The reigning Southeastern Conference Tournament champion Tennessee Volunteers will look to defend their title this week at the Hoover Met.
The Big Orange earned a first-round bye and enter this year's SEC Tournament as the No. 8 seed after finishing with a 16-14 conference record, marking their fifth straight season with a winning mark in league play.
UT opens tournament play on Wednesday morning at 10:30 a.m. ET against No. 9 seed Alabama, who defeated No. 16 seed Missouri, 4-1, in the opening game of the tournament on Tuesday morning.
SEC TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
Information on the Hoover Met, tickets and everything else related to this year's SEC Tournament can be found HERE.
TICKET INFORMATION
Fans interested in purchasing tickets to this year's SEC Tournament can do so by clicking HERE.
BROADCAST INFO
Every game in this year's SEC Tournament will be televised on the SEC Network until Sunday's championship game, which will be broadcast on ESPN2.
The announcers for this year's tournament include Tom Hart (PxP), Dave Neal (PxP), Chris Burke (analyst), Lance Cormier (analyst), Kyle Peterson (analyst), Todd Walker (analyst) and Kris Budden (field reporter).
Fans can also listen to the Voice of Tennessee Baseball John Wilkerson call the action for the Vol Network (FM 99.1/AM 990) as well as via a free audio stream on UTSports.com, the Tennessee Athletics Mobile App and the Varsity App.
SEC TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Appearances: 20
Tournament Titles: 5 (2024, 2022, 1995, 1994, 1993)
Overall Record: 36-29 (.554)
Last Appearance: 2024 (4-1) | Won Tournament Title
Last 10 Games: 8-2
The Vols will be looking to win their third SEC Tournament title in the past four years.
NOTABLE
Hoover Highs Under Vitello
The Vols have had unprecedented success in Hoover under head coach Tony Vitello, posting an 11-5 overall record at the event in their five appearances since 2019. UT is 8-2 in its last 10 games in Hoover and has advanced to Sunday's championship game in three of the past four seasons (2021, 2022, 2024) while winning a pair of tournament titles in that span (2022, 2024).
Prior to Vitello's arrival, Tennessee had made just three SEC Tournament appearances since 2008 and had not won a game in Hoover since 2007.
Doyle is the SEC's Best
On Monday, junior lefthander Liam Doyle became just the third Vol to be named the SEC Pitcher of Year, joining the likes of Luke Hochevar (2005) and Chase Dollander (2022). Doyle leads the nation with 137 strikeouts, a mark that also ranks tied for third most in UT single-season history. He needs just 18 more strikeouts to surpass Hochevar's record of 154 set in 2005.
Four Vols Earn SEC Honors
Tennessee had four players earn SEC postseason honors as the league announced its yearly award winners and All-SEC teams on Monday afternoon. Headlining the group of Volunteers was Doyle, who was named the SEC Pitcher of the Year and a first-team selection after a dominant season on the mound for the Big Orange.
Joining Doyle on the All-SEC first team was Andrew Fischer (first base) and Gavin Kilen (second base). Hunter Ensley rounded out UT's representation by garnering All-SEC second team and SEC All-Defensive team honors as an outfielder. UT's three first-team selections were the second most in the league behind Arkansas, who had four.
Fisch is on Fire
Fischer has been a force for the Big Orange this season, leading the SEC with 22 home runs, a .779 slugging percentage, .502 on-base percentage, a 1.281 OPS and 56 walks. Fischer (56 games) is the only player in the SEC to have reached base in every game this season. Dating back to his time at Ole Miss last season, Fischer has reached base safely in 59 consecutive contests.
The New Jersey native has provided big-time power, leading the SEC and ranking tied for third nationally in homers this season. Eleven of his homers have come during conference play, which is tied for third in the league. Fischer is red hot entering the SEC Tournament, having homered in five of his last eight games overall, including five round trippers in his last six games.
ON DECK
With a win on Wednesday, Tennessee would advance to the quarterfinals to take on top-seeded Texas on Thursday at 4 p.m. ET. The Vols would be eliminated with a loss and return to Knoxville to await their draw in this year's NCAA tournament.
The NCAA Baseball Selection Show will air on ESPN at noon ET Monday, May 26.