BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – For the second straight week and third time this season, Tennessee’s Liam Doyle earned an SEC weekly award after being named the SEC Co-Pitcher of the Week on Monday.
Doyle set the tone for the Vols’ winning weekend in Oxford with another dominant performance on the mound in Friday night’s series-opening 3-2 victory over No. 6 Ole Miss.
Pitching in a hostile road environment, Doyle was spectacular against his former team, tossing a career-high 8.1 innings while allowing just two runs on three hits to earn the win and improve to 6-1 on the year. The junior lefthander finished with an SEC career-best 14 strikeouts on the night, which also tied a career-high mark that he set earlier this season against Samford. Doyle’s 8.1 innings pitched and 14 strikeouts led all SEC pitchers for the week, as well.
With Monday’s honor, Doyle became the first UT player to ever be named the SEC Pitcher of the Week three times in one season. He is also just the third player in program history to win three SEC weekly awards in the same year, joining Todd Helton (1995) and Drew Beam (2022).
The Vols have taken home six SEC weekly awards this season, including four pitcher of the week selections.
2025 SEC Weekly Award Winners
Levi Clark – Fr. – UTL SEC Freshman of the Week (March 10)
Liam Doyle – Jr. – LHP SEC Pitcher of the Week (March 10 | April 7 | April 14)
Gavin Kilen – Jr. – INF SEC Player of the Week (March 3)
Marcus Phillips – Jr. – RHP SEC Pitcher of the Week (March 17)
OXFORD, Miss. – No. 4/5 Tennessee came out on top in a thrilling back-and-forth battle against No. 6/6 Ole Miss, scoring three runs in the top of the ninth to earn a 10-8 victory in Sunday’s rubber game at Swayze Field.
The Vols (31-5, 11-4 SEC) entered the ninth inning trailing 8-7 after the Rebels responded from a five-run top of the sixth from UT with five unanswered runs of their own to take a lead on a wild pitch in the bottom of the eighth.
Sunday’s contest featured six lead changes as both teams traded punches throughout the day before Reese Chapman dealt the deciding blow with a two-run homer in the top of the ninth to give the Big Orange a 9-8 lead. Hunter Ensley singled to score Manny Marin and provide an insurance run heading into the bottom of the ninth.
Despite allowing a pair of base runners, Nate Snead wrapped up the victory with a scoreless ninth inning to secure a big series win on the road for the Vols. Snead was the winning pitcher, improving to 3-0 on the year, after tossing 2.2 innings of relief to finish the game.
Seven different Vols had RBIs on Sunday, led by Chapman and Cannon Peebles, who both hit clutch two-run homers. Peebles had a team high three hits and threw out an attempted base stealer late in the game, as well.
Five of UT’s 11 total hits came in its five-run sixth inning that resulted in a 7-3 lead. The Vols batted around and sent 10 hitters to the plate in the inning with three different players driving in runs.
The Rebels (27-9, 9-6 SEC) quickly cut into the Vols lead with three runs in the bottom of the inning before tying the game with a run in the seventh and taking the lead back with another in the eighth before Tennessee rallied in the ninth.
Up Next
Tennessee will be back at home for four games next week at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. The Vols welcome Bellarmine on Tuesday night before hosting Kentucky for a three-game set starting on Friday night.
The Knox County Board of Education voted unanimously in favor on an agreement that would consist of building a new elementary school costing nearly $44 million.
The proposed design plans are for the new K-5 Farragut-area elementary school located at 202 Village Commons Boulevard. The entire property will encompass more than 144,000 square feet.
Last year, the school board approved plans to build a new school in Farragut. Assistant Superintendent of Operations Garfield Adams said the next step is approving a design.
According to an agreement form, it would cost $43.7 million for Merit Construction, Inc. to build the school. Adams said the funding was approved through the five-year capital plan.
“Very excited for a school that will ensure students have necessary space,” Adams said. “When you have adequate space and state of the art facilities, that is something that certainly enhances that student learning.”
The proposed design plan would build a one-story structure with three classroom wings that can serve up to 1,400 students. Adams said it would be one of the largest elementary schools in the district’s history. He said it will address the need for more space as Farragut continues to grow.
“We work closely with Knox County government. We look at projected numbers,” Adams said. “This additional elementary school will alleviate a lot of those concerns for parents and ensure that our students have the necessary capacity to enhance student learning.”
In addition to the school itself, the cost also includes “limited public street improvements parking, courtyard fences, fencing and playground/playfield.”
The school board discussed the proposed design at a meeting on Monday before voting on Thursday.
