‘To be honest, I almost cried’ — Tennessee standout received a subtle honor from Josh Elander that meant everything to him
The Vols’ returning rotation piece got some major respect from his head coach.
The Tennessee Vols’ 2026 baseball season came with a lot of questions coming into it. That’s naturally going to happen when your beloved manager makes a move from college to Major League Baseball, as Tony Vitello did.
Those questions are also compounded — and likely will be annually, to some degree — by the uncertainty that the transfer portal brings from year to year.
Tennessee’s 2026 roster is a perfect example of that. Transfer sluggers Blaine Brown (Rice), Tyler Myatt (Walters State), and Henry Ford (Virginia) are already looking like major pieces, and two thirds of the starting weekend rotation — Landon Mack (Rutgers) and Evan Blanco (Virginia) — were playing elsewhere in 2025.
However, regarding that other third of the rotation, Tegan Kuhns found himself in an enviable position on Friday against Nicholls State as the opening day starter. And as he explains it, it was a moving and extremely important honor that he got from Josh Elander.
Tegan Kuhns says it was a dream and that he ‘almost cried’ when he found out he was Vols’ opening day starter
“So, I was just chilling in bed, I picked up, he (Elander) goes, ‘dude, you ready to lead us in charge on Friday?’ I was like, hell yeah. Honestly, I almost cried when I heard it because that’s everything I’ve dreamed of. Oh, it was unbelievable. The fans, too. Had to show a little bit of love to them.”
Kuhns’ role in 2025 was more of an opener on Sunday, where Tennessee mixed in multiple pitchers. Kuhns posted a 5.40 ERA in 15 games with 10 starts over 36.2 innings with a 40/16 strikeout to walk ratio.
But on Friday in the season-opening 10-0 (8 inn.) win over Nicholls State, Elander looked like a front of the rotation starter. He went 6.2 innings with eight strikeouts, allowing just two hits and one walk.
It’s just the first game, but it was a very good one for Kuhns and the Volunteers. And there’s no doubt that it was an incredibly meaningful one for Kuhns.
Tennessee Volunteers News
‘It made me tense’ — Tony Vitello explains his craziest Drew Gilbert story while at Tennessee
The Vols’ former skipper tells a hilarious story that should probably surprise no Tennessee fan.
