From the players whose names were called to the television broadcast crew, the University of Tennessee got plenty of publicity during this year’s Major League Baseball Draft.
The Vols had nine players selected, including a record-setting four first-round picks and eight in the first three rounds. The nine selections were tied for the fourth most among Division I schools this year and are the second highest total in a single draft in program history, falling just one short of the 2022’s team’s record 10 picks.
UT head coach Tony Vitello had a front-row seat for all the action, once again serving as a guest analyst for the MLB Network coverage on the first night of the draft.
UT’s first-round picks were: Liam Doyle (St. Louis Cardinals, No. 5 overall), Gavin Kilen (San Francisco Giants, No. 13 overall), Andrew Fischer (Milwaukee Brewers, No. 20 overall) and Marcus Phillips (Boston Red Sox, No. 33 overall).
Doyle was the highest draft pick in the Vitello era.
“Right now, we’re a little bitter about the end of last year. Tonight erases that for a while, I think it’ll be time to celebrate these kids,” Vitello said on the broadcast, referring to UT’s loss in the Super Regionals of the NCAA tournament. “But when August starts rolling around, we’ll get back to that feeling of we’re not very happy that we got stuck on 46 wins – a good number but not the number we’re looking for. So we’ll be fired up about next year.”
Along with the UT players selected, the Vols had several high school commitments drafted and signed, meaning they won’t be joining the program.
Doyle’s arm attracted attention
After earning unanimous first-team All-America honors as a junior this past season as a transfer from Ole Miss, Doyle became the 22nd first-round pick in program history. The lefthander was widely considered to have the best fastball in this year’s draft and finished his junior campaign ranked second in the nation with a program record 164 strikeouts.
The New Hampshire native posted a 10-4 record and 3.20 ERA in 19 appearances (17 starts). He was the third Vol to ever earn SEC Pitcher of the Year honors.
“Liam was someone that we knew coming into this season was going to be an exciting arm,” said Cardinals director of scouting Randy Flores. “We had heard from our scout in the fall that his velocity had taken another jump from his sophomore year and that he was looking like he was able to repeat his delivery. And so for us, the question was through the year could he stay starting and he answered the bell.”
Doyle’s first-round selection provided him with a special memory that he will never forget.
“It was a pretty emotional night,” he said. “I put in a lot of work to get there and being able to celebrate with pretty much everyone in my life that has impacted me in some way or form – we had like 200 people there–and being on the couch with my mom and dad was pretty special.”
Kilen caught Posey’s eye
Kilen has the distinction of being the first pick made by former Giants star catcher Buster Posey in his role as San Francisco’s general manager.
The junior middle infielder is the second-highest drafted position player to be selected under Vitello behind Christian Moore, who was taken with the No. 8 overall pick by the Angels in the 2024 draft.
Kilen batted a team-high .357 batting average with 15 home runs, four triples and 46 RBIs in his lone season at UT after transferring from Louisville.
“It seems like all reports are that he’s a guy who loves playing baseball,” Posey said on KNBR 680’s Murphy and Markus show. “He plays the game hard; somebody who will push his teammates and hold them accountable. Really excited to see him in a Giants uniform.”
Fischer, Phillips earn first round picks
Fischer, another Ole Miss transfer, was a unanimous first-team All-American as a junior in 2025. He led the Vols in OPS (1.257), runs (70), home runs (25), RBIs (65), total bases (165), slugging percentage (.760), on-base percentage (.497) and walks (63). The New Jersey, native, was the only player in the country to reach base in every game, getting on in all 65 contests.
Phillips became the fourth UT pitcher to be taken in the first round under Vitello and pitching coach Frank Anderson, joining Doyle, Chase Dollander (2023) and Garrett Crochet (2020). The right-hander started all 17 weekends for the Vols, finishing the year with a 3.90 ERA and 98 strikeouts over 83.0 innings.
“From the moment he decided he was just going to be a pitcher and he was going to be a guy, you’ve seen a gradual progression in literally every single category,” Vitello said of Phillips. “Whether it’s getting his delivery under control, throwing more strikes, holding on runners, which became an issue in the middle of the year that he literally fixed mid-season. But the biggest thing is just the maturation process.”