrafted, I doubt Bargo is happy with how things transpired at TN. I wish they would have made a spot for him.

There is a big numbers crunch with the 34 cap coming.

But if you bring Bargo back who are you either cutting or prepared to lose to the portal in August?

Look at the OF where you already have 2 starters:

CF- Jay Abernathy
LF- Henry Ford

Then you have:

Garrett Wright - hit .380 as a freshman and .396 as a sophomore. OBP was .503 and .506. Walked more than he K'd each year. Only has 34 career K's over 330 plate appearances. He was one of the most sought after players in the portal who can play a good CF or C which is a wildly rare combination and huge versatility.

Blaine Brown- multiple years remaining... true freshman and hit .292 with a .362 OBP and 10 HRs with 12 doubles. He was just a puppy last year physically as well. Left handed power bat who can take off in our S&C program. Can also play CF.

Tyler Myatt - just broke JUCO baseball with the year he had offensively. If he plays the field at UT it will be LF but he is probably taking the DH slot. Left handed power.

Elite freshman OFers - Taylor Tracey and Nathan Eisfelder all turned down high draft stock to come to Tennessee.

Jaxon Walker - redshirted this past year and was a Top 100 overall player in the country. RS Freshman this year.

Then you have a guy like Hunter High who everyone loves and when you hear people in the program talk they love his bat and his attitude but it has been hard to find a spot.

There just wasn't a spot. Who from that group (especially the first 4 guys) are choosing Bargo over?

The feather in Reese Chapman's hat and the reason he was chosen over Bargo is that Reese plays elite RF defense defense. Reese was also not promised anything on this return. So if he doesn't fix his strike out issues he may end up being a defensive replacement for late game situations.

 

[taylorvol]

There is a big numbers crunch with the 34 cap coming.

But if you bring Bargo back who are you either cutting or prepared to lose to the portal in August?

Look at the OF where you already have 2 starters:

CF- Jay Abernathy
LF- Henry Ford

Then you have:

Garrett Wright - hit .380 as a freshman and .396 as a sophomore. OBP was .503 and .506. Walked more than he K'd each year. Only has 34 career K's over 330 plate appearances. He was one of the most sought after players in the portal who can play a good CF or C which is a wildly rare combination and huge versatility.

Blaine Brown- multiple years remaining... true freshman and hit .292 with a .362 OBP and 10 HRs with 12 doubles. He was just a puppy last year physically as well. Left handed power bat who can take off in our S&C program. Can also play CF.

Tyler Myatt - just broke JUCO baseball with the year he had offensively. If he plays the field at UT it will be LF but he is probably taking the DH slot. Left handed power.

Elite freshman OFers - Taylor Tracey and Nathan Eisfelder all turned down high draft stock to come to Tennessee.

Jaxon Walker - redshirted this past year and was a Top 100 overall player in the country. RS Freshman this year.

Then you have a guy like Hunter High who everyone loves and when you hear people in the program talk they love his bat and his attitude but it has been hard to find a spot.

There just wasn't a spot. Who from that group (especially the first 4 guys) are choosing Bargo over?

The feather in Reese Chapman's hat and the reason he was chosen over Bargo is that Reese plays elite RF defense defense. Reese was also not promised anything on this return. So if he doesn't fix his strike out issues he may end up being a defensive replacement for late game situations.

You simply would have designated one of the instate freshmen signees as an additional DSA. Problem easily solved. I would have ensured 6 DSAs were completed by 7/6/25 to have a roster of 40 which is totally permissible under NCAA rules. This is a transition year which went from basically unlimited rosters to 34. You have to plan for it and leverage DSA accommodation.

 

[WGWTFA98]

I know you probably have some personal connection or relationship to Bargo which is why you have such a strong emotional opinion about this topic but our fanbase did not hate Dalton Bargo. Come on. That’s such a strong word. I think most people really appreciate the effort he gave the program while he was here and the leadership he showed, there are just different opinions about what his ceiling as a player is.

If he crushes the ACC next year, I’ll be thrilled for him.

