Vols find their infielder, add Finley Bates from portal

Tennessee was in search of a transfer portal infielder the entire cycle and found one here at the end that makes sense as former Aztec Finley Bates commits to Tony Vitello and staff.

Bates is a middle infielder who played his first two collegiate seasons at San Diego State. He was on campus earlier this week for an official visit fresh off the dead period.

The 5-foot-10, 180-pounder tallied a .300 batting average across 57 games and 213 at-bats as a sophomore in 2025, hitting one home run and driving in 23 runs while walking 40 times and striking out on 30 occasions. Bates stole eight bases as a sophomore and scored 48 runs, acting as the leadoff man in the lineup.

The transfer was named Mountain West Freshman of the Year in 2024, becoming just the fourth Aztec ever to accomplish the feat, joining the exclusive club that Stephen Strasburg is a part of. Bates hit for a .292 average with 35 runs scored, three home runs and 11 RBI. He tallied 18 multi-hit games as a rookie and belted 14 doubles.

Throughout his two-year career thus far, Bates has played second base in 55 games and shortstop in 60 contests.

San Diego State made a coaching change following the 2025 season, parting ways with Shaun Cole and hiring Kevin Vance. This change spurred the move for Bates to enter the transfer portal on June 3.

Bates has two years of eligibility remaining. The infielder was considered the No. 265 overall prospect in the 2023 recruiting class and the No. 56 shortstop, per Perfect Game.

The publication also tabbed the Castle Rock, CO native as the No. 5 overall prospect and second-ranked shortstop from the state. The infielder is not draft eligible. Bates was on campus for a visit once the dead period lifted following the Fourth of July holiday.

Committed. #GBO 🍊 pic.twitter.com/SbbSZoaaiY

— Finley Bates (@finleybates06) July 10, 2025

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 12 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), RHP Landon Mack (Rutgers), LHP Evan Blanco (Virginia) and LHP Mark Hindy (Duke). 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 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.