Tennessee adds former Virginia southpaw Evan Blanco from transfer portal

Tony Vitello and staff continue to stay hot as the Volunteers reeled in thier 10th commitment from the transfer portal. Tennessee has found its left-handed arm in the transfer portal with Evan Blanco’s pledge to the Volunteers.

As a junior in 2025 battling a couple of injuries, Blanco began the season in the starting rotation before shifting to the bullpen, finishing the year with a 3-5 record and 6.23 ERA across 39.0 innings with eight starts in 14 appearances. The lefty struck out 36 and walked nine.   

His best season came as a sophomore in 2024, starting 18 games with a 8-3 record and 3.62 ERA over 99.1 innings. Blanco fanned 99 batters and walked 27. As a freshman in 2023, the southpaw appeared in 24 games out of the bullpen and tallied a 1-0 record and 3.04 ERA across 23.2 innings pitched with 26 strikeouts and 10 walks.  

Blanco is currently pitching for the Hyannis Harbor Hawks of the Cape Cod league. He’s compiled a 1-0 record  and 1.50 ERA in three starts and 12.0 inning pitched thus far, striking out seven and walking six. The lefty pitched in the New England Collegiate Baseball League for the North Shore Navigators in the summer of 2023.

The southpaw was ranked No. 287 overall prospect and the No. 40 left-handed pitcher by Perfect Game in the 2022 class. He was considered the second-best prospect out of Massachusetts and the top southpaw in the state. Blanco is draft eligible and considered the No. 10 transfer portal prospect in the cycle, per On3. He’s currently ranked No. 250 in Baseball America’s updated MLB Draft rankings, though not ranked inside the top-250 by MLB Pipeline.  

Baseball Transfer Portal

The 2025 non-graduate transfer portal opened on June 2 and will remain open until July 1. Players must have their name entered in the transfer portal by July 1 if they want to move on, but new destinations do not have to be made by that time.

The Vols have benefited greatly from the transfer portal in recent cycles, reeling in the likes of Chase Dollander (2022), Griffin Merritt (2023), Maui Ahuna (2023), Zane Denton (2023), Billy Amick (2024), Cannon Peebles (2024), AJ Causey (2024), Chris Stamos (2024), Liam Doyle (2025), Andrew Fischer (2025) and Gavin Kilen (2025).

Tennessee now has 10 additions via the transfer portal, a list that includes right-handed pitchers Clay Edmondson (UNC Asheville), Mason Estrada (MIT), Bo Rhudy (Kennesaw State), Brady Frederick (ETSU), utility Garrett Wright (Bowling Green), RHP/OF DJ Newman (Bowling Green), LHP/OF Blaine Brown (Rice) and 1B/OF Henry Ford (Virginia) and RHP Landon Mack (Rutgers). Tennessee has also added junior college players such as RHP Matt Barr (SUNY Niagara) and Tyler Myatt (Walters State) and picked up catcher Trent Grindlinger as a late add to the 2025 class in recent weeks.

Tennessee has now lost 25 players to the transfer portal so far who were on the 2025 roster: INF Jack Jones, INF Robinson Martin, LHP Bryson Thacker, RHP Brayden Sharp, RHP Austin Hunley, RHP Thomas Crabtree, OF Colby Backus, LHP Ryler Smart, LHP Dylan Loy, LHP Andrew Behnke, RHP Austin Breedlove, RHP/OF Beau Revord, LHP Michael Sharman, LHP Brayden May, LHP Luke Payne, RHP Tanner Wiggins, LHP Dane Bjorn, RHP Stratton Scott, RHP Andrew DuMont, RHP Ben Martin, INF Dane Morrow, C Brooks Wright, RHP Aidan Hayse, RHP Tate Strickland and RHP Ryan Combs.