Do not have a personal connection to Bargo, just respect the players

Sure hate might’ve been the wrong word but I meant it in the sense he got a lot of hate, not that they flat out hated the guy. He was one of the best hitters/players on the team last year and lots of fans couldn’t wait to get rid of him

 

[chuckiepoo]

lots of fans Miserable Legion couldn’t wait to get rid of him

FYP
…the game thread negas.

 

[NighthawkVol]

taylorvol said:
BaseVols Roster 2025 / 2026 (Updated 7/23/25)

Player	Year	Position	Bats	26 Status
2 Ariel Antigua	Soph	SS, 2B, 3B	R	Roster
8 Hunter High	Soph	UTL	Left	Roster
10 Jay Abernathy	Fr	CF, 2B	Left	Roster
14 Blake Grimmer	R Fr	3B, 1B	Left	Roster
15 Manny Marin	Fr	3B, SS, 2B	R	Roster
21 Tegun Kuhns	Fr	RHP/Weekend Starter		Roster
27 Stone Lawless	R Fr	C,1B,DH	R	Roster
30 Levi Clark	Fr	DH,1B, C	R	Roster
40 Jaxon Walker	Fr	OF	Left	Roster
41 Chris Newstrom	Fr	UTL	R	Roster
42 Brennon Seigler	Fr	OF	R	Roster
44 Nic Abraham	Fr	RHP		Roster
Anton Seibert**	Fr	RHP		Roster
Brayden Krenzel	Fr	RHP		Roster
Brandon Arvidson	R Soph	LHP		Roster
Dalton Bargo	Jr	UTL		NC State
Reese Chapman	Jr	RF		Roster
Clay Edmondson	Jr	RHP		Transfer In$. MLB Draft
Mason Estrada	Soph	RHP		Transfer In$. MLB Draft
Bo Rhudy	Soph	RHP		Transfer In
Tyler Myatt		INF		Transfer In$ (JUCO)
Matt Barr	Soph	RHP		Transfer In$ (JUCO). MLB Draft
Brady Frederick	Soph	RHP		Transfer In
Garrett Wright	Soph	C/OF		Transfer In
DJ Newman	Junior	OF/RHP		Transfer In. MLB Draft
Henry Ford	Soph	1B/OF		Transfer In$
Blaine Brown	Freshman	DH/OF/LHP		Transfer In
Landon Mack	Freshman	RHP		Transfer In
Evan Blanco	Junior	LHP		Transfer In$
Mark Hindy	Junior	LHP		Transfer In
Finley Bates	Soph	2B/SS		Transfer In

NOTES:
$ = MLB draft risk for 2026 Portal commits
16 Returnees
10 Portal Transfers IN (incl 2 JUCOs). 4 Drafted by MLB
25 Portal OUT (counting Osuna)
26 on 2026 projected Roster (Before incoming freshmen signees)
17 Incoming Freshmen Signees = 44 on roster. Expect 37 on 2026 Roster (34 + 3 DSAs)

Updated 7/14/25. removing MLB and portal entrants. Updated with Arvidson and 4 MLB portal draftees. Updated Bargo and Chapman as Returnees pending FA contract decisions.

Updated 7/23/25. Removed Bargo from roster (will be playing at NC State).

I count 47 on my roster. I think I am counting more freshmen than you perhaps?

Tell me who I have on here who shouldn’t be:

2026 Tennessee Vols Baseball

Lineup

C: Garrett Wright/Stone Lawless/Trent Grindlinger/Cash Williams/Chandler Jones
1B: Levi Clark/Evan Hankins/Colton Denton
2B: Chris Newstrom/Finley Bates/Tyler Myatt
SS: Manny Marin/Ariel Antigua
3B: Blake Grimmer/Ethan Moore
LF: Henry Ford/Blaine Brown/Taylor Tracey/Hutson Chance
CF: Jay Abernathy/Nathan Eisfelder/Jaxon Walker/Grayson Pope
RF: Reese Chapman/Hunter High/Brannon Seigler/Alex Bedford
DH: Tyler Myatt/Ethan Moore/Trent Grindlinger

