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Tennessee Baseball sets program record with four first-round picks in MLB Draft

IMG_3593by: Grant Ramey07/14/25GrantRamey
Kate Luffman, Tennessee Baseball | Tennessee Athletics
Kate Luffman, Tennessee Baseball | Tennessee Athletics

Tennessee Baseball set a new program record Sunday with four players selected in the first round of the MLB Draft. Liam Doyle was the No. 5 overall pick to the St. Louis Cardinals, selected ahead of Gavin Kilen at No. 13 to the San Francisco Giants, Andrew Fischer at No. 21 to the Milwaukee Brewers and Marcus Phillips at No. 33 to the Boston Red Sox.

The previous record was three set in 2007, when catcher JP Arencibia, outfielder Julio Borbon and pitcher James Adkins were all first-round picks. Arencibia in 2007 was the No. 21 overall pick to the Toronto Blue Jays while Borbon went at No. 35 to the Texas Rangers and Adkins was the No. 39 pick to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Tennessee now has 10 first-round picks in Tony Vitello era

Entering Sunday there had been six first-round picks during the Tony Vitello era, out of the 43 total draft picks under Vitello. 

Christian Moore last year was the highest pick at No. 8 overall, just ahead of Chase Dollander at No. 9 in the 2023 MLB Draft. Garrett Crochet was the No. 11 overall pick in 2020 and Drew Gilbert (No. 28) and Jordan Beck (No. 38) were first-round picks in 2022.

Tennessee had eight players selected in each of the last two MLB Drafts after setting a new program record with 10 picks in 2022. Seven Vols were picked in the 2021 MLB Draft and three were selected in the COVID-shortened five-round MLB Draft in 2020. 

A closer look at the four first-round picks

Doyle, who transferred from Ole Miss to Tennessee alongside Fischer, was one of the most best pitchers in college baseball this season. The Tennessee ace finished with a 10-4 record in 17 starts and 19 appearances. He had a 3.20 ERA, 0.99 WHIP and struck out 164 against just 32 walks over 95.2 innings pitched.

Kilen hit a team-high .357 and had a 1.112 OPS with a .671 slugging percentage after transferring to Tennessee. He hit 15 home runs, had 46 RBI and 60 runs scored on his 75 hits, which included 13 doubles and four triples. He started 52 times in 53 games. 

Fischer hit a team-high 25 home runs after transferring from Ole Miss. He hit .341 while also leading Tennessee in RBI (65), runs scored (70), total bases (165), walks (63), slugging percentage (.760), on-base percentage (.497) and OPS (1.257). 

Phillips was Tennessee’s Saturday starter in the weekend rotation, finishing the season with a 4-5 record and a 3.90 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP in 17 starts. He pitched 83.0 inning, striking out 98 against 34 walks.

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