Tony Vitello Provides Update On Star Pitcher
Image: rivals.com
By Cody McClure
Vol Baseball coach Tony Vitello provided an update this morning on pitcher AJ Russell.
“By the halfway point, he will be pitching for us," Vitello said. "All of us would like that to be sooner but there are some steps along the way to knock out.”
How about that. Russell expected to be back by midway through the season.
“He looks so good physically right now. I think he's in line with what he should be.”
Russell had Tommy John surgery back in June of 2024.
He was the Friday night starter prior to that but was bugged by injuries.
When he returns he’ll be a critical piece of the puzzle for the Vols as they try to become the first back-to-back national champion since South Carolina did it roughly a decade and a half ago.
Russell had the less-invasive internal brace version of the common elbow surgery, which has a shorter recovery period, knoxnews.com reported.