Weekend Starters

Landon Mack-RHP
Tegan Kuhns-RHP
Evan Blanco-LHP

Bullpen

Weekend:
Brandon Arvidson-LHP
Anson Seibert-RHP
Brayden Krenzel-RHP
Bo Rhudy-RHP
Cameron Appenzeller-LHP
Ethan Baiotto-RHP
Brady Frederick-RHP
Mark Hindy-LHP

Midweek:
Nic Abraham-RHP
Blaine Brown-LHP
Ryan Combs-RHP
Tyler Wood-RHP
Darrell McDowell-RHP
Jax Bishop-RHP
Sawyer Deering-RHP
Chandler Day-LHP
Art Bethea-RHP

William Haas-LHP-TJ surgery
Blaine Brown is a 2-way player so only counts once.
The guys listed at DH are also listed elsewhere so only count them once.

 

[volfan411]

I count 47 on my roster. I think I am counting more freshmen than you perhaps?

Tell me who I have on here who shouldn’t be:

2026 Tennessee Vols Baseball

Lineup

C: Garrett Wright/Stone Lawless/Trent Grindlinger/Cash Williams/Chandler Jones
1B: Levi Clark/Evan Hankins/Colton Denton
2B: Chris Newstrom/Finley Bates/Tyler Myatt
SS: Manny Marin/Ariel Antigua
3B: Blake Grimmer/Ethan Moore
LF: Henry Ford/Blaine Brown/Taylor Tracey/Hutson Chance
CF: Jay Abernathy/Nathan Eisfelder/Jaxon Walker/Grayson Pope
RF: Reese Chapman/Hunter High/Brannon Seigler/Alex Bedford
DH: Tyler Myatt/Ethan Moore/Trent Grindlinger

Weekend Starters

Landon Mack-RHP
Tegan Kuhns-RHP
Evan Blanco-LHP

Bullpen

Weekend:
Brandon Arvidson-LHP
Anson Seibert-RHP
Brayden Krenzel-RHP
Bo Rhudy-RHP
Cameron Appenzeller-LHP
Ethan Baiotto-RHP
Brady Frederick-RHP
Mark Hindy-LHP

Midweek:
Nic Abraham-RHP
Blaine Brown-LHP
Ryan Combs-RHP
Tyler Wood-RHP
Darrell McDowell-RHP
Jax Bishop-RHP
Sawyer Deering-RHP
Chandler Day-LHP
Art Bethea-RHP

William Haas-LHP-TJ surgery
Blaine Brown is a 2-way player so only counts once.
The guys listed at DH are also listed elsewhere so only count them once.

You think Brown will play LF?? I thought him and Reece would battle it out for the RF starting spot.

 

[taylorvol]

I count 47 on my roster. I think I am counting more freshmen than you perhaps?

Tell me who I have on here who shouldn’t be:

2026 Tennessee Vols Baseball

Lineup

C: Garrett Wright/Stone Lawless/Trent Grindlinger/Cash Williams/Chandler Jones
1B: Levi Clark/Evan Hankins/Colton Denton
2B: Chris Newstrom/Finley Bates/Tyler Myatt
SS: Manny Marin/Ariel Antigua
3B: Blake Grimmer/Ethan Moore
LF: Henry Ford/Blaine Brown/Taylor Tracey/Hutson Chance
CF: Jay Abernathy/Nathan Eisfelder/Jaxon Walker/Grayson Pope
RF: Reese Chapman/Hunter High/Brannon Seigler/Alex Bedford
DH: Tyler Myatt/Ethan Moore/Trent Grindlinger

Weekend Starters

Landon Mack-RHP
Tegan Kuhns-RHP
Evan Blanco-LHP

Bullpen

Weekend:
Brandon Arvidson-LHP
Anson Seibert-RHP
Brayden Krenzel-RHP
Bo Rhudy-RHP
Cameron Appenzeller-LHP
Ethan Baiotto-RHP
Brady Frederick-RHP
Mark Hindy-LHP

Midweek:
Nic Abraham-RHP
Blaine Brown-LHP
Ryan Combs-RHP
Tyler Wood-RHP
Darrell McDowell-RHP
Jax Bishop-RHP
Sawyer Deering-RHP
Chandler Day-LHP
Art Bethea-RHP

William Haas-LHP-TJ surgery
Blaine Brown is a 2-way player so only counts once.
The guys listed at DH are also listed elsewhere so only count them once.

