Latest news with #Ensley
USA Today
06-08-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Hunter Ensley scheduled to make professional baseball debut
Hunter Ensley concluded his collegiate career with Tennessee baseball in June. The former Vol is scheduled to make his professional debut Wednesday with the Quad Cities River Bandits. Quad Cities competes in the Midwest League and is a High-A affiliate of the Royals. 'Former Vol baseball outfielder Hunter Ensley has been added to our roster and is scheduled to make his pro debut tonight,' Quad Cities announced. The River Bandits will host Beloit at 7:30 p.m. EDT at Modern Woodmen Park in Davenport, Iowa. Ensley signed with Kansas City after not being selected in the 2025 MLB draft. He played for the Vols from 2021-25 and appeared in 205 games, including 174 starts. The right-handed outfielder recorded a .303 batting average, 202 hits, 41 doubles, 29 home runs, 141 RBIs, 133 runs, 85 walks, 17 stolen bases, a .992 fielding percentage and was hit by 26 pitches at Tennessee. Ensley won a 2024 national championship, two SEC Tournament titles (2022, 2024), two SEC regular-season championships (2022, 2024) and three College World Series appearances (2021, 2023-24) during his career with the Vols. More: Tennessee Vols 2025 MLB draft tracker Follow Vols Wire on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter).
USA Today
16-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Hunter Ensley signs with MLB team
Former Vol Hunter Ensley signed with a Major League Baseball team. He signed with Kansas City after being undrafted in the 2025 MLB draft. Ensley played for the Vols from 2021-25. He appeared in 205 games, including 174 starts, at Tennessee. The right-handed outfielder recorded a .303 batting average, 202 hits, 41 doubles, 29 home runs, 141 RBIs, 133 runs, 85 walks, 17 stolen bases, a .992 fielding percentage and was hit by 26 pitches. Ensley won a 2024 national championship, two SEC Tournament titles (2022, 2024), two SEC regular-season championships (2022, 2024) and three College World Series appearances (2021, 2023-24) during his career at Tennessee. He is from Huntingdon High School in Huntingdon, Tennessee. Tennessee had nine players selected in the 2025 MLB draft, including a record-setting four first-round picks and eight selections in the first three rounds. Pitcher Liam Doyle was Tennessee's highest draft pick after being selected in the first round by St. Louis (No. 5 overall). More: Tennessee Vols 2025 MLB draft tracker Follow Vols Wire on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter).
USA Today
13-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Hunter Ensley to play final regular-season home game for Tennessee
Hunter Ensley to play final regular-season home game for Tennessee No. 14 Tennessee (39-13, 15-12 SEC) will host Belmont (24-28, 13-11 MVC) Tuesday in its final midweek game of the season. First pitch between the Vols and Bruins is slated for 5 p.m. EDT at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. The nonconference game can be watched on SEC Network+. Tuesday marks Tennessee's final regular-season home game of the 2025 season. The team will also celebrate senior day. Hunter Ensley will play his final regular-season home game at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. Ensley, a redshirt senior outfielder for the Vols, will conclude his career as one of the most successful players in program history. During his career, he helped guide Tennessee to four combined SEC championships and the 2024 Men's College World Series title. The Huntingdon, Tennessee native has appeared in 192 games, including 161 starts, for the Vols since 2021. He has recorded a .308 career batting average, while recording 28 home runs, 137 RBIs, 189 hits and 129 runs. Ensley earned Second-Team All-SEC preseason honors in 2025 and was named to the 2025 Bobby Bragan Collegiate Slugger Award Watch List. He has been named to the SEC Spring Honor Roll three times.
