The collegiate baseball season hasn’t ended, but that won’t stop the NCAA from opening the transfer portal for college baseball players nationally. As a result, Tennessee baseball has lost its first player to the portal before the Super Regionals.
Pitcher Wyatt Evans logged onto the portal on Monday; first-day collegiate baseball players are eligible to do so. He’s been with Rocky Top for two years, but we didn’t hear his name during the 2023-24 baseball season.
Evans did not make the active roster this season after having multiple arm injuries in 2022. Prior to his injury, he pitched 16 innings with a 2.25 ERA and 22 strikeouts as a freshman. Injuries stopped him from taking the field this year and playing a larger role for the Vols on the mound.
It’s not surprising that Evans went through the portal as a result. Given time to fully recuperate from his injuries, he plans to return stronger with another regimen. Evans’ absence from Tennessee’s active roster will have no effect on Tennessee’s strategy in the Super Regionals against Evansville.
Evansville defeated East Carolina 6-5 on Monday to win the Greenville Regional and will go to Knoxville this weekend for the Super Regionals. The rest of the field will be set by the end of Monday, once all games are completed, and we will know when the Vols and Aces will play their first pitch this weekend.
The college baseball transfer portal will be active until Tuesday, July 2, 2024. Any player who wishes to transfer or at least test the portal waters must put their name into the portal by July 2 to be eligible to transfer to another school.