BaseVols Roster 2025 / 2026 (Updated 7/23/25)

Player	Year	Position	Bats	26 Status
2 Ariel Antigua	Soph	SS, 2B, 3B	R	Roster
8 Hunter High	Soph	UTL	Left	Roster
10 Jay Abernathy	Fr	CF, 2B	Left	Roster
14 Blake Grimmer	R Fr	3B, 1B	Left	Roster
15 Manny Marin	Fr	3B, SS, 2B	R	Roster
21 Tegun Kuhns	Fr	RHP/Weekend Starter		Roster
27 Stone Lawless	R Fr	C,1B,DH	R	Roster
30 Levi Clark	Fr	DH,1B, C	R	Roster
40 Jaxon Walker	Fr	OF	Left	Roster
41 Chris Newstrom	Fr	UTL	R	Roster
42 Brennon Seigler	Fr	OF	R	Roster
44 Nic Abraham	Fr	RHP		Roster
Anton Seibert**	Fr	RHP		Roster
Brayden Krenzel	Fr	RHP		Roster
Brandon Arvidson	R Soph	LHP		Roster
Dalton Bargo	Jr	UTL		NC State
Reese Chapman	Jr	RF		Roster
Clay Edmondson	Jr	RHP		Transfer In$. MLB Draft
Mason Estrada	Soph	RHP		Transfer In$. MLB Draft
Bo Rhudy	Soph	RHP		Transfer In
Tyler Myatt		INF		Transfer In$ (JUCO)
Matt Barr	Soph	RHP		Transfer In$ (JUCO). MLB Draft
Brady Frederick	Soph	RHP		Transfer In
Garrett Wright	Soph	C/OF		Transfer In
DJ Newman	Junior	OF/RHP		Transfer In. MLB Draft
Henry Ford	Soph	1B/OF		Transfer In$
Blaine Brown	Freshman	DH/OF/LHP		Transfer In
Landon Mack	Freshman	RHP		Transfer In
Evan Blanco	Junior	LHP		Transfer In$
Mark Hindy	Junior	LHP		Transfer In
Finley Bates	Soph	2B/SS		Transfer In

NOTES:
$ = MLB draft risk for 2026 Portal commits
16 Returnees
10 Portal Transfers IN (incl 2 JUCOs). 4 Drafted by MLB
25 Portal OUT (counting Osuna)
26 on 2026 projected Roster (Before incoming freshmen signees)
17 Incoming Freshmen Signees = 43 on roster. Expect 37 on 2026 Roster (34 + 3 DSAs)

I only show 43 now with removing Bargo. I only show 17 incoming freshmen so that’s likely the discrepancy

Updated 7/14/25. removing MLB and portal entrants. Updated with Arvidson and 4 MLB portal draftees. Updated Bargo and Chapman as Returnees pending FA contract decisions.
Updated 7/23/25. Removed Bargo from roster (will be playing at NC State).

 

[WGWTFA98]

I count 47 on my roster. I think I am counting more freshmen than you perhaps?

Tell me who I have on here who shouldn’t be:

2026 Tennessee Vols Baseball

Lineup

C: Garrett Wright/Stone Lawless/Trent Grindlinger/Cash Williams/Chandler Jones
1B: Levi Clark/Evan Hankins/Colton Denton
2B: Chris Newstrom/Finley Bates/Tyler Myatt
SS: Manny Marin/Ariel Antigua
3B: Blake Grimmer/Ethan Moore
LF: Henry Ford/Blaine Brown/Taylor Tracey/Hutson Chance
CF: Jay Abernathy/Nathan Eisfelder/Jaxon Walker/Grayson Pope
RF: Reese Chapman/Hunter High/Brannon Seigler/Alex Bedford
DH: Tyler Myatt/Ethan Moore/Trent Grindlinger

