BSB PREVIEW: Vols Set for SEC Showdown Against No. 3/4 Longhorns

May 07, 2026 | Baseball

Watch (SECN+/ESPN2)Listen (Vol Network/UT Athletics App)Live Stats UT Game Notes Gameday Info

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee and Texas will square off in the first regular-season matchup as conference foes when the No. 3/4 Longhorns visit Lindsey Nelson Stadium for a three-game series this weekend starting on Friday night at 6:30 p.m.

MORE INFO

Game & Broadcast Info

Opponent: Texas Longhorns
Dates: May 8-10
Location: Knoxville, Tenn.
Venue: Lindsey Nelson Stadium (8,012)
Watch: SECN+/ESPN2
Listen: Vol Network/UT Athletics App
Live Stats: UTStats.com
Game 1: Friday, May 8 – 6:30 p.m. (SECN+)
Game 2: Saturday, May 9 – 6 p.m. (SECN+)
Game 3: Sunday, May 10 – 12 p.m. (ESPN2)

Tennessee (32-17 | 11-13 SEC)

Roster Schedule Stats

#3/4 Texas (36-10 | 15-8 SEC)

Roster Schedule Stats UT Record Book Gameday Central Follow @UTGameday Tennessee Athletics App Buy Tennessee Gear

This weekend will mark the final home series of the regular season for the Volunteers as they travel to Oklahoma next week for their final weekend series of the year before the SEC Tournament begins in Hoover the following week.

GAMEDAY INFO

Fans are encouraged to check the Tennessee Baseball Gameday Central page prior to each game for the most updated info in regards to parking, stadium policies, stadium entry points and more.

PROMOTIONS & GIVEAWAYS

All upcoming promotions for all home games during the season can be found HERE.

BROADCAST INFO

Charley Collier (PxP) and VFL Cody Hawn (analyst) will have the call on SEC Network+ and the ESPN app for the first two games of the series. Sunday's series finale will be televised on ESPN2 at noon ET with Karl Ravech (PxP) and VFL Chris Burke (analyst) calling the action.

Fans can also listen to the Voice of Tennessee Baseball John Wilkerson call the action on the Vol Network (FM 991./AM 990), UTSports.com, the Tennessee Athletics App and the Varsity App. Wilkerson will be joined in the booth by VFLs Redmond Walsh on Friday, Scott Vieira on Saturday and Bobby Gaylor on Sunday.

PROJECTED STARTING PITCHERS

Game 1 – Friday (6:30 pm on SEC Network+):
UT: RHP Tegan Kuhns (11 GS, 3-4, 3.46 ERA)
TX: LHP Dylan Volantis (11 GS, 7-0, 1.87 ERA)

Game 2 – Saturday (6 pm on SEC Network+):
UT: LHP Evan Blanco (12 GS, 5-3, 4.36 ERA)
TX: RHP Ruger Riojas (12 GS, 5-2, 3.71 ERA)

Game 3 – Sunday (12 pm on ESPN2):
UT: RHP Landon Mack (12 GS, 4-4, 4.67 ERA)
TX: LHP Luke Harrison (12 GS, 5-2, 4.35 ERA)

SERIES HISTORY

Vols vs. Longhorns
Overall: Tennessee leads, 3-2
in Knoxville: No Meetings
in Austin: No Meetings
at Neutral Sites: Tennessee leads, 3-2
Last Meeting: May 22, 2025 (W, 7-5 in 12 inn. – Hoover, Ala.)

All five of the prior meetings between the Vols and Longhorns have come at neutral sites, including an instant classic in the quarterfinals of the last year's SEC Tournament in Hoover, Alabama.

Tennessee rallied from a 4-0 deficit in the middle innings and outlasted top-seeded Texas in a 12-inning thriller for a 7-5 victory, powered by an incredible relief outing from Brandon Arvidson and a clutch two-run double by Gavin Kilen in extra innings.

NOTABLE

Sunday is Senior Day
Tennessee will honor four players during Sunday's Senior Day festivities, as OF Reese Chapman, LHP Brandon Arvidson, LHP Evan Blanco and LHP Mark Hindy will be recognized before the game.

Big Orange Power Surge
The Vols have had a major power surge in recent weeks, blasting 31 home runs over their last 10 games entering this weekend's series. Their 91 homers this season rank 10th nationally and have them on pace to eclipse the 100-homer mark for the fifth consecutive season, which would make them the first SEC program to ever accomplish that feat.

UT hitters have left the yard multiple times in eight of the team's last 12 games, including seven games with three or more homers in that stretch. The Big Orange blasted a season-high six long balls in a 13-5 win over No. 25 Ole Miss on April 19, marking their most in an SEC game since also hitting six in a 10-1 win vs. Missouri on April 25, 2024.

Levi Loving SEC Play
After an uncharacteristically slow start during non-conference play, sophomore slugger Levi Clark has continued to up his game throughout the SEC slate this season and enters this weekend leading the team with a 1.024 OPS and seven home runs in conference games.

Clark is batting .297 in league play with 22 RBIs, which are the second most on the team behind Henry Ford's 23. The Georgia native led the Vols offensively last weekend at Kentucky, batting .556 with three runs, a double, two homers and five RBIs for the series. Clark went 3-for-3 with two homers and a career-high five RBIs in Sunday's series finale to lead the Big Orange to a much-needed 10-9 victory over the Wildcats.

Just Catch It
Tennessee has shown drastic improvement defensively this season, ranking tied for first nationally in fielding percentage (.986) entering this weekend. After finishing last year ranked 139th nationally and 15th in the SEC with a .970 fielding percentage, the Vols enter this weekend's series leading the SEC and tied with Incarnate Word for the nation's top fielding mark. They are on pace to shatter the single-season program record for fielding percentage of .980 in 2022. UT has committed one or fewer errors in 42 of its 49 games this season, including 33 contests in which it has not committed a single error.

OPPONENT SCOUT

No. 3/4 Texas Longhorns (36-10, 15-8 SEC)

2025 Record: 44-14 (22-8 SEC)
2025 Postseason: NCAA Austin Regional (2-2)
2026 SEC Preseason Poll: 2^nd
Head Coach: Jim Schlossnagle
- Overall Record: 1,026-479 (25^th year)
- Record at Texas: 80-24 (2^nd year)
Preseason All-Conference Selections (3):
- SP Dylan Volantis (1^st Team) | C Carson Tinney (2^nd Team) | 2B Ethan Mendoza (2^nd Team)

The Longhorns have been one of the nation's most consistent teams since the start of the season and enter this weekend's series tied for second in the SEC standings with Texas A&M. Texas is bolstered by one of the country's deepest pitching staffs that ranks 11^th in the NCAA and second in the SEC with a 3.83 ERA.

ON DECK

The Vols host Belmont on Tuesday at 5 p.m. in the final home game of the year before hitting the road to Oklahoma to finish out the regular season slate with a Thursday-Saturday series in Oklahoma City against the Sooners.