The Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame has announced the trio of Bill Bates, Todd Helton and Reggie Johnson as inductees in its Class of 2021.

The announcement was made by “Voice of the Vols” Bob Kesling Monday during the statewide Vol Calls radio show on the Vol Network.

“We are excited to name this VFL trio to the 2021 Class of the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame,” Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame Executive Director Brad Willis said. “Their accomplishments across three different sports, both collegiately and professionally, are great stories of dedication and perseverance.”

A revered Tennessee football star, Bates’ career as a Vol spanned from 1979-82. Playing the safety position, the Knoxville native and Farragut High School alum was a four-year starter for the Volunteers and was named to the All-SEC team as a junior and senior.

Bates registered 255 total tackles over his collegiate career, with 86 of those coming in his senior year. He also totaled seven interceptions during his final two seasons on Rocky Top.

Bates would go on to be a three-time Super Bowl champion during his 15-year NFL career with the Dallas Cowboys. He logged 676 tackles and 14 interceptions in his professional career.

Helton, another Knoxville native and a graduate of Central High School, was a two-sport standout at Tennessee and followed his collegiate career with a 17-year MLB career with the Colorado Rockies.

While a member of Tennessee’s baseball team, Helton was named the 1995 National Collegiate Player of the Year. That season, he batted .407 and led the SEC in home runs (20), RBI (92), runs (86), doubles (27), hits (105), walks (61), slugging percentage (.775) and on-base percentage (.522). From the mound that same season, he led the conference with a 1.66 ERA.

As a quarterback with the Vols’ football program, Helton completed 54.5 percent of his passes, amassing 406 yards and two touchdowns as a sophomore in 1994.

After leaving Rocky Top, Helton went on to set Rockies’ franchise records for hits (2,519), home runs (369), doubles (592), walks (1,335), runs scored (1,401), RBI (1,406), games played (2,247) and total bases (4,292). The VFL was a five-time MLB All-Star, four-time Silver Slugger and three-time Gold Glove Award winner while with the Rockies.

Johnson completes the University of Tennessee’s trio of 2021 inductees. A member of the Tennessee men’s basketball team from 1976-80, Johnson twice earned first-team All-America honors and was named first-team All-SEC three times during his career (1978, 1979, 1980).

In 1977, Johnson was the SEC leader in field-goal percentage, connecting on 64.5 percent of his shots. With 2,103 career points, he finished his career ranked second on Tennessee’s all-time scoring list and currently ranks fifth on that list.

Following Johnson’s four-year career with the Big Orange, he entered the 1980 NBA Draft and was selected 15th overall by the San Antonio Spurs. He played for San Antonio, Cleveland, Kansas City, Philadelphia and New Jersey during his professional career and was a member of the 76ers 1983 championship team.

The full, 11-member Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame “Class of 2021” will be announced over the coming weeks.

Established in 1966, the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame honors figures from every sport including basketball, baseball, football, golf, soccer and track & field, along with coaches, teams, sports writers and others who made an impact. The Tennessee Department of Tourist Development oversees all operations at the Hall of Fame, along with the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame Board of Directors. Induction ceremonies take place each summer. The Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame is located in Bridgestone Arena at 501 Broadway in downtown Nashville.

-UT Athletics

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – No. 14 Tennessee had its five-game win streak snapped with a 9-0 loss to Charlotte on Tuesday at Hayes Field in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Clutch hitting was the story of the game for the 49ers, who drove in their first three runs with two-out singles. The Niners busted the game open with a four-spot in the seventh, hitting three straight home runs in the inning.

On the other end of the spectrum, the Vols (11-3) were unable to get hits when it mattered most, missing out on a couple early scoring opportunities, leaving runners in scoring position in the second and third innings.

Liam Spence continued his impressive run of form with two more hits to extend his hit streak to seven games.

Senior left hander Will Heflin started the game for UT but pitched just one inning, giving up one run on two hits and was stuck with the loss, dropping his record to 2-1 on the year.

Charlotte right hander Austin Marozas made his first start of the year and was fantastic in six shutout innings of work. The sophomore scattered five hits and struck out three to earn his first victory of the season.

The Niners (8-3) struck first with a run in the bottom of the first. Designated hitter Will Butcher singled to left center with two outs to drive in Austin Knight from second base and give Charlotte an early 1-0 lead.

Charlotte doubled it lead with another two-out base hit in the third inning. David McCabe lined an 0-1 pitch into left field to plate Craig Keuchel from second and make it 2-0.

It was more of the same in the fifth as the 49ers increased their lead to 3-0 with yet another two-out RBI single, this time off the bat of Gino Groover.

Back-to-back-to-back homers by Aaron McKeithan, Butcher and McCabe blew the game open in the bottom of the seventh. Butcher hit his second four bagger of the game with a two-run shot in the eighth to account for the final score. Charlotte finished the contest with four home runs after entering the game tied for second in the country with 22 long balls.

The Vols will look to rebound this weekend as they host another North Carolina school in UNC Greensboro for three games starting on Friday at 6:30 p.m.

NOTABLE

MIDWEEK WIN STREAK SNAPPED: Tuesday’s loss snapped a 14-game win streak in midweek games for the Big Orange. Prior to Tuesday’s defeat, Tennessee’s last midweek setback came on March 26, 2019 against ETSU.

HIT/ON-BASE STREAKS EXTENDED: A trio of Vols extended on-base and hit streaks in Tuesday’s contest against the Niners. Liam Spence extended his hit streak to seven games and his on-base streak to 17 games with a single to lead off the game. Drew Gilbert has now reached base safely in 21 consecutive contests dating back to last season after a single in the second inning. Luc Lipcius also singled in the second inning to run his hit streak to four games and his on-base streak to 11 games.

Box Score (PDF)

-UT Athletics