Weekend Starters

Landon Mack-RHP
Tegan Kuhns-RHP
Evan Blanco-LHP

Bullpen

Weekend:
Brandon Arvidson-LHP
Anson Seibert-RHP
Brayden Krenzel-RHP
Bo Rhudy-RHP
Cameron Appenzeller-LHP
Ethan Baiotto-RHP
Brady Frederick-RHP
Mark Hindy-LHP

Midweek:
Nic Abraham-RHP
Blaine Brown-LHP
Ryan Combs-RHP
Tyler Wood-RHP
Darrell McDowell-RHP
Jax Bishop-RHP
Sawyer Deering-RHP
Chandler Day-LHP
Art Bethea-RHP

William Haas-LHP-TJ surgery
Blaine Brown is a 2-way player so only counts once.
The guys listed at DH are also listed elsewhere so only count them once.

They are at 43 rn

 

[WGWTFA98]

You think Brown will play LF?? I thought him and Reece would battle it out for the RF starting spot.

He could play anywhere in the OF or DH. Will also pitch some

 

[NighthawkVol]

They are at 43 rn

I know that. And as I said, I’m showing 47. That’s why I posted who I have. I want to know which 4 I’m counting who I shouldn’t be.

 

[Putbacks]

I know that. And as I said, I’m showing 47. That’s why I posted who I have. I want to know which 4 I’m counting who I shouldn’t be.

For one, I think Ryan Combs transferred.

 

[NighthawkVol]

I only show 43 now with removing Bargo. I only show 17 incoming freshmen so that’s likely the discrepancy

Updated 7/14/25. removing MLB and portal entrants. Updated with Arvidson and 4 MLB portal draftees. Updated Bargo and Chapman as Returnees pending FA contract decisions.
Updated 7/23/25. Removed Bargo from roster (will be playing at NC State).

Okay…I don’t seem to be conveying what I’m looking for, so let me try again…

You say there are 43. I am counting 47. Another poster pointed out my mistaken inclusion of Combs, so remove him and I’ve got 46.

You are posting a list of 31 players. I can cross-reference the two, but all that does is tell me you aren’t listing the incoming freshmen. But if you’re saying we have 43 (not the 31 you’re showing), you’re clearly counting the incoming freshmen in that 43 number. So which 12 freshmen are you counting? Because, as you can see from my list, I have more than 12.

 

[Putbacks]

Okay…I don’t seem to be conveying what I’m looking for, so let me try again…

You say there are 43. I am counting 47. Another poster pointed out my mistaken inclusion of Combs, so remove him and I’ve got 46.

You are posting a list of 31 players. I can cross-reference the two, but all that does is tell me you aren’t listing the incoming freshmen. But if you’re saying we have 43 (not the 31 you’re showing), you’re clearly counting the incoming freshmen in that 43 number. So which 12 freshmen are you counting? Because, as you can see from my list, I have more than 12.

Are you accounting for the several that you double up?… Myatt, Blaine Brown, Grindlinger, Moore

 

[NighthawkVol]

Are you accounting for the several that you double up?… Myatt, Blaine Brown, Grindlinger, Moore

Yes. I mention that in the post.

 

[taylorvol]

Okay…I don’t seem to be conveying what I’m looking for, so let me try again…

You say there are 43. I am counting 47. Another poster pointed out my mistaken inclusion of Combs, so remove him and I’ve got 46.

You are posting a list of 31 players. I can cross-reference the two, but all that does is tell me you aren’t listing the incoming freshmen. But if you’re saying we have 43 (not the 31 you’re showing), you’re clearly counting the incoming freshmen in that 43 number. So which 12 freshmen are you counting? Because, as you can see from my list, I have more than 12.

I’m showing 26. I note that 4 of the portal transfers signed via MLB draft. Also, I note Bargo as transferrIng to NC State. I have 17 freshmen according to PG. See pics.. Feel free to peruse and see who you over counted.