The first season under Josh Elander definitely hasn’t been flawless, but the Tennessee Vols have still put together a really solid year overall. Sitting at 38-20, Tennessee picked up huge series wins against both Texas and Alabama, which are both nationally respected teams and are NCAA Tournament hosts.
Josh Elander may have uncovered one of Tennessee baseball's next stars
The bottom line is that the regular season is now over, and Tennessee has officially made the NCAA Tournament as the No. 2 seed in the Chapel Hill Regional. The Vols will open regional play against East Carolina on Friday at noon. After that, Tennessee would face either No. 1 regional seed North Carolina, which is also the No. 5 overall national seed, or the regional’s No. 4 seed VCU in the next matchup. If Tennessee can pull it off, it would be their sixth straight regional win, and they have done it before on the road when they did it in Clemson in 2023.
The 2026 NCAA Tournament field is SET. pic.twitter.com/cNOwXnlO5Z
— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) May 25, 2026
Tenensee got a very tough draw
Honestly, it would’ve been perfect if the Tennessee Vols got matched up with Southern Miss again just to see if they could knock them out of the tournament for a third straight year. Instead, Tennessee got thrown into a brutal regional with a lot of talent.
North Carolina baseball is absolutely legit. They took two out of three from Georgia Tech, who have been one of the best teams in the country, and UNC only dropped one ACC series all season. They fully deserve that No. 5 overall seed.
At the same time, Tennessee can’t overlook East Carolina at all. ECU already proved they can hang with North Carolina earlier this year, winning one, losing one, and tying one, and they’re a really solid No. 3 seed. They led the American in ERA just like Tennessee did with the SEC. Then you’ve got VCU as the No. 4 seed, and honestly, they’re scary too. Winning 14 of your last 16 heading into the tournament is no joke. This regional feels loaded from top to bottom. If the Vols move on, they would play the winner of the Texas A&M regional, which doesn't look too scary, at least.
The biggest X-factor moving forward for the Tennessee is going to be the bullpen. This team has already proven it can get the bats going, and between Tegan Kuhns, Evan Blanco, and hopefully a healthy Landon Mack, Tennessee has good enough starting pitching to advance out of this regional. The real question becomes whether those starters can pitch deep enough into games to keep the bullpen in advantageous situations. If Tennessee can avoid burning through relievers early and keep the bullpen fresh, the Vols absolutely have a legitimate chance to take down North Carolina and win this regional.
Regardless of the matchup difficulty, the postseason now becomes a major test for Josh Elander and the Vols. Tennessee has repeatedly shown resilience throughout the season, consistently responding well when facing pressure and adversity. With the NCAA Tournament now here, the Vols have an opportunity to prove just how dangerous they can be on the national stage.
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