'I don't think he got along with his teammates' – Former Vol who left for Wake Forest is why Liam Doyle wasn't at Tennessee a year sooner
When LHP Liam Doyle entered the NCAA transfer portal after his freshman season at Coastal Carolina, he was a player that the Tennessee Vols had some interest in. The Vols, however, didn't put the full-court press on Doyle because they already had a left-handed starter on the roster in Matthew Dallas that they liked (Dallas […]
When LHP Liam Doyle entered the NCAA transfer portal after his freshman season at Coastal Carolina, he was a player that the Tennessee Vols had some interest in.
The Vols, however, didn't put the full-court press on Doyle because they already had a left-handed starter on the roster in Matthew Dallas that they liked (Dallas transferred to Wake Forest after the 2024 season).
Doyle ended up at Ole Miss for the 2024 season before eventually landing at Tennessee for the 2025 season.
(Doyle pitched against Tennessee in 2024, striking out 10 Vols in an 8-5 win for Ole Miss.)
Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello joined The Tony Basilio Show this week and he told the story of why the Vols didn't go all-in on Doyle ahead of the 2024 season (and he also dropped some fun quotes about Doyle's mindset when he pitched against the Volunteers).
"Ironically, Matt Dallas, who's at Wake Forest now, is a left handed prospect," said Vitello. "We like the kid. I think he's a good pitcher. And I didn't even want him to leave here, but I don't think he got along with his teammates that great. Because we had him potentially getting drafted, we didn't want to upset him. And this is a group decision, I was a part of it, it was a bad one. The reason why we didn't go after Liam harder out of Coastal was [because] we went at Luke Holman (who eventually transferred to LSU), but also we didn't want to get too many guys. And Liam was left handed, and so was this Dallas kid. So we passed on Liam.
"And then we play them (Ole Miss). And that was one of the most painful losses I’ve ever had at Lindsay Nelson — watching that kid ram it on us for six innings. And he had a little extra intent to it. So rather than ask Liam and get a polite answer, I went to Andrew Fischer, and I said, ‘Hey, Liam was trying to kill us that day'. [Fischer] said, ‘On the bus ride there, Liam said, Watch what happens. I’m about to make these guys pay'. I can’t say everything on air, but you hear what I’m getting at."
Things ended up working out just fine for the Vols despite not pursuing Doyle. Tennessee won the College World Series in 2024, and they eventually brought Doyle to Rocky Top for what turned out to be a memorable season (albeit one that didn't end with a parade).
Vitello and his staff obviously have an elite eye for talent, but even the best in the business make the wrong choice sometimes.
