Sunday was a very good day for the Tennessee Volunteers’ baseball team. One that could end up being a special one when the 2026 season rolls around.
Tony Vitello secured the commitments of a pair of big transfer portal targets, including the #1 player in the portal. Virginia 1B/OF Henry Ford and Bowling Green RHP/OF DJ Newman both gave their pledges to the Vols on social media on Sunday. Ford was a second-team All-ACC selection, hitting .362 with a .995 OPS with 11 HR and 46 RBIs for the Cavaliers last year. He hit 28 home runs in two years in Charlottesville.
He is the biggest of the fish, and the fact that Vitello managed to pull him in under the circumstances is particularly impressive. That’s because Virginia head coach Brian O’Connor accepted the Mississippi State job earlier this month, and as such, it just seemed like a natural fit for Ford to follow his former head coach there. Texas, the #2 overall seed in the NCAA tournament, was also in the running for Ford.
As such, that’s a massive win for Vitello, and the Vols now have a potential answer – both in the field and at the plate – for likely first round draft pick Andrew Fischer in 2026. That is, of course, if Ford also doesn’t end up going high in the 2025 MLB Draft in July and sticking.
But that wasn’t all on Sunday for Tennessee, as they secured the pledge of two-way player DJ Newman from Bowling Green. The right was the Eagles’ Friday night starter before missing the rest of the season after early April due to injury. He was hitting .419 at the plate at that point as well. Accordingly, Vitello has a player with a lot of flexibility that can help the roster next year, either on the mound or in the field.
