A Tennessee Vols football assistant leaving and the SEC baseball TV schedule lead our Volunteers news for Thursday, Jan. 31, 2019.
There was nothing notable that took place in terms of scheduled games for the Tennessee Vols Wednesday, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have a lot of news to cover this morning. It’s nothing that stands out, although football is back in the driver’s seat.
Our morning update on Rocky Top leads with the departure of another guy within the football program along with the selection of a player to a leadership council. Those are our main things, and then we get to our first bit of baseball news on the year.
Add in a scheduled women’s basketball game, softball and tennis recognition and a scheduled track and field meet, and we have a ton of things to cover with, ironically, no men’s basketball news. So let’s start with the big football story.
Tino Sunseri leaving for Alabama – Matt Zenitz, AL.com
Tennessee Vols football assistant Tino Sunseri is leaving to join the Alabama Crimson Tide. Nick Saban is expected to hire him in a similar support capacity.
"Sunseri, a three-year starter at quarterback for Pittsburgh from 2010 to 2012, was a quality control assistant at Tennessee last season after two years on the staff at Florida State.His dad, Sal, was recently hired by the Tide and is expected to be Alabama’s outside linebackers coach while his brother, former Tide safety Vinnie Sunseri, recently joined the staff as a graduate assistant."
Ryan Johnson on SEC Leadership Council – Dan Harralson, VolsWire.com
Tennessee Vols football offensive lineman Ryan Johnson will represent UT on the SEC Football Leadership Council. Johnson enters 2019 as a redshirt junior for the Vols.
"The Council consists of one football student-athlete from each of the SEC’s 14 universities and will convene for its annual meeting at the SEC offices in Birmingham on Friday and Saturday.Agenda items for the group this weekend include a meeting with SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey, a review of NCAA and SEC legislative items, open discussion on topics submitted by members of the Council, and engagement with football officials on rules of the game, student-athlete/referee interaction and careers in officiating. LSU’s Blake Ferguson, who attended the NCAA Convention last week as one of three SEC student-athlete representatives, will provide an update as Chair of the SEC Football Leadership Council."
Tennessee baseball TV schedule announced – SECSports.com
The Tennessee Vols baseball TV schedule has been announced for 2019. UT will have 51 of its 56 regular season games available on TV or for live-streaming.
"ESPN will present more than 800 NCAA baseball games during the 2019 regular season across ESPN networks, with 17 college conferences highlighted in ESPN’s industry-leading coverage. During the postseason, on top of carrying five conference championship games and the entire Southeastern Conference tournament, 153 games will be telecast across ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNEWS, SEC Network and the Longhorn Network and available on the ESPN App. In addition, the ESPN App will exclusively stream more than 450 games in 2019."
Aubrey Leach named to softball watch list – USA Softball, TeamUSA.org
Tennessee softball senior Aubrey Leach was named among to the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Watch List for 2019. She was among 50 players to reach such recognition and made it the 16th straight year that UT has a player on the list.
"Highlighting the Watch List are two previous USA Softball Player of the Year recipients and three NCAA National Champions. The USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award, which is entering its 18th season, recognizes outstanding athletic achievement by Division I female collegiate softball players across the country."
Tennessee Lady Vols to host Florida – UTSports
The Tennessee women’s basketball team will look to start a winning streak after ending a six-game losing streak last Sunday by beating the LSU Tigers. Holly Warlick’s team plays host to the Florida Gators Thursday night.
"Tennessee (13-7, 2-5 SEC) will play its final contest of a four-game home stand on Thursday night, as Florida (5-15, 1-6 SEC) comes to Thompson-Boling Arena. The 56th meeting between these schools in women’s hoops will get under way at 7:02 p.m. ET at The Summitt. The game will be streamed by SECN+."
Track and Field to compete in Carolina Challenge – GamecocksOnline.com
The Tennessee Vols track and field program begins a three-day meet Thursday in the Carolina Challenge, hosted by the South Carolina Gamecocks. Events begin at 10 a.m. Thursday and will last all day Friday and Saturday.
"The Gamecocks welcome 48 collegiate programs to Columbia this weekend, including SEC rivals Alabama, Auburn and Tennessee. Additional NCAA Division I teams participating this week include Charleston Southern, Charlotte, The Citadel, Clemson, Coastal Carolina, Marshall, North Carolina A&T, North Florida, Presbyterian, South Carolina State, UCF, UNC Asheville, VCU and Wofford."
Women’s tennis ranked No. 24 in ITA – ITATennis.com
The Tennessee Lady Vols tennis team made it into the ITA Rankings Wednesday at No. 24 after a 3-1 start and a split between the Florida State Seminoles and LSU Tigers last weekend at the Tallahassee Regional. They beat Florida State and lost to LSU. Six other SEC teams were in the Top 25 as well, including the Vanderbilt Commodores at No. 2, the Georgia Bulldogs at No. 5, the South Carolina Gamecocks at No. 15, the LSU Tigers at No. 18, the Florida Gators at No. 22, and the Kentucky Wildcats just below Tennessee at No. 25.