From tos....
Vols accomplished something no other school has EVER done. In same season, football New Year's Day 6 bowl, both boys & girls basketball sweet 16, both softball & baseball College World Series.
Yes, we’re an “everything school” now, but we need to take that next step and start bringing home the BIG trophies. We’re in a championship window in multiple sports:
1. Football could win 10-11 games again this season. Still, this feels like the year before the year. The immediate future is bright, but the long term future is blinding.
2. I’m still in “prove it” mode when it come to Rick Barnes and the transfer portal. But the national pundits sure seem impressed with this year’s haul. I’ve seen us in many early top 5’s. If these transfers work out, and if ZZ and JJ return fully healthy, this could be a special season. A lot needs to go right, but it’s doable.
3. It’s hard to predict the future in baseball, because the draft wreaks havoc with your roster every year. But we should have Burns and Beam back next year, along with Burke and Moore. And don’t look now, but CTV has the #1 class committed for ‘24 and the #2 class for ‘25. If we can get most of those guys to campus, we WILL win a title in the next 5 years. Hell, we could still win a title THIS year.
4. Softball returns literally the entire roster minus Ashley Rogers next year. In any other sport, they’d be a slam dunk preseason #1. Unfortunately this is softball, and there’s a monster program to our west that is the top dog until someone can beat them. But OU did just lose their ace pitcher to the portal, so maybe there’s hope.
5. Oddly enough our most historically dominant program is the one that seems farthest away right now. Kelly is going to have to recruit better and hit the portal harder to keep up with SC and LSU. Sweet 16 still feels like the ceiling without some major roster upgrades.
