Tony Vitello details AJ Russell's role this week on the mound against Kentucky

AJ Russell didn’t pitch in Tuesday midweek win over Bellarmine. The junior had thrown the previous midweek bouts but this instead threw to live hitters in practice Monday afternoon. The next step for one of the most talented pitchers in the country is to contribute on weekends for his team.

Tony Vitello confirmed that he will do just that this weekend in Southeastern Conference action against Kentucky, albeit in a different role than he’s sued to.

“For now, I think it’s a hybrid,” Vitello said. “It’ll be relief, but I don’t have any intention of bringing him in right in the middle of an inning to start the whole deal. So probably starting an inning.”

Last Tuesday night against Alabama State, it was the first time in three appearances this year – post Tommy John surgery last June – that Russell pitched more than one frame as the junior recorded two scoreless innings on the night while allowing one hit and strikeout out a pair. The righty totaled 21 pitches with 16 strikes on the night and sat 92-95 mph with the heater.

“Yeah, the last time he threw was again, the second time where — maybe it was the third time where —well, he threw again recently, so the third time where he got up and down twice,” Vitello continued. “So, the next move would be to get up and down three times, if we were just training. But of course, you know, we’re not in spring training, we’re in SEC ball.

“So, it’s a delicate balance I wouldn’t put it out of the realm of, you know, wouldn’t be any — you got to play the game to win — but we got this side bar issue going on that’s unique, so maybe he gets some outs and still throws in the bullpen. He’s done that a couple different times. So again, it’ll be a little bit of a hybrid in that case too. He wants to help us win games. We want him to help us win games, but we do want to keep that.”

The first inning was a breeze for Russell as he retired the Hornets in 1-2-3 fashion with two strikeouts and a flyout to right. Russell needed only 12 pitches in the first with nine pounding the strike zone – hitting 95 miles per hour with the fastball on a few occasions.

It was more solid work in the second inning. Russell got the leadoff man to lineout. The second out came via an unassisted out at first base on a chopper. The third was a loud flyout to right-center, but nothing Hunter Ensley couldn’t track down. There was a two-out single hit to right, but nothing doing for Alabama State in the second.   

Two weeks ago in a midweek start against Tennessee Tech, it was his first outing in 35 days and second of the season. Russell continued throwing behind the scenes for the Vols in the last month, but was in ‘reconfiguration’ mode and readying for the back half of the campaign.

“Yeah, I mean, at this point because the guys have thrown the way that they have, and I know we took Teagan (Kuhns) out earlier last week, but still, if you look at his overall effort in SEC play, he’s earned the right to almost — I won’t say lock down innings — but certainly throw innings for us every weekend, and it’ll probably be in a starting fashion,” Vitello said of his starters.

Russell was flawless in his initial return to the mound on February 25 against North Alabama, tossing a clean inning with three strikeouts while hitting 97 miles per hour on the radar gun. That was his only appearance for quite some time, however, though there were no setbacks, according to Tennessee coach Tony Vitello. “And then Marcus (Phillips) is our guy.”

“Zero. Not even close,” Vitello said in early March. “The opposite. No setbacks.”

Russell was limited for the majority of his second year in the program after beginning the 2024 campaign as the club’s Opening Day starter. After some time off, rehab and a couple of returns to the mound following the initial injury, Russell needed Tommy John surgery in June.

Surgery was a success and proved a shorter recovery timeline as the repair was done with an internal brace. Russell now eagerly awaits his fourth trip back to the mound this season in what will likely be next next Tuesday. All this setting up to be a main factor on weekends down the line.

For the first time since the SEC Tournament championship game last May, Russell will face conference action on the mound. Tennessee gets that more dangerous.