Tennessee baseball returns this afternoon in Knoxville with the Volunteers set to kickoff the Josh Elander era. Tony Vitello’s longtime right-hand man takes over at Tennessee, looking to pick up right where they left off. Several key pieces of the roster are back, and some new additions should add both pop to the lineup and stability on the mound.
Tennessee, also set to debut a new-look Lindsey Nelson Stadium this weekend, will roll with Tegan Kuhns on the mound to get things going on Friday afternoon against Nicholls. Elander set his starting rotation earlier this week, naming Landon Mack as the Saturday starter and veteran Evan Blanco as the Sunday starter.
Friday will be the first ever meeting between Tennessee and Nicholls.
The Volunteers enter the 2026 season as a consensus top 15 team across all major polls, with Perfect Game ranking them as high as No. 3 nationally. Without Vitello, will things look and feel the same in Knoxville? We’re about to find out.
Tennessee baseball weekend schedule and projected starters
Game 1 (Friday – 4:30 p.m. ET)
RHP Tegan Kuhns vs. RHP Nuno Parache
Game 2 (Saturday – 1 p.m. ET)
RHP Landon Mack vs. LHP Austin Vargas
Game 3 (Sunday – 1 p.m. ET)
LHP Evan Blanco vs. RHP Haden Luke
TV and streaming information: The games will not be televised, but they will stream on SEC+ on the ESPN App.