Three Tennessee baseball players beat deadline, enter transfer portal

Three Tennessee baseball players entered the transfer portal Monday, a day before the portal closes for the sport.

Former junior-college additions Bradke Lohry and Robin Villeneuve as well as freshman pitcher Derek Schaefer entered the portal. All three had marginal roles with the Vols after being counted on early in the season then fading into deep bench positions as Tennessee barreled toward the program's first national title.

Bradke Lohry, Robin Villeneuve enter transfer portal from Tennessee

Lohry opened the season as Tennessee's starting second baseman with Christian Moore at shortstop.

That didn't last as freshman Dean Curley proved himself to be the best option at shortstop with a move to second base by Moore, who had one of the best seasons in Vols history. Lohry faded into backup duty, hitting .241 in 29 at-bats with 14 strikeouts and 10 walks. He started at second base in the Knoxville Super Regional against Evansville with Moore at designated hitter due to an injury.

Villeneuve burst on the scene with early season power but also faded from a role. He hit .288 with five homers and 22 RBIs. He struck out 38 times in 80 at-bats. He had three at-bats after May 5.

Derek Schaefer joins Matthew Dallas as outgoing freshman pitchers

Schaefer was in the mix to be a key arm for Tennessee going into the season and pitched in the season-opening tournament in Arlington, Texas. He started a pair of midweek games, including a good outing against UNC Asheville.

TRACKER: Tennessee baseball transfer tracker: Vols working in transfer portal again

It got worse from there and Schaefer posted a 9.35 ERA in 8⅔ innings pitched. He threw one inning against Georgia in SEC play, allowing five runs on five hits.

Schaefer joined another former highly regarded recruit in the portal as pitcher Matthew Dallas already entered. Dallas was 1-0 with a 4.76 ERA in 15 appearances, with two starts, as a freshman after battling injury issues during fall 2023. He allowed nine earned runs on 11 hits in 17 innings, pitching only two innings in May, including a one-inning outing against Vanderbilt on May 22 in the SEC tournament in Hoover, Alabama.

Who has left Tennessee baseball in the transfer portal?

Left-handed pitcher Wyatt Evans and third baseman Zane Denton were the first to enter the transfer portal following the season. Neither Evans nor Denton was with the Vols in 2024. Denton transferred to Austin Peay and Evans transferred to South Carolina.

Evans was mostly a midweek bullpen arm as a freshman in 2022 when he threw 16 innings in 19 appearances. The South Carolina native dealt with arm soreness in 2023 and redshirted. He did not make the active roster at any point in 2024.

Denton did not play for Tennessee in 2024 due to personal reasons after announcing in August that he was returning to UT for a second season after going undrafted in the 2023 MLB Draft. Denton hit .269 with 16 homers and a team-high 59 RBIs in 2023 after transferring from Alabama.

Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on Twitter @ByMikeWilson. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee baseball trio enters transfer portal after CWS