This was undoubtedly CTV’s best coaching effort yet. Their lofty preseason rankings aside, this was a deeply flawed team that had no business making it this far. You don’t lose every single starting position player and expect to just reload, let alone actually go farther in the postseason. It took some continuous tweaking with the lineup and the rotation to milk this roster to its full potential. That tweaking continued up until the very end- and even then, there were still obvious holes in this lineup. Christian Scott and the catchers in the 8 and 9 spots were just a constant black hole in the batting order. Our most high profile transfer Maui Ahuna didn’t live up to his lofty expectations (though he was very good in Omaha). Blake Burke was largely a disappointment coming off a freshman year that had many thinking he would break every UT offensive record in the books. The defense was a disaster early on, and while it never really became a strength, it became good enough to get us this far. And then there was the pitching staff. Statistically, they were #2 in the country, but it still felt like they underachieved. Dollander, Burns, and Beam were supposed to be the best rotation in CBB history. Dollander was plagued by inconsistency. Burns was flat awful before moving to the pen and becoming the best reliever in the game (how do they use him next year?). Beam was mostly fine, but it still feels like he has better days ahead.
At 5-10 in the SEC, would’ve been easy to just concede that this team didn’t have it and pack it all in. When they got sent on the road for the entire tournament and were down 4-0 in game 2 in Hattiesburg, they could’ve given up, but they didn’t. Huge credit to this staff for getting this roster to this point.
We’ll find out over the next month or so what next year’s team will look like. CTV figures to be busy in the portal again. He’ll probably be looking for help at SS and C, as well as pitching (as always). The draft won’t decimate this roster like it did last year, but a couple guys with remaining eligibility will probably have decisions to make. If Ensley and Denton return, we should be in good shape to make another run.
Anyway, that’s a wrap on the academic year in UT sports. We’ve had almost 10 uninterrupted months of watching all of our major teams compete for championships. And while we’re all ready to see them bring some of the BIG trophies home, it’s still a great time to be a Vol.
And guess what? SEC football Media Days is less than a month away. So take a few weeks to rest up, but then strap in- we’re about to do it all over again.
