Tennessee freshman pitcher to miss entirety of 2026 season

Tennessee baseball will be without freshman left-handed pitcher Jackson Estes for the 2026 season after the North Little Rock, Ark. native underwent elbow surgery.

Estes was in line to compete for bullpen innings this spring for Tennessee baseball after several impressive outings in fall ball, most notably in the intrasquad scrimmage in Chattanooga on October 4.   

Mike Wilson of Knox News was first to report the development and sources confirmed to Volquest Tuesday morning. Estes’ surgery utilized an internal brace, which helps cut down (slightly) on recovery time compared to the full extent of Tommy John. Former Tennessee hurler AJ Russell underwent the same procedure in summer of 2024 and Drew Beam before arriving on campus.  

The 6-foot-3, 210-pound hurler signed with Tennessee as part of the 2025 class and was ranked No. 471 overall by Perfect Game. He was also listed as the No. 54 southpaw in the class and ninth-best player out of Arkansas.

Tennessee’s nonconference slate, which was released in November, consists of 38 games with the season-opener against Nicholls State on February 13. The first midweek contest will be against UNC Asheville on February 17. Tennessee will host three nonconference weekend series at home (Nicholls State, Kent State and Wright State) to go along with 14 midweek home bouts.   

For the third time in four years, the Tennessee baseball team will begin Southeastern Conference play on the road away from Lindsey Nelson Stadium. Elander’s first season on Rocky Top as head coach has his program hitting the road to take on Georgia in Athens from March 13-15. The first home series of conference action takes place the following weekend when Tennessee plays host to Missouri.

The Southeastern Conference schedule consists of 10, three-game series to equal 30 games. Tennessee has won the league’s regular season and tournament championship twice over the past four seasons (2022, 2024) and has competed in five-straight Super Regionals under former skipper Tony Vitello, winning the College World Series in 2024.