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Tennessee signee Billy Carlson selected No. 10 overall by White Sox

On3 imageby: Eric Cain07/13/25_Cainer
Billy Carlson. Credit: Billy Carlson Instagram
Billy Carlson. Credit: Billy Carlson Instagram

Tennessee signee Billy Carlson, a shortstop from Corona, Calif., was selected by the Chicago White Sox in the first round with the No. 10 overall pick in the 2025 Major League Baseball Draft. Carlson was always considered a longshot to make it to campus as one of the top-rated draft prospects in the class.  

The Vols made some big recruiting noise on October 25 last fall when Carlson made his public commitment to Tony Vitello and the Tennessee baseball staff. The shortstop, who also starred as a pitcher at the prep level, was previously committed to Vanderbilt ahead of the flip. The slot value assigned to the No. 10 overall pick is $6,238,400.

Perfect Game sports Carlson as the top defensive player in the 2025 class with ‘elite arm strength and plus agility/actions.’ The publication rated Carlson as the No. 3 overall prospect in the class and the No. 2 ranked shortstop. MLB Pipeline ranked Carlson as the No. 7 draft prospect while Baseball America slated him at No. 9 ahead of draft weekend.

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: 50 | Power: 50 | Run: 55 | Arm: 65 | Field: 70 | Overall: 55

“The 2025 Draft class is deep in southern California and Corona High School has been a regular stop all spring, with three potential early-round picks on the team that won USA Baseball’s National High School Invitational last year. Carlson’s skills at shortstop that were on display at a variety of summer showcase events, including the Area Code Games and Major League Baseball’s High School All-American Game, have continued to show up during his senior year to allow him to float up to the top of the first round.

All summer, Carlson impressed with his athleticism and bat speed from the right side of the plate. It’s more of a line-drive approach at present with a good swing, but he has the chance to grow into more impact and average or better power, though not all evaluators were sold on his hit tool. There’s an up arrow next to his run tool as he’s worked to get faster and could be a plus runner in time. Even with all of his offensive upside, his glove might be ahead of his bat, with some scouts putting as high as a 70 on his arm strength and defensive actions at shortstop.

At one point, Carlson was thought to be a legitimate two-way player, with a fastball in the mid-90s and feel for spinning a breaking ball. But it will be his five-tool potential at a premium position that will get the Tennessee recruit selected in the top half of the first round, though his age at Draft time (19) might rule out some teams.”

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