USA Today
10-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Reaction to Hunter Ensley's performance against Vanderbilt baseball in series opener
Reaction to Hunter Ensley's performance against Vanderbilt baseball in series opener Hunter Ensley started in center field and was third in Tennessee's lineup on Friday to open a three-game series against No. 10 Vanderbilt (34-16, 14-11 SEC). No. 12 Tennessee (39-11, 15-10 SEC) defeated the Commodores, 3-2, at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. Rankings reflect the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll. Ensley went 2-for-4 on Friday, including one double, and scored one run. He scored a run in the sixth inning, sliding to home plate. In the seventh inning, Colin Barczi hit a fly ball to center field and Ensley jumped at the wall to prevent a base hit. Following Ensley's performance in the series opener for Tennessee against Vanderbilt, Vols Wire looks at social media reaction and is listed below. Saturday's game No. 2 is scheduled for 5 p.m. EDT, while first pitch for Sunday's series finale will take place at 3 p.m. EDT. Both contests will be televised by ESPN2. Hunter Ensley's catch at the wall Hunter Ensley's slide at home plate Andrew Fischer Ron Slay Hunter Ensley at bat Hunter Ensley's slide against Vanderbilt Follow Vols Wire on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter).
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Hunter Ensley's catch has staying power with Tennessee baseball
Hunter Ensley made the most memorable catch of his career last June in Omaha, Nebraska. But about eight months later, you feel obligated to address it when you begin any conversation with Tennessee's center fielder. Another baseball season is about to begin. The Vols will open defense of their national championship Friday against Hofstra. But Ensley's catch still lingers. Ensley has made more spectacular catches and more difficult ones in his baseball career. But none was as high-profile as the one he executed against North Carolina in the College World Series at Charles Schwab Field. He garnered more attention by hitting a wall than most players do by hitting the ball over a wall. It was a three-part play. First, Ensley extended himself to glove a hit that seemed destined for extra bases. Next, he held onto the ball as he charged into the wall. Then, he left his mark – a smidgen of eye black to dot the fence. The play didn't just deprive North Carolina's Anthony Donofrio of a hit in the second inning. It sent a message that the Vols would do whatever it took to win a game. Tennessee delivered the same message again and again – with timely hitting and pitching, and especially in a ninth-inning rally to overtake Florida State – in claiming its first baseball national championship. That championship gave Ensley's catch staying power. 'I probably hear about it every other day,' Ensley told me. He hears about it so much that his catch has become a running joke with his teammates, proving that sports drama can – given enough time – be converted into baseball humor. 'We get it,' they say. 'You made the catch.' Not surprisingly, in the world of name, image and likeness, Ensley has been rewarded with more than fame for his memorable catch. He made a commercial with Loudon County Fence. 'It took a couple of hours,' Ensley said. 'It was a lot of fun. 'They said they had been waiting 15 or 20 years to do something with an athlete. But they had never had the perfect opportunity.' The opportunity was as apparent as the baseball still stuck in Ensley's glove after his run-in with the wall. He might as well have carved 'NIL' into the fence before coming off the field. The exhilaration of a championship season now gives way to the anticipation of another season. 'This is the most exciting time of the year,' Ensley said. 'Fall is great – all those scrimmages and practices, all the work.' But they can't surpass a real game. Ensley looks forward to bigger crowds at Lindsey Nelson Stadium – not just for an SEC series, but right away against nonconference opponents like Hofstra. Ensley, who batted .296 with 12 home runs and 48 RBIs last year, expects to have his best season. Why wouldn't he? He's more experienced, and after another year in Tennessee's intense strength-and-conditioning program, he's stronger. Coach Tony Vitello isn't one to burden players with expectations. He only asks Ensley to keep doing what he has been doing. 'Just progress as a player,' Vitello said. 'Every year, he has progressed in every single category, including as a leader, in the dugout and off the field.' ADAMS: Tennessee baseball catcher Cannon Peebles prepared for a hit comeback Despite the loss of seven starters, Ensley again will be surrounded by proven hitters, some of whom arrived via the transfer portal. Fall practice also convinced him that a revamped pitching staff will prove troublesome for opposing batters. 'They've got big-time stuff,' he said. 'They've got the kind of stuff that gets hitters out.' And they've got a center fielder who can turn hits into outs − even it means running into a wall to make the catch. John Adams is a senior columnist. He may be reached at 865-342-6284 or Follow him at: This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Hunter Ensley's catch has staying power with Tennessee baseball
