The Arkansas Razorbacks (46-13) are set to host the Fayetteville Super Regional as the No. 3 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament against the 14-seed and defending national champion Tennessee Volunteers (46-17) in a best-of-three series.
Arkansas rebounded from a 10-7 loss in the opening game of the regular season series finale against the Vols to take Game Two 8-6 and Game Three 8-4.
Since dropping that series, Tennessee took down Alabama and Texas in the SEC Tournament before eventual SEC champion Vanderbilt mercifully eliminated the Vols in the semifinal round 10-0 in seven innings.
In the Knoxville Regional, the Vols advanced to the final round against Wake Forrest by defeating Miami (Ohio) and Cincinnati. The Demon Deacons walked a runner home with the bases loaded in the ninth to survive 7-6 on Sunday and force the winner-take-all Monday showdown.
The Vols overcame an early two-run deficit, putting a seven-spot on the board in the fourth inning to roll on to an 11-5 triumph and their fifth consecutive Super Regional.
Tennessee ace and SEC Pitcher of the Year Liam Doyle had his worst outing of the season against Arkansas on May 16, as the Hogs tagged the likely top-10 pick in next month's MLB Draft for six earned runs on 11 hits, both season highs.
After another tough showing against Texas (3.2 IP, 6 H, 4 ER) in the quarterfinal round of the SEC Tournament, Doyle came back into form during regional play.
Against Miami (Ohio) in the opening game, Doyle struck out 11 batters while only surrendering one run and four hits in 6.2 innings of work, then shut the door on Wake Forrest Monday in 2.1 innings of relief.
Doyle headlines a deep pitching arsenal the Vols have at their disposal and first baseman Andrew Fischer, arguably the hardest out in the country, leads a powerful batting order.
Fischer and middle infielder Gavin Kilen, who each were selected first-team all SEC, have been red hot at the top of the lineup. Senior outfielder Hunter Ensley was named to the All-SEC second team as well as the All-Defensive squad.
Tennessee eighth-year head coach, and former Razorback assistant from 2014-2017, Tony Vitello has never won a series against Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn and has a 2-11 overall record against his former boss.
Arkansas and Tennessee will play the first game of the Fayetteville Super Regional on Saturday at 4 p.m. CT at Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville and it will be aired on ESPN. Game Two is set for Sunday at 2 p.m. CT on ESPN and Monday's 'if necessary' game is TBD.
Below is a comparison of Arkansas and Tennessee's stats, as well as a look at the projected starting lineup and noteworthy pitchers for the Volunteers.
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Tennessee Projected Starting Lineup
1. SS Gavin Kilen – Junior, 5'11", 187 pounds
