The defending national champion Tennessee Volunteers will begin the defense of their title from a lofty position.
The Base Vols checked in at #4 on Monday in D1 Baseball’s preseason poll.
2025 D1Baseball Preseason Top 25
(Presented by @NettingPros)The D1Baseball Preseason Top 25 Rankings are out with @AggieBaseball leading the charge as the national title favorite entering the 2025 campaign. https://t.co/tUlBwBEwgi
— D1Baseball (@d1baseball) January 13, 2025
The Vols previously came in at #5 in the preseason rankings by Perfect Game.
The Texas A&M Aggies took the top spot, and it’s not too hard to understand why. The Aggies ended up being one run worse than the Vols in Omaha last year, and they have a lot of talent returning in 2025. Like, pretty much everyone back. Well, except for their former head coach Jim Schlossnagle, who ended up going over to archrival Texas just days after the end of the College World Series. Yeah, they might be motivated this year.
Tennessee checked in as the third team in the SEC, coming in behind #3 LSU. The Vols lost a lot of good talent to the MLB Draft in Christian Moore, Blake Burke, Drew Beam, Billy Amick, Dylan Dreiling, Kavares Tears, Aaron Combs, and AJ Causey.
However, Tony Vitello’s offseason moves should have them in position to compete once again for return trip to the College World Series. He added transfer infielders Eric Rataczak (Niagara), Gavin Kilen (Louisville), and Andrew Fischer (Ole Miss), along with pitchers Liam Doyle (Ole Miss) and Tanner Franklin (Kennesaw State). Omaha hero Hunter Ensley – listed as the #2 returning senior in the country by Perfect Game – and Dean Curley return to help form a solid core.
The Vols start their season on February 14 against Hofstra at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.