Adams said the next step is construction. It is expected to take two years to build before opening.
This school is part of the district’s plans to have three elementary schools in Farragut. Adams said once this one opens, Farragut Primary and Farragut Intermediate will be converted into K-5 schools.
A search in Loudon County for two missing teens has now become a recovery mission.
Sheriff Jimmy Davis making the announcement yesterday (Thursday). It’s the latest update in a rescue effort that was started by a call from Blake Moore who says early Wednesday morning, he got an odd request from a neighbor.
His neighbor told him a young man was on their porch needing an Uber ride to Chattanooga.
That young man turned out to be one of three teens Loudon County Sheriff’s Office officials say led deputies on a chase down I-75 in a stolen car, which was later found near the bridge.
Further investigation indicates that the three boys somehow jumped from the bridge. After more than a day of searching, Davis said the search has turned into a rescue mission after a search of the bank and in nearby woods were unsuccessful, rescuers began searching in the water.
One teen who was detained told police he jumped into the Tennessee River from the bridge on I-75 in Loudon County. (Courtesy: LCSO)
The Tennessee Department of Education has released a checklist for families interested in getting state money to send their children to private school.
The checklist centers on the controversial Education Freedom Scholarship Program, also known as the school voucher bill which uses state dollars to families interested in private school. That bill passed at the start of this year during a special session.
Those picked to receive a scholarship will get $7,295 to go towards enrolling in private school. The Tennessee Department of Education will award 20,000 scholarships with two types of eligibility, Universal Scholarships Open to any eligible student Quali ed Scholarships Reserved for eligible students based on income, IEA eligibility, or ESA eligibility .
The Tennessee Department of Education has released a checklist for families interested in getting state money to send their children to private school.
The checklist centers on the controversial Education Freedom Scholarship Program, also known as the school voucher bill which uses state dollars to families interested in private school. That bill passed at the start of this year during a special session.
Those picked to receive a scholarship will get $7,295 to go towards enrolling in private school. The Tennessee Department of Education will award 20,000 scholarships with two types of eligibility, Universal Scholarships Open to any eligible student Quali ed Scholarships Reserved for eligible students based on income, IEA eligibility, or ESA eligibility .
An investigation is underway following an early morning (Thursday) hit and run accident in Halls.
Rural Metro Fire crews called to Maynardville Highway near East Emory Road and found one damaged car in the road while the other vehicle had fled the scene.
The driver of the vehicle at the scene was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
If you have any information, please contact authorities.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – For the second consecutive season, the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team placed fifth in the year-end national polls.
Tennessee (30-8, 12-6) finished fifth in the country in both the Associated Press Top 25 Poll and the USA TODAY Coaches Poll, as announced Tuesday afternoon.
The Volunteers ascended one position on each list, as they started the NCAA Tournament sixth overall. Tennessee beat Wofford, UCLA and then-No. 18/21 Kentucky to advance to the Elite Eight for the second year in a row. Once there, it fell to Houston, an eventual NCAA finalist.
Tennessee’s fifth-place finish in the AP Poll matches a program previously record in 2023-24, 2021-22 and 2007-08. This is the second time the Associated Press has released a year-end poll after the NCAA Tournament, as the final poll from 1948-49 through 2022-23 came beforehand. The Volunteers have finished fifth in both iterations of the post-NCAA Tournament AP Poll.
Meanwhile, the Volunteers’ fifth-place spot in the Coaches Poll—the outlet has traditionally released a ranking after the NCAA Tournament—ties the program record set just last season, in 2023-24. Before this two-year stretch, their top mark was seventh in 2007-08.
The Volunteers were one of only four teams to rank in the top 12 of the AP Poll and/or Coaches Poll the entire season, alongside Alabama, Auburn and Duke. One of five teams to hold the AP No. 1 position this year, Tennessee spent five weeks atop the list, tied with Kansas for the second-most of any team.
Tennessee notched 11 AP top-10 placements in 2024-25, passing the nine it had last season for its second-most ever in a single campaign. That figure trails only the 14 it posted in 2018-19.
This is the 18th consecutive AP top-10 ranking for the Volunteers—all were in the top eight—dating to Nov. 25, 2024. That is the second-longest streak in program history, behind only the 20-week ledger in 2018-19. All three marks in program of 15-plus weeks are over the last seven years under the direction of head coach Rick Barnes.
