Tennessee Vols morning report: New basketball assistant, Aaron Beasley update
With the end of COVID in sight, college basketball has now wrapped up. That and college football were able to be completed throughout this pandemic altered year, and the Tennessee Vols took part in them. Now, it’s all about the offseason and spring sports.
Our morning update on Rocky Top leads with offseason news in two of the major sports. We have an assistant coaching update in the men’s basketball program to bring you along with a suspension update in the football program.
There are updates on spring sports as well, though, as the baseball and softball teams both have games scheduled for Tuesday, the women’s golf program begins a tournament Tuesday and the men’s golf program continues one. Let’s dive into all of that, starting with the offseason news.
Men’s basketball loses Desmond Oliver, adds Rod Clark – Brandon Martin, SI.com
On Monday, the Tennessee Vols men’s basketball team lost assistant coach Desmond Oliver, as he replaces Jason Shay as head coach of the ETSU Bucs. That left a second vacancy on Rick Barnes’ staff after Kim English was named head coach of the George Mason Patriots. Barnes filled one of those vacancies Monday by adding Rod Clark from Austin Peay.
"The 28-year-old Clark is a native of Kansas City, Missouri, and is entering just his third season as a college assistant. In his lone season in Clarksville, Clark saw the Governors post a winning record and impressive defensive stats. Clark also spent his first season as a college assistant in 2019-2020 at the University of Illinois at Chicago."
Linebacker Aaron Beasley suspended indefinitely – Chris Low, ESPN.com
Junior Aaron Beasley joins the ranks of Tennessee Vols football linebackers suspended indefinitely due to an investigation. In Beasley’s case, it’s animal abuse.
"The Knoxville Police Department launched an investigation into a possible animal abuse case after a UT student said she came home last week and found her 6-month-old kitten seriously injured. She told police she believes her roommate’s boyfriend, identified as Beasley, hurt the kitten — whom she said was unable to walk and “screaming in pain” when she tried to touch him."
Baseball moves into top five – Wes Rucker, GoVols247
Coming off winning two of three at the Alabama Crimson Tide, the Tennessee Vols baseball team reached No. 4 in the Coaches’ Poll and Collegiate Baseball Poll, No. 6 in the D1Baseball.com Poll and No. 7 in the Baseball America and NCBWA polls. At 24-5, they will host the Eastern Kentucky Colonels at 6:30 p.m. ET Tuesday in a midweek battle.
"The Vols will then host rival Florida for a three-game series at 6:30 p.m. Eastern on Friday, 7 p.m. Eastern on Saturday and 1 p.m. Eastern on Sunday. The Gators were ranked No. 1 nationally heading into the season and slipped a bit after some early stumbles but are back up to No. 9 after this weekend’s series win over third-ranked Ole Miss."
Softball to host Tennessee Tech – UTSports
At 28-6 overall and coming off a series win over the Kentucky Wildcats, where they took two of three, the No. 18 ranked Tennessee Lady Vols softball team will host the 13-17 Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles Tuesday in a midweek doubleheader. The first pitch is set for 4 p.m., and the second one is set for 6:30 p.m.
"Tennessee Tech enters the doubleheader Tuesday on a six-game losing streak. Prior to that, the Golden Eagles had a run of five victories in a row, including a sweep of Morehead State."
Women’s golf to begin LSU Tiger Golf Classic – LSUSports.net
For the first time in over two weeks, the Tennessee Lady Vols golf program will be back in action Tuesday. UT is one of 13 teams that will take part in the LSU Tiger Golf Classic. This is the final regular season event for the program.
"The two-day, 54-hole competition will feature 36 holes on Tuesday and a final round on Wednesday with the U-Club par 72 layout playing at 6,350 yards. The University Club will host the event for the 20th time."
Men’s golf continues Birmingham tournament – GolfStat.com
Tuesday marks the second day of the three-day Collegiate Invitational at the Country Club of Birmingham men’s golf tournament, which takes place in Birmingham, Ala. and is hosted by the Auburn Tigers. The Tennessee Vols came in tied for second Monday, shooting two over par.