2025 stats: .363/.443/.686, 51 GP, 204 AB, 59 R, 74 H, 13 2B, 4 3B, 15 HR, 46 RBI, 28 BB, 26 K, 6 SB
2. 1B Andrew Fischer – Junior, 6'1", 210 pounds
2025 stats: .343/.500/.762, 63 GP, 210 AB, 69 R, 72 H, 16 2B, 24 HR, 64 RBI, 62 BB, 41 K, 4 SB
3. CF Hunter Ensley – Senior, 6'1", 197 pounds
2025 stats: .343/.427/.545, 62 GP, 233 AB, 46 R, 80 H, 17 2B, 10 HR, 62 RBI, 30 BB, 40 K, 7 SB
4. LF Dalton Bargo – Junior, 6'1", 195 pounds
2025 stats: .282/.374/.579, 61 GP, 195 AB, 46 R, 55 H, 14 2B, 1 3B, 14 HR, 40 RBI, 25 BB, 61 K, 3 SB
5. 2B Dean Curley – Sophomore, 6'3", 218 pounds
2025 stats: .315/.436/.523, 63 GP, 235 AB, 66 R, 74 H, 8 2B, 1 3B, 13 HR, 48 RBI, 44 BB, 47 K, 8 SB
6. RF Reese Chapman – Junior, 6'1", 224 pounds
2025 stats: .281/.350/.538, 62 GP, 210 AB, 44 R, 59 H, 11 2B, 2 3B, 13 HR, 53 RBI, 20 BB, 70 K, 3 SB
7. DH Levi Clark – Freshman, 6'1", 211 pounds
2025 stats: .303/.476/.623, 49 GP, 122 AB, 30 R, 37 H, 9 2B, 10 HR, 34 RBI, 35 BB, 36 K, 1 SB
8. C Stone Lawless – Freshman, 6'2", 219 pounds
2025 stats: .304/.487/.679, 27 GP, 56 AB, 17 R, 17 H, 4 2B, 1 3B, 5 HR, 20 RBI,19 BB, 13 K, 1 SB
OR Cannon Peebles – Junior, 5'11", 190 pounds
2025 stats: .251/.335/.486, 51 GP, 175 AB, 30 R, 44 H, 8 2B, 11 HR, 41 RBI, 19 BB, 43 K
9. 3B Manny Marin – Freshman, 6'1", 181 pounds
2025 stats: .288/.363/.411, 56 GP, 146 AB, 23 R, 42 H, 9 2B, 3 HR, 23 RBI, 12 BB, 34 K, 2 SB
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Tennessee Noteworthy Pitchers
LHP Liam Doyle – Junior, 6'2", 220 pounds
2025 stats: 18 APP, 16 GS, 10-3 W/L, 1 SV, 92 IP, 58 H, 29 ER, 30 BB, 158 K, .178 BAA, 2.84 ERA
RHP Marcus Phillips – Junior, 6'4", 246 pounds
2025 stats: 16 APP, 16 GS, 4-4 W/L, 77.2 IP, 67 H, 32 ER, 32 BB, 93 K, .229 BAA, 3.71 ERA
LHP Dylan Loy – Sophomore, 6'0", 208 pounds
2025 stats: 31 APP, 1 GS, 4-0 W/L, 2 SV, 31.2 IP, 19 H, 14 ER, 11 BB, 36 K, .168 BAA, 3.98 ERA
RHP Tegan Kuhns – Freshman, 6'3", 189 pounds
2025 stats: 15 APP, 10 GS, 2-4 W/L, 36.2 IP, 43 H, 22 ER, 16 BB, 40 K, .285 BAA, 5.40 ERA
RHP Nate Snead – Junior, 6'2", 212 pounds
2025 stats: 22 APP, 1 GS, 4-2 W/L, 5 SV, 49.1 IP, 54 H, 22 ER, 19 BB, 42 K, .277 BAA, 4.01 ERA
LHP Brandon Arvidson – Sophomore, 6'5", 215 pounds
2025 stats: 28 APP, 2 GS, 2-0 W/L, 1 SV, 37.1 IP, 27 H, 18 ER, 20 BB, 69 K, .196 BAA, 4.34 ERA
RHP AJ Russell – Junior, 6'6", 223 pounds
2025 stats: 11 APP, 6 GS, 2-1 W/L, 23 IP, 22 H, 9 ER, 9 BB, 34 K, .239 BAA, 3.52 ERA
RHP Tanner Franklin – Junior, 6'5", 225 pounds
2025 stats: 25 APP, 1 GS, 1-2 W/L, 2 SV, 37.1 IP, 40 H, 21 ER, 9 BB, 51 K, .276 BAA, 5.06 ERA
RHP Brayden Krenzel – Freshman, 6'3", 214 pounds
2025 stats: 19 APP, 2 GS, 3-0 W/L, 32.1 IP, 35 H, 16 ER, 19 BB, 41 K, .289 BAA, 4.45 ERA
RHP Austin Breedlove – Junior, 6'2", 200 pounds
2025 stats: 25 APP, 2 GS, 3-0 W/L, 23.2 IP, 20 H, 9 ER, 8 BB, 31 K, .233 BAA, 3.42 ERA
