South Bound & Down
Fansided

SEC Baseball: Preseason power rankings for 2022 season

By Matt Melton

OMAHA, NEBRASKA - JUNE 30: Luke Hancock #20 of the Mississippi St. reacts after tagging out Parker Noland #25 of the Vanderbilt in a double play in the bottom of the first inning during game three of the College World Series Championship at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha on June 30, 2021 in Omaha, Nebraska. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
OMAHA, NEBRASKA - JUNE 30: Luke Hancock #20 of the Mississippi St. reacts after tagging out Parker Noland #25 of the Vanderbilt in a double play in the bottom of the first inning during game three of the College World Series Championship at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha on June 30, 2021 in Omaha, Nebraska. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /
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8. Tennessee Volunteers

When looking at SEC Baseball overall, Tennessee here at No. 8 starts the trend of teams who you could likely consider as locks to see postseason play this season. After making a College World Series appearance last season finishing 50-18 overall (20-10 in SEC) as well, the Volunteers as you’ve guessed will return with yet another talented roster in 2022.

While you could certainly make an argument that No. 8 could be too-low for Tennessee, the Volunteers will have to replace multiple key names from a year ago such as Liam Spence, Jake Rucker, Pete Derkay, Connor Pavalony, and Max Ferguson in the lineup, as well as impactful pitchers Chad Dallas, Will Heflin, and Sean Hunley.

However, Tennessee will still return a roster full of talent, headlined by two of the top outfielders in the SEC in Jordan Beck and Drew Gilbert, as well as others such as Luc Lipcius and Evan Russell. Right-hander Blade Tidwell will headline the Volunteers rotation, while other arms such as Camden Sewell, Redmond Walsh, Kirby Connell, and Mark McLaughlin will all see extensive time.

You could certainly make the argument that Tennessee will have one of the strongest pitching staffs in SEC Baseball overall entering the year, meaning that the biggest question mark comes in the lineup. The Volunteers do however have a few names that could be set for big 2022 seasons such as returning outfielder Kyle Booker, as well as a few freshman.

Despite being ranked at No. 8, make no mistake, Tennessee is a very-good team. Whether a return to the College World Series or not is a different question, but the Volunteers should be back in a regional at-least this season.

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