It’s been a good month for University of Tennessee baseball pitchers past and present. From no-hitters to historic contracts to big league call-ups to healthy returns, Vols have dominated the headlines.
UT threw a combined no-hitter last weekend in the series opener against Texas A&M, with Liam Doyle and Dylan Loy silencing the A&M bats in a 10-0 seven-inning run-rule win at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. It was the second combined no-hitter of the season for the Vols, and both were started by Doyle.
The junior lefty was dominant throughout, striking out eight batters while allowing two walks over six innings. Doyle did not pitch the final inning after developing a blister on his throwing hand.
“Being a part of two no-hitters in the same year is pretty incredible,” Doyle says. “Blessed to be a part of it.”
A few hours before the Vols recorded the no-no, former UT ace Chase Dollander was called up to the big leagues by the Colorado Rockies to make his Major League debut.
Dollander is the seventh former UT player to make it to the majors in the Tony Vitello era, joining Garrett Crochet, Ben Joyce, Andre Lipscius, Trey Lipscomb, Jordan Beck and Seth Halvorsen. Dollander (1-0) earned his first career win in his debut, a 12-5 victory Sunday against the Athletics. He allowed seven hits, four earned runs and walked one over 5.0 innings.
“It means you got a pretty easy choice of what big league game you want to go to if you’re going to go to one as a Vol, with three guys (Beck, Halvorsen and Dollander) in one spot and the history of Todd Helton,” says Vitello, referring to the Rockies. “And then, if you get lucky, maybe you run into the Mannings (in Denver). So it’s definitely progress being made for the program to keep tallying up bodies that are fun for the fans and for us to watch and great for our kids to look up to and ask questions.”
Crochet ties up new deal
Earlier in the week, Crochet garnered attention by agreeing to a $170 million, six-year contract extension with the Boston Red Sox. The deal, which starts in 2026 and extends to 2031, is the largest deal ever for a pitcher with four-plus years of service.
“I can’t think of the last time I played baseball for pride. In college, you’re playing to get drafted, and once you’re in the big leagues, you’re playing to stay in the big leagues,” the 25-year-old lefty told Boston-area reporters. “So to have this security and feel like I’m playing to truly just win ballgames, it takes a lot of the riffraff out of it.”
One of the current UT pitchers with a great chance of reaching the big leagues is AJ Russell, who made his return to the mound for the Vols last week for the first time since February. The hard-throwing righty had Tommy John surgery in June and the UT staff felt he may have returned too quickly.
Russell rested for five weeks before returning to pitch one inning while striking out the side in a midweek win over Tennessee Tech. He threw 12 pitches and 11 were strikes.
“I felt great when I was done,” says Russell, a Franklin native. “I threw a couple extra in the bullpen when it was all over. Hopefully, we can go two innings next time.”
Russell was sensational in his first season at UT in 2023, compiling a 0.80 ERA with a 47-to-7 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 30.1 innings pitched.
“This was the restart of everything,” Vitello says of Russell’s brief appearance. “The fact that it was efficient, didn’t get to a situation where you got a pull or anything like that, was great. But also the ball’s coming out of his hand (great).”
Russell return will aid title chase
UT’s success on the mound is a direct reflection of pitching coach Frank Anderson, who has coached 98 pitchers that have been selected in the MLB Draft in his career. It also reflects the strong recruiting and rise in prominence of the Vols since Vitello took over the program.
Following the no-hitter, the week ended on a sour note as A&M swept the Vols in a Saturday doubleheader to snap UT’s SEC series win streak at 12. The Aggies scored 26 runs and hit 11 home runs over the two-game stretch. It was a rare occurrence from a staff that entered the weekend leading the NCAA in ERA (2.48).
Getting Russell back in the circle for more innings would help as the Vols pursue a second straight NCAA title.
Russell’s goal is to pitch as much as possible this season and be ready to carry a heavier load for the postseason for the Vols. Although Russell plans to be smart about his return, he “wants to help this team as much as humanly possible” and isn’t letting his draft projections dictate his plans.
“It’s not saving myself for anything or anything like that,” he says. “The dream is to go to the next level and everything like that. I am here now and I want to pitch here. It is kind of the biggest thing for me.”