In total, Tennessee is in the AP top 10 for the 76th time in Barnes’ 10 seasons, all since 2017-18, after it earned 28 AP top-10 nods in the 14 years (2001-15) before his hiring. The Volunteers have garnered an AP top-10 ranking in 37 of the 42 AP Poll releases over the past two seasons, including a top-eight spot in 33 of the past 36.
Over the last 58 AP Poll announcements—that extends back to Nov. 28, 2022—Tennessee has collected a top-15 spot in 55 of them, all but three.
The Volunteers are in the AP top 25 for the 80th straight week, a tally that spans four full campaigns, since the 2021-22 preseason poll. That figure is 43 above the previous program record of 37 weeks, set March 1999 to Feb. 2001. Tennessee’s 80-week streak is the second-best active mark in the nation, behind only Houston (106). No other school is at even 60-plus, while the closest SEC team is fifth-place Kentucky with a 42-week count that is 38 behind the Volunteers.
Tennessee concluded the year with 1,220 points in the AP Poll balloting and 621 in the Coaches Poll voting.
The Volunteers are one of eight SEC teams in the year-end rankings, four of which are in the top six. They are joined by top-ranked Florida, fourth-ranked Auburn, sixth-ranked Alabama, No. 12/14 Kentucky, No. 18 Ole Miss, No. 19 Texas A&M and No. 20/25 Arkansas.
In addition to coming in at fifth in the AP Poll and Coaches Poll, the Volunteers finished fifth on KenPom.com to tie the program-best mark set in 2023-24. Tennessee also ranked fifth on Haslametrics.com, fifth on ESPN BPI, sixth on BartTorvik.com, sixth on ESPN SOR and seventh on EvanMiya.com. This is the second season in a row Tennessee placed top-seven on all those lists.
To keep up with the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team on social media, follow @Vol_Hoops on Instagram and X/Twitter, as well as /tennesseebasketball on Facebook.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – No. 1/1 Tennessee dropped both games of a doubleheader against Texas A&M on Saturday at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
It was a day to forget for the Volunteers (28-4, 9-3 SEC), as the Aggies (16-15, 3-9 SEC) launched an offensive barrage, combining for 26 runs while hitting 11 homers over the two games, just one day after being no-hit in a 10-0 loss to open the series.
For Tennessee, Saturday’s losses snapped a program-record streak of 12 consecutive SEC series wins. The Vols’ last series loss prior to this weekend came on the road at Alabama in the first conference series of last season.
Game 1: Texas A&M 9, Tennessee 3
Texas A&M pulled ahead in the middle innings and continued to add to its lead with a three-run eighth inning to essentially put the game away and win the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader, 9-3.
Starting with a run in the fourth to tie the game at two, the Aggies scored in five consecutive innings and finished with four home runs for the game.
Marcus Phillips was stuck with his first loss of the year after giving up four runs on five hits in 4.2 innings.
Chris Newstrom got the start in left field and was the lone Vol to have multiple hits in the game, finishing 2-for-3 with a run scored.
Leadoff man Terrence Kiel II and catcher Bear Harrison both had three-hit performances for Texas A&M while Jace LaViolette and Caden Sorrell had two RBIs apiece.
Game 2: Texas A&M 17, Tennessee 6 (8 Inn.)
Texas A&M carried its momentum over from game one with a three-run top of the first in game two of Saturday’s twin bill. Bear Harrison hit the first of seven Aggies’ home runs for the game as they clinched the series with a 17-6 victory in eight innings.
After falling behind 4-0, Tennessee looked to gain some momentum with two runs in the bottom of the third to cut its deficit in half, however, Texas A&M squashed that immediately with a six-run top of the fourth, followed by four more runs in the fifth to build a commanding 14-2 lead.
Wyatt Henseler led the way for the Aggies with three hits and five RBIs, including a pair of long balls. Second baseman Ben Royo also homered twice for A&M.
Four Vols finished with multiple hits in the game in Dean Curley, Dalton Bargo, Chris Newstrom and Cannon Peebles. Newstrom was a bright spot for the Big Orange throughout the doubleheader, finishing with a pair of multi-hit games and four total hits for the day.
Hunter Ensley also drove in three runs with a home run into the porches in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Tegan Kuhns suffered his first loss of the year after allowing four runs on four hits and three walks in just 2.2 innings. Fellow freshman Brayden Krenzel also had a rough outing, surrendering five runs in just one inning of relief.
Junior lefthander Myles Patton earned the win for the Aggies after striking out seven batters over six innings of work.
Up Next
Tennessee will look to regroup against Alabama State on Tuesday night at Lindsey Nelson Stadium before heading to Oxford for a big series at Ole Miss next weekend.
