NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP Tennessee Volunteers Baseball Merchandise Thread (Including Player NIL Products & Events) & Link to the Volnation Store(Post #1)

@greasemachine @preacherman20

I would be very interested in knowing who Zander and Kirby give credit to in developing their pitching at an early age. Whether it be family member, youth coach etc…also when you or they knew they were D-1 material as well. Any incite would be appreciated.


This is the night it all started. Z was 15 1/2 and playing up at a Lake Point tournament.
 
Oh I love this! He was losing his hat early and often in that game. So was this you or his mother with the “Wooos” in the background each time…hahahahaha
It was an amazing and very emotional night. 6 innings 0 runs 1 hitter 16 SOs and very few pitches. Yep, that was me and my dad. Always. We have dealt with the hat and pinning and stitching since the beginning.
 
It was an amazing and very emotional night. 6 innings 0 runs 1 hitter 16 SOs and very few pitches. Yep, that was me and my dad. Always. We have dealt with the hat and pinning and stitching since the beginning.
That’s fantastic! I love the Wooos…guess it was written in stone that night that his home away from home was going to be on Ole Rocky Top! Woo! lol
 
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Let me just say Auntie is the bomb for Zander support staff. Hate granddad can't come as much as he did. But the Connell's love them some Z also but not near as much as greasemachine.
I'm guessing every kid had that game or games that set them apart and made them recruitable as they say.
Kirby's game was when he was 14 playing in 17U WWBA with a team from New Jersey he had never met until 30 minutes before game time. Threw a 6 inning shutout with 15 ks with 1 hit and had a HR and another hit against the #1 team in the nation at the time that ended up winning the tournament. He had them beat through 6 and cruising. The coach of that team pulled him and put in his STUD as he said. He got roped for 10 runs in the 7th and they lost. The fact that he looked 14 at the time against these huge guys and kept sitting them down was impressive to scouts. It was funny because they went to the parents of that team and they said we have no clue who this kid is. Finally a friend who was a recruiter came over and asked if this was "one of mine." When I told him he was Kirby, he said "that can't be little Kirby." Most of the top schools recruited his middle brother Kevin who is 8 years older so they all remembered the little kid running around the field and taking in and out and hitting bp with Kevin's team.
He followed that up with a 16U team the next week that he had never played with and hit a moonshot HR and had another impressive outing against a kid from NY throwing 96. That opened the floodgates for his recruiting. As much as it could back then for a 14 year old kid. That summer he played in the 18U, 17U, 16U, 15U and 14U WWBA all with teams he had never met except 1.
 
Let me just say Auntie is the bomb for Zander support staff. Hate granddad can't come as much as he did. But the Connell's love them some Z also but not near as much as greasemachine.
I'm guessing every kid had that game or games that set them apart and made them recruitable as they say.
Kirby's game was when he was 14 playing in 17U WWBA with a team from New Jersey he had never met until 30 minutes before game time. Threw a 6 inning shutout with 15 ks with 1 hit and had a HR and another hit against the #1 team in the nation at the time that ended up winning the tournament. He had them beat through 6 and cruising. The coach of that team pulled him and put in his STUD as he said. He got roped for 10 runs in the 7th and they lost. The fact that he looked 14 at the time against these huge guys and kept sitting them down was impressive to scouts. It was funny because they went to the parents of that team and they said we have no clue who this kid is. Finally a friend who was a recruiter came over and asked if this was "one of mine." When I told him he was Kirby, he said "that can't be little Kirby." Most of the top schools recruited his middle brother Kevin who is 8 years older so they all remembered the little kid running around the field and taking in and out and hitting bp with Kevin's team.
He followed that up with a 16U team the next week that he had never played with and hit a moonshot HR and had another impressive outing against a kid from NY throwing 96. That opened the floodgates for his recruiting. As much as it could back then for a 14 year old kid. That summer he played in the 18U, 17U, 16U, 15U and 14U WWBA all with teams he had never met except 1.
So Kirby was the travel ball ringer…I love it

Always fascinated with how it all really got started for guys…thanks @greasemachine @preacherman20
 
Let me just say Auntie is the bomb for Zander support staff. Hate granddad can't come as much as he did. But the Connell's love them some Z also but not near as much as greasemachine.
I'm guessing every kid had that game or games that set them apart and made them recruitable as they say.
Kirby's game was when he was 14 playing in 17U WWBA with a team from New Jersey he had never met until 30 minutes before game time. Threw a 6 inning shutout with 15 ks with 1 hit and had a HR and another hit against the #1 team in the nation at the time that ended up winning the tournament. He had them beat through 6 and cruising. The coach of that team pulled him and put in his STUD as he said. He got roped for 10 runs in the 7th and they lost. The fact that he looked 14 at the time against these huge guys and kept sitting them down was impressive to scouts. It was funny because they went to the parents of that team and they said we have no clue who this kid is. Finally a friend who was a recruiter came over and asked if this was "one of mine." When I told him he was Kirby, he said "that can't be little Kirby." Most of the top schools recruited his middle brother Kevin who is 8 years older so they all remembered the little kid running around the field and taking in and out and hitting bp with Kevin's team.
He followed that up with a 16U team the next week that he had never played with and hit a moonshot HR and had another impressive outing against a kid from NY throwing 96. That opened the floodgates for his recruiting. As much as it could back then for a 14 year old kid. That summer he played in the 18U, 17U, 16U, 15U and 14U WWBA all with teams he had never met except 1.
Awwww...thanks 🧡
The Connell's are rock stars in every way.
Love the detail and your memory. Z would also know every detail of his break out night. And every other game. He doesn't remember much, except for baseball and what he threw to Corey Collins (GA) to get him out when they were 11.
 

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Anybody grabbed one of these? Are the logos bigger than the replica game versions? That’s my knock on those. Tiny logo.

I’ve got both the aerobill and the wool one. The logos are the same size (small in my opinion), but the UT logo on the aero bill is much thicker stitching.
 
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I’ve got both the aerobill and the wool one. The logos are the same size (small in my opinion), but the UT logo on the aero bill is much thicker stitching.
Thanks for the feedback! I’ll wait until they develop one with a bigger logo to the public. With several new uniform combos next year supposedly, I need to be saving for that lol.
 
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