With all the recruiting excitement going on with Josh Heupel and the Vols football squad, don't forget about that magical offseason Tony Vitello and Tennessee baseball are having. Earlier this month, the top portal player in the country in Henry Ford committed to Tennessee, but Tony V wasn't done there.
On Sunday night, breaking news arrived that stud right-handed pitcher Landon Mack had shut down his recruitment, officially committing to the Vols. The former Rutgers standout was downright electric with the ball in his hands last year. Now, he'll be ready to make a statement starting in 2026 over in Knoxville:
BREAKING: Rutgers RHP transfer Landon Mack has COMMITTED to Tennessee! š
ā Vol Scoops (@VolScoops) June 30, 2025
This past season at Rutgers he held a 4.03 ERA in 80.1 innings pitched with an insane 70/17 K/BB ratio
Absolute massive recruiting win over LSU š„ pic.twitter.com/m8xeyXOD4B
Rutgers star Landon Mack has officially committed to Tennessee baseball
This truly is a monster get for the Vols and Vitello, as Mack was also giving the LSU Tigers serious consideration. This past campaign, LSU won the National Championship, taking down Coastal Carolina in the final series.
Because of this, a lot of people assumed the Tigers would be in the driver's seat to take down the Vols in this particular recruiting battle. That hasn't proven to be the case, however, as the youngster indeed is going to be Knoxville-bound to continue his college career.
Mack was quite impressive on the bump last season for the Scarlet Knights, posting a 6-5 record and a 4.03 ERA. He also recorded 70 strikeouts and only 17 walks in more than 80 innings of work. Because of his great campaign, it was no surprise that he was named a Freshman All-American.
"After long conversations with family and prayers with our maker, I have decided to continue my academic and athletic career at the University of Tennessee," Mack wrote on social media. " Iād like to thank the coaches at Rutgers and all the people who worked behind the scenes to give me a great experience and opportunity."
This obviously wasn't an easy decision for the sophomore to be, but he sees a bright future for himself in the SEC with the Vols. After losing to Arkansas in the Super Regional this year, Vitello has clearly been motivated to retool via the portal. Mack is just the latest big-time get in what has been a busy few weeks for the Tennessee head coach.