Tennessee Volunteers (8-0) Overall (0-0) SEC
Oklahoma State Cowboys (4-3) Overall (0-0) Big 12 Fri. Feb 28 4:05PM EST
Rice Owls (2-5) Overall (0-0) AAC Sat. March 1 12:05PM EST
Arizona Wildcats (5-3) Overall (0-0) Big 12 Sun. March 2 11:05AM EST
HOUSTON – No. 1/3 Tennessee hits the road for the first time this season as it travels to Houston, Texas for the Astros Foundation College Classic this weekend at Daikin Park.
The Vols enter the weekend with a perfect 8-0 record and will look to continue their early-season success this weekend when they square off against a trio of talented teams in No. 16/NR Oklahoma State, Rice and No. 24/NR Arizona.
TOURNAMENT & TICKET INFO
General tournament and ticket information for the 2025 Astros Foundation College Classic can be found
HERE.
BROADCAST INFO
Every game of the tournament can be streamed live on Astros.com and the Houston Astros' social media channels (X, Facebook, YouTube). They will also be televised locally on the Space City Home Network.
Fans can also listen to the Voice of Tennessee Baseball John Wilkerson call the action via a free audio stream on
UTSports.com, the Tennessee Athletics Mobile App and the Varsity App.
PROJECTED STARTING PITCHERS
Friday vs. Oklahoma State:
LHP
Liam Doyle (2 GS, 2-0, 0.87 ERA)
Saturday vs. Rice:
RHP
Marcus Phillips (2 GS, 0-0, 1.04 ERA)
Sunday vs. Arizona:
TBD
SERIES HISTORY
Vols vs. Arizona
Overall: 0-1
in Knoxville: 0-0
in Tucson: 0-0
at Neutral Sites: 0-1
Last Meeting: Feb. 17, 2023 in Scottsdale, Arizona (L, 3-1)
Vols vs. Oklahoma State
Overall: 4-1
in Knoxville: 2-0
in Stillwater: 0-1
at Neutral Sites: 2-0
Last Meeting: Feb. 13, 2005 in Houston, Texas (W, 6-5)
Vols vs. Rice
Overall: 0-1
in Knoxville: 0-0
in Houston: 0-0
at Neutral Sites: 0-1 (at Minute Maid Park)
Last Meeting: March 4, 2012 in Houston, Texas (L, 11-1)
NOTABLE
Vols Back in H-Town
After an unbeaten homestand to start the 2025 season, Tennessee hits the road for the first time this year to take part in the Astros Foundation College Classic. This weekend will mark the fifth time that the Vols have participated in a tournament hosted at Daikin Park (formerly Minute Maid Park), including the second time under head coach
Tony Vitello. The Vols went 2-1 at the 2022 Shriners Hospitals for Children College Classic in their most recent appearance at Daikin Park.
Success in Early Season Tournaments
For the sixth time in eight seasons under Vitello, Tennessee will play in a neutral site tournament during the non-conference slate. In the previous five neutral site tournaments under Vitello, the Vols have posted an 11-4 overall record and have either won the tournament outright or finished in a tie for the best record four times.
Vols in Neutral Site Non-Conference Tournaments Under Vitello
- 2024 Shriners Children's College Showdown (Arlington, Texas): 2-1 (Won Tournament)
Opponents: #18 Texas Tech (W, 6-2) | Oklahoma (L, 5-1) | Baylor (W, 11-5)
- 2023 MLB Desert Invitational (Scottsdale/Phoenix/Mesa, Arizona): 1-2
Opponents: Arizona (L, 3-1) | Grand Canyon (L, 4-3) | UC San Diego (W, 7-0)
- 2022 Shriners Hospitals for Children College Classic (Houston, Texas): 2-1 (Tied for Best Record)
Opponents: #1 Texas (L, 7-2) | Baylor (W, 10-5) | Oklahoma (W, 8-0)
- 2020 Round Rock Classic (Round Rock, Texas): 3-0 (Won Tournament)
Opponents: #1 Texas Tech (W, 6-2) | Houston (W, 8-4) | #25 Stanford (W, 7-2)
- 2019 Cox Diamond Invitational (Pensacola, Fla.): 3-0 (Won Tournament)
Opponents: Louisiana-Monroe (W, 7-2) | North Florida (W, 10-2) | Western Kentucky (W, 6-3)
Vitello Fastest to 300
With last Friday's 5-1 win over Samford, Vitello notched his 300th career victory as head coach of the Volunteers, doing so in 412 games, faster than any other skipper in program history. Legendary head coach and Tennessee baseball career wins leader Rod Delmonico needed 501 games to reach 300 victories.
Dominant Start to 2025
The Vols dominated in all facets over their season-opening homestand, posting an unblemished 8-0 record after Tuesday's midweek win over North Alabama. UT has outscored its opponents
105-16 over its first eight games while leading the nation in runs per game (13.1), home runs (21), slugging pct (.680) and strikeouts per nine innings (14.4).
The Vols opened the year with four straight run-rule wins and have posted five in their first eight games. On top of leading the country in strikeouts per nine innings, the Vols' pitching staff also ranks in the top 10 nationally in ERA (6th - 1.89), strikeout-to-walk ratio (4th - 5.21), hits allowed per nine innings (3rd - 4.65) and WHIP (4th - 0.82).
OPPONENT SCOUT
Arizona Wildcats (5-3)
- 2024 Record: 36-23 (20-10 Pac-12) | Pac-12 Tournament Champions
- 2024 Postseason: NCAA Tucson Regional
- 2025 Big 12 Preseason Poll: 2nd
- Head Coach: Chip Hale
- Overall Record: 113-77 (4th year)
- Record at Arizona: Same
- Preseason All-Conference Selections (2):
- INF Mason White
- OF Brendan Summerhill
Oklahoma State Cowboys (4-3)
- 2024 Record: 42-19 (19-9 Big 12) | Big 12 Champions
- 2024 Postseason: NCAA Stillwater Regional
- 2025 Big 12 Preseason Poll: 1st
- Head Coach: Josh Holliday
- Overall Record: 449-241-2 (13th year)
- Record at OSU: Same
- Preseason All-Conference Selections (4):
- OF Nolan Schubart (Preseason Player of the Year)
- INF Colin Brueggemann
- INF Aidan Meola
- RHP Gabe Davis
Rice Owls (2-5)
- 2024 Record: 23-36 (11-16 AAC)
- 2024 Postseason: N/A
- 2025 AAC Preseason Poll: 9th10th
- Head Coach: Jose Cruz Jr.
- Overall Record: 63-117 (4th year)
- Record at Rice: Same
- Preseason All-Conference Selections (1):
ON DECK
The Vols return to Knoxville to begin a 10-game homestand with the first of back-to-back midweek games on Tuesday night against Radford at 6 p.m. UT hosts Xavier at 6 p.m. on Wednesday before taking on St. Bonaventure next weekend in the final non-conference series of the regular season.
