Instant Reaction: Tennessee Baseball 2025 SEC Schedule

Written By Tucker Harlin

Credit: SEC

By Tucker Harlin:

The SEC released its baseball conference schedule for the 2025 season Thursday afternoon.

The defending national champion Tennessee Volunteers start their SEC season off with Florida coming to town in the middle of March.

Unlike the football program, Tony Vitello has been rather dominant against the Gators in his time in Knoxville, only dropping the series in 2018 and 2023.

I’d honestly be more concerned about the series at Alabama the following weekend if I were Tony Vitello.

Tennessee’s one series loss in 2024 was in Tuscaloosa, and it’s safe to say some of the Vols finer moments haven’t come against the Tide.

South Carolina will be a fascinating experiment to watch this season. The Gamecocks hired former LSU coach Paul Mainieri to get their program back to its national title contender status.

Tennessee fans haven’t forgotten what Mainieri said about them after LSU’s trip to Lindsey Nelson Stadium in 2021.

The Vols head to Founders Park at the end of March.

Up next, the Vols get a College World Series rematch with Texas A&M in Lindsey Nelson Stadium.

Despite Jim Schlossnagle attempting to stab the Aggies baseball program in the back less than 24 hours after falling short in the College World Series, they actually managed to maintain much of their key pieces from their run.

Tennessee heads to Ole Miss the following weekend for the first time since the 2022 series. That series was the first time the college baseball world knew the 2022 team was different.

Mike Bianco bought himself some time in Oxford with the College World Series win in 2022. The last two seasons have been pretty miserable.

Tennessee took both Andrew Fischer and Liam Doyle in the transfer portal from the Rebels this offseason. This far in advance, Ole Miss looks like the most winnable road series.

The small ball offense of Kentucky comes to Lindsey Nelson Stadium to start the back half of SEC play. The Wildcats made their first appearance in the College World Series in 2024, and Nick Mingione has done a lot to change the trajectory of the program.

Maybe they’ll bring the pink hats and stuffed animals to Knoxville with them.

The final series of April is in the Box at LSU.

The last trip the Vols took to Baton Rouge did not end well as they dropped the first two games against the Tigers.

I have no idea what to expect from this year’s LSU team as it was thoroughly mediocre in 2024.

Auburn and Vanderbilt come to town the first two weeks of May.

It’s easy to look at Auburn and not think much of that series based on what happened on the plains last year, but the Tigers tend to fluctuate between Top 10 in the country and the absolute worst team in the conference.

As for Vanderbilt, that series has turned into an annual must win for Tennessee. The Vols have won nine of the last 11 meetings and the Commodores are struggling to recruit at a high level in the new landscape of college athletics.

Arkansas in Baum Walker Stadium to end the year is the series that could be the toughest for the Vols.

The Razorbacks had a little bit of a down year with the bats in 2024, but a resurgent offense coupled with a hostile environment will make Dave Van Horn’s bunch a tough test for Tennessee.

Tucker Harlin
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