Coverage of the NFL and NBA Draft in relation to the Tennessee Vols athletic programs lead our Volunteers news for Monday, April 29, 2019.
Welcome to Monday on the heels of the NFL Draft. No former Tennessee Vols football players drafted was no surprise, but there is still news from the weekend related to it to cover. The same is true with basketball.
Our morning update on Rocky Top deals with both football and men’s basketball in relation to the NFL and NBA Drafts, as plenty of news hit both sports over the weekend. We covered all of it, but this is our chance to recap what happened.
However, other recaps are in place too. After all, baseball, softball, track and field and men’s golf all had events over the weekend for us to recap. We’ll get to all of them here, but let’s start with the draft coverage.
Former Vols sign NFL contracts after draft – Dan Harralson, VolsWire.com
It was another bad draft for the Tennessee Vols football team. But there were former players who signed contracts, and that number remained dynamic as of Monday morning.
"Tennessee did not have any players selected in the 2019 NFL Draft. Four Volunteer players did sign free agent contracts following the conclusion of the 2019 NFL Draft."
Three Vols invited to NBA Draft combine – Mike Wilson, Knoxville, News Sentinel
The Tennessee Vols basketball team had three players invited to the NBA combine, and news of them all going broke over the weekend. Two of them were underclassmen, Grant Williams and Jordan Bone, and Admiral Schofield also joined in.
"The trio was key in Tennessee matching a school-record 31 wins in the 2018-19 season, and all three earned postseason SEC honors. Schofield entered the NBA Draft last season before returning to school for his senior season. He did not receive a combine invite when testing the waters as a junior, but is headed home to Illinois to perform for NBA teams this time."
Tennessee baseball swept by Arkansas – Wes Rucker, GoVols247
After a red-hot run, the No. 18 ranked Tennessee Vols baseball team hit reality over the weekend. They suffered a three-game sweep at the hands of the No. 6 ranked Arkansas Razorbacks on the road, including an extra innings loss in the final game. With that, their record fell to 31-14 overall and 9-12 in the SEC, while Arkansas moved to 34-11 overall and 15-6 in the SEC.
"Tennessee fell to 0-2 this season in extra innings with Sunday’s loss to Arkansas. The Vols only other extra-innings game this season was a 6-3 loss in 11 innings to then No. 5 Mississippi State on April 5."
Tennessee softball loses two of three to Ole Miss – WVLT
The No. 9 ranked Tennessee Lady Vols softball team moved to 37-12 overall and 12-9 in the SEC after losing two of three games on the road to the No. 17/18 ranked Ole Miss Rebels over the weekend. Despite those losses, they still managed to win Sunday’s game in extra innings.
"The Lady Vols close out regular-season conference play at home next weekend against Texas A&M. Saturday, May 4, will be UT’s Senior Day."
Men’s golf loses in quarterfinals of SEC Championships – SECSports
The Tennessee Vols men’s golf team lost to the Kentucky Wildcats Saturday to finish fifth place in the Quarterfinals of the SEC Championships. In the end, the Arkansas Razorbacks won it all with Jovan Rebula of the Auburn Tigers capturing the individual championship.
"Freshman Julian Perico knocked in a close par putt on No. 18 to lift Arkansas to a 3-1-1 victory over Auburn to win the Southeastern Conference Men’s Golf Championship on Sunday at Sea Island Golf Club. The No. 7-seeded Razorbacks claimed the program’s second SEC title and first since 1995."
Vols compete in multiple track events over the weekend – UTSports
The Tennessee track and field program competed at the Gainesville Invitational in Gainesville, Fla. and at the Penn Relays in Philadelphia over the weekend. History was made for UT over the weekend during the events.
"Triple jumpers Alonie Sutton and Jalen Tate put together historic performances for the Tennessee track & field program as the Vols competed at the University of Florida’s Tom Jones Memorial Invitational Saturday afternoon. Sutton broke the all-time Lady Vol freshman record in the event, while Tate posted the furthest mark by a Vol in 34 years."