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Signee Trent Grindlinger to play for Tennessee, done with draft

On3 imageby: Eric Cain07/14/25_Cainer
Tennessee Baseball | Tennessee Athletics
Tennessee Baseball | Tennessee Athletics

Tennessee received some more good news on Monday afternoon as highly-touted prep catcher signee Trent Grindlinger told Volquest he was pulling out of the draft and coming to play at Tennessee. The backstop was considered a draft risk throughout the process, but had serious aspirations about playing at the college level and in the Southeastern Conference.   

Grindlinger is a 6-foot-2, 190-pound catcher that projects well at the next level. He was originally committed to play in Starkville at Mississippi State, but flipped his collegiate commitment to Tennessee in early May. The USA Baseball alum is tabbed as the No. 30 overall prospect in the Class of 2025 by Perfect Game and the No. 2 catcher. The publication characterizes Grindlinger as a ‘big and strong athlete with high level defensive tools.’

Coming into draft weekend, Grindlinger was tabbed as the No. 110 prospect by MLB Pipeline and the No. 100 prospect by Baseball America.

Tennessee had great success with the 2024 signing class last summer, surviving several draft battles and getting plenty of talent to Knoxville. The Vols’ highest-rated signee Anson Seibert made it to campus. Fellow top-100 recruits (Perfect Game) Levi Clark, Tegan Kuhns, Jay Abernathy, Brayden Krenzel, Manny Marin and Jaxon Walker also turned down professional opportunities to come and play for Tennessee.

Scouting Report from MLB.com

Hit: 45 | Power: 50 | Run: 40 | Arm: 60 | Field: 55 | Overall: 45

“California high school power Huntington Beach has produced some impressive prep catching prospects over the years, from 2006 first-rounder Hank Conger all the way up to 2023 first-round pick Ralphy Velazquez. While some of them ended up not profiling well behind the plate, it’s looking fairly certain that the most recent Oilers backstop, Grindlinger, will stick after showcasing his talents throughout the summer showcase circuit and catching for Team USA in the 18U World Cup qualifier in Panama.

Grindlinger is a strong, physically mature right-handed hitter at 6-foot-2 and 195 pounds. He has a ton of bat speed and some serious raw power, and when he’s on time, he’s shown the ability to drive the baseball with a strong sense of the strike zone. With a longer stride and big movement with his upper half and load, he can get off balance at times and doesn’t find the barrel as consistently. He’ll have to tone his aggression at the plate down a bit to tap into that power at the next level.

His skills behind the plate are much more polished. He has plus arm strength and despite his size, he moves well defensively with advanced timing and footwork for a prepster. He’s shown he can handle big stuff from the best arms in the high school class and really slows the game down, providing excellent leadership and not shying away from big moments. The right-handed-hitting high school catcher demographic is a risky one, but Grindlinger’s glove gives him a high floor and teams that believe the Mississippi State recruit’s bat will catch up will be interested in the first few rounds.”

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