Tennessee Vols baseball started the weekend with some unexpected news
The Tennessee Volunteers baseball program kicked off the weekend with some unexpected news, but it was a decision made by the Vols.
The Tennessee Vols baseball program kicked off the weekend with some unexpected news.
According to a report from VolQuest’s Mike Wilson, Vols shortstop Manny Marin is entering the transfer portal.
Marin has two seasons of eligibility remaining, but he’s eligible to be selected in the 2026 MLB Draft later this summer.
Tennessee is choosing to look for a new shortstop
According to Wilson, Tennessee has “elected to pursue a new starting shortstop for the 2027 season.”
Marin slashed .291/.346/.448 with nine home runs and 43 RBIs in 55 games for the Volunteers this past season.
The slick-fielding shortstop committed just five errors in 2026, but Tennessee appears to be looking for more offensive production from the position.
Offense is the name of the game in college baseball — which is unfortunate, to some extent, because I think defense is overlooked at all levels of baseball these days — but Marin could still have a bright future in the sport. And if he’s not drafted, he’ll be a highly-sought after player in the transfer portal.
One of Marin’s most memorable moments in a Vols uniform came during his freshman season when he hit a walk-off grand slam to give Tennessee an 11-1 win in seven innings over St. Bonaventure thanks to the “run rule”.
The moment went semi-viral because of then-Tennessee coach Tony Vitello’s seemingly disappointed reaction (Vitello, at the time, was tired of playing run-rule shortened games because he wanted his players to get more game reps).
Not every good player is a fit for every good program, and that appears to be the situation with Marin and Tennessee.