Chase Burns is in position to do something no former Vol has ever done before, and it has Tennessee fans feeling some kind of way
Former Tennessee RHP Chase Burns, who finished his career at Wake Forest, is in position to do something no former Vol has ever done before.
Former Tennessee Vols RHP Chase Burns is in position to do something that no former UT player has never done before.
And it has some Vols fans feeling some kind of way.
Burns, who spent the first two seasons of his college career at Tennessee before spending his final season at Wake Forest, isn’t the most popular guy on Rocky Top after transferring away from the program following his sophomore season.
The talented righty transferred after the 2023 season after he fell out of the Vols’ starting rotation following some early-season struggles.
Burns dominated out of the bullpen for Tennessee as a sophomore, but he ultimately felt Wake Forest was a better place for him to finish his college career.
Tennessee went on to win the national championship in 2024 without Burns on the roster (but he went No. 2 overall in the MLB Draft later that summer).
“Yeah, it was weird seeing them win it, but I’m thinking about the long-term goals,” said Burns in 2025 of the Vols winning it all in 2024. “It’s awesome that those guys won the national championship, and I’m happy for them, but a national championship wouldn’t have helped me develop and be the starter that I want to be.”
“I wish I would have won a national championship, of course, but not everybody can say they went second overall,” added Burns. “It plays hand in hand. I’m happy that they won that, and they deserve it all, but I’m also happy for myself and my hard work.”
Chase Burns is an NL All-Star
Burns was recently named to the All-Star team, and he’s an option to be the starting pitcher for the National League.
No former Vol has ever been the starting pitcher in an MLB All-Star Game.
Jacob Misiorowski is the top option to start, but he’s lined up to pitch the Sunday before the All-Star Game, which would take him out of the mix to pitch in the Midsummer Classic.
Burns, Chris Sale, and Christopher and Sanchez are all good options, and a case can be made for any of them. Sanchez may get the nod because the game is in Philadelphia, but he’s had some uneven starts over the last month (Sanchez gave up nine earned runs in 3.1 innings on Monday).
If Burns starts the All-Star game, it will be a program first for Tennessee, but I’m not sure how much Vols fans will be celebrating the accomplishment.