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College  | Story  | 12/9/2022

College Notebook: December 9

Vincent Cervino     
Photo: Chase Dollander (University of Tennessee Athletics)
Programs covered this week: Alabama, Florida, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt
Alabama
The Tide were one of the last teams left out of the NCAA tournament last season but Alabama returns a wealth of starters including a couple of potential stars who have taken steps forward.

The first name that comes to mind is left-hander Grayson Hitt who made big strides over the summer and fall. He’s got five pitches now and was sitting in the 94-97 mph range and looked dominant this fall. Sophomore Ben Hess has the potential to be one of the best sophomores in the country, a power right-hander who sits in the 94-96 mph range and might force his way into the rotation. Speaking of the rotation, both Garrett McMillan and Jacob McNairy made double digit starts last year and return. Aidan Moza and Zane Probst are two transfers who will throw mid-90s while Hunter Furtado is a wild card as a lefty up to 97. Keep an eye on freshman Riley Quick, a 6-foot-6 righty who throws turbo sinkers in the 94-96 mph range.



Caden Rose led the team in hitting last year and returns while Andrew Pinckney hit .300 in 2022 but was their best hitter in the fall. Pinckney looks like he put forth another gear and could be in store for a great season. Jim Jarvis returns at shortstop and is as surehanded as they come. Catcher will likely be a time share between returner Dominic Tamez and Florida transfer Mac Guscette. Colby Shelton is an advanced true freshman who could compete for time right away.

Florida
The Gators return a bulk of their offensive firepower sans for 1st rounder Sterlin Thompson and 2nd rounder Jud Fabian. Wyatt Langford is the big name here as a potential 1:1 candidate and he’ll likely slot in at left field where he played last year. Langford had one of the best season in Gators’ history and is also a plus runner. Michael Robertson is healthy and will likely man centerfield as a true 80 grade runner while guys like Colby Halter, Josh Rivera, and BT Riopelle all return.

Jac Caglianone was a bright spot last spring and he’ll continue to be a force at DH though he did return to the mound this fall. The stuff is electric and he was up to 99.4 this fall. Hurston Waldrep will likely man a spot in the rotation as the Southern Miss transfer is another first-round talent. He sits in the upper-90s with a plus-plus breaking ball and lots of separation on the changeup. Brandon Sproat was the highest drafted player in 2022 to return to school and prized sophomore Pierce Coppola is healthy and will likely contribute in a big way.

As far as true freshmen go, it looks like Cade Kurland and Cade Fisher have a chance to be immediate impact guys. Kurland enrolled early over the summer and had five home runs this fall after hitting almost .500 in high school ball in the spring; he can play all over the infield dirt. Fisher is an 88-92 mph lefty with excellent pitchability but the prep arms from the 2022 recruiting class all have massive upside.

Tennessee
No team was more talented from start to finish last season than the Volunteers even though they were downed in the Super Regionals. As a result, Tennessee loses a ton of talent to the draft particularly on the offensive side but they return their entire weekend rotation which includes potential first overall pick Chase Dollander.

Dollander is the consensus top projected arm for next spring’s MLB Draft and all he did this fall was sit 96-99 mph with five pitches. It’s a ridiculous arsenal and Dollander is looking to become the first college pitcher to go 1:1 since Casey Mize in 2018. Chase Burns is back throwing upper-90s cutters and generally looking like a star in the conference; he’s a likely first rounder for 2024. Drew Beam manned Sundays last year and he also returns as he pounds strikes and gets quick, weak-contact outs. Camden Sewell and Zander Sechrist both return and will likely get big innings out of the ‘pen. Bryce Jenkins and Jake Bimbi are two newcomers that can pitch well while true freshman Hunter Sloop has been up to 97 and AJ Russell looks like a projection pick-to-click. Seth Halvorsen is the wild card here as he can touch 100 and missed all of 2022 with injury.

Jared Dickey raked in limited time last spring and though he’s a converted catcher, the bat might be too good to put him behind the plate. Blake Burke hit 14 home runs in 95 at-bats last spring and the fall buzz has him being even better; he has a chance to blossom into a star with regular playing time. Maui Ahuna transfers in from Kansas where he’s a dynamic defensive shortstop who hit .400 for the Jayhawks last spring. Christian Moore is another sophomore who played well as a freshman while Zane Denton transfers in from Alabama and should man the hot corner. Dylan Dreiling, Reese Chapman, and Alex Stanwich are three outfielders who could compete for playing time right away as the outfield situation will likely take a couple of weeks to sort itself out.

Texas A&M
The Aggies were one of the last teams left standing after making a deep Omaha run in year one under new coach Jim Schlossnagle. They lose some important pieces but there are plenty of returners coupled with new faces who will be able to contribute right away.

Jack Moss hit .380 last spring and has added another element to his game in terms of power. Moss added strength to the frame and looks like a middle of the order SEC bat that could get to double digit home runs. Austin Bost hit ten homers with a .360 average last year and will be back as is third baseman Trevor Werner who’s always had huge tools. Hunter Haas will man shortstop while catcher will be split by a couple of JUCO transfers and incoming early enrollee Max Kaufer. Ryan Targac was a huge offensive contributor in 2022 and will have draft buzz and superstar freshman Jace LaViolette had an amazing fall and has first-round tools and pedigree.

Nathan Dettmer will be the guy on Friday nights and the big right-hander was up to 99 mph this fall, though he typically sits in the 93-96 mph range. Troy Wansing transfers in from Purdue and has the strike quality to start while Christopher Cortez is routinely sitting in the upper-90s and will have a shot to start. Transfers Carson Lambers, from USC, and Brandyn Garcia, from Quinnipiac, both have quality stuff with numbers in the past. True freshmen lefties Shane Sdao and Justin Lamkin were both excellent and seem mature enough to warrant innings right away.

Vanderbilt
You wouldn’t call it a down season anywhere else but the Commodores are looking to rebound after failing to reach 40 wins for the first time since 2018. They lose three or four starters offensively, headlined by 1st rounder Spencer Jones, and Chris McElvain at the top of the rotation but there’s reason for excitement, particularly on the pitching side of things.

The two returners expected to pitch in the rotation are Carter Holton and Devin Futrell, both of which had lighter workloads this fall after long springs. Holton looks like a Friday night SEC ace while Futrell dominated midweeks and cracked the weekend rotation by the end of the season. Greysen Carter and Ryan Ginther both took big steps with Carter improving his strike throwing, he already sits in the upper-90s, and Ginther ticking up a bit in terms of velocity. Sam Hliboki and Michael Doolin are both finally healthy and could be wild cards and the same go for Hunter Owen and Patrick Reilly who had limited falls but have elite stuff.

Rj Schreck transfers in from Duke and the left-handed hitting outfielder has 28 career home runs to his name. Expect sophomore JD Rogers to get more playing time as he dominated the Northwoods League and had an excellent fall while the same could be said for junior TJ McKenzie as well. Chris Maldonado and RJ Austin are true freshmen who really impressed and could play all infield spots as the early season could be a bit of experimentation with roles and lineup construction. The crown jewel of the 2022 recruiting class is Andrew Dutkanych IV who had a couple of loud outings with excellent stuff.
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