Tennessee Vols Top 30 Memorable Moments of the Adidas Era
20. 2005 College World Series Appearance
It is the last great season of Tennessee baseball in the program’s history and occurred two years before Mike Hamilton made one of many moves to destroy the program by firing Rod Delmonico and bringing in Todd Raleigh. But we don’t have time for saltiness here.
With only six seniors on the entire roster and a very young squad overall led overwhelmingly by underclassmen, the program had a rocky start very early in the season. But they figured things out very quickly and went on a tear to get to 41-19 and achieve a No. 1 seed in the 2005 NCAA Baseball Tournament.
At that point, the fun did not stop, as they rode the success of All-American Ace Luke Hochevar to the College World Series without losing a game in that process.
Then came the College World Series, and it is hard to determine if the moment was too big for them or if they were just playing over their heads all season, with the second option being the most likely scenario given the two years that followed, but the Vols flamed out after two straight losses to Florida and Arizona State.
Still, it was an exciting event to witness, and with or without a championship, to see such a young team make it to the College World Series generated a lot of electricity in Knoxville during this time.
Next: #19: 2004 Surprise Football Season