Volunteer State Pioneers Baseball 2024 Preview
By: Timothy M. Reece, Broadcaster, VolState Sports Network
Volunteer State enters the 2024 baseball season looking to improve on their 34-21 overall record from a year ago. The Pioneers finished 6th in the conference regular season (14-13) and 4th in the conference tournament (2-2) which was played at Vol State in May 2023.
Head Coach Jim McGuire, in his 3rd year at the helm for the Pioneers (61-42) and 36th year of coaching (MTSU, Rend Lake, and Univ of Missouri – St. Louis), will be working with a new coaching staff for the 3rd straight year. At the beginning of the Fall of 2023, former Pitching Coach Bradyn Kail was hired by Trevecca Nazarene University as their Full-time Pitching Coach. Shortly thereafter, Volunteer Assistant Coach John Rypel was hired as the Head Coach at Pope Prep (formerly known as Pope John Paul II HS).
Shane Kemp, a former utility player under Coach McGuire at MTSU ('03-'04) was added to the staff as a Volunteer Assistant Coach prior to the fall season and will handle the 1B coach's box as well as assist with recruiting, defense, and offense. Prior to coming to Vol State, Coach Kemp was the Head Coach for Henry County HS in Paris, TN.
In early January, Sam Folks (UT Martin, LHP, 2017-21) was hired as the new Pitching Coach. He will be counted on to continue the success enjoyed by Coach Kail in 2023 when the staff finished 1st in the TCCAA in ERA (4.42).
Coach McGuire and his new coaching staff are looking at a roster that is much less experienced at the collegiate level than the roster that began the 2023 season. Vol State will have to replace seven of eight starters in the field and approximately 70% of the innings pitched and games started by Pitchers who graduated. Seven position players from last year's squad moved on to four-year schools, including OF Jase Mizell (Trevecca), who was 1st Team All-Conference, slamming 18 homeruns to lead the TCCAA, and driving in 63 runs, good enough for 4th in the conference; 1B/C Landon Godsey (Belmont), who was 2nd Team All-Conference at 1B, and 9th in the conference with a .368 batting average; 3B Carter Vrabel (Tennessee Tech), who led the conference with 18 doubles; and three-year starters SS/2B Ethan Huddleston (Montevallo) (.315 BA) and OF Jake Burris (.286 BA and 130 total games played over three years). Two-year starter MIF Matt Hall (Maryville) and OF Ethan Hear (Earlham) also graduated last spring.
Five pitchers have also left to further their athletic careers at NAIA or NCAA Division II schools, including Cade McKee (Midway) who started 14 games last season (tied for 2nd in the conference) and threw 69 innings (5th in the TCCAA). Another void was left by the graduation of Relief Pitcher Chase Birdwell who led the team with 3 saves (tied for 3rd in conference) and had 16 appearances on the mound for the Pioneers, tied with Caid Sanders (Tusculum). Eli Clotfelter (Reinhardt) and Danton Rinehart (UT Southern) will also be missed.
This year's squad includes 12 sophomores and seven R/S freshmen returning and has added seven transfers and 18 true freshmen.
Logan Molnar (Independence) is the lone returning position player having started 24 of 29 games at SS, and hitting .348 before going down with an injury in mid-April that ended his season. Sophomore infielders Landon Lutterman (Knox Catholic), Brody Melton (Tullahoma), Corbin Overbay (Sevier Co.), and OF Drew Webster (CPA), had limited action in 2023, but will be counted on heavily, along with Molnar, to play solid defense, score runs, and provide leadership among the position player group.
Returning R/S freshmen Reed Muschinsky (Bradenton, FL) and Cam Hodges (Sevier County) play multiple OF positions; Drew Plummer (Summit) plays middle infield (MIF) and Catcher; Zach Zimmerle (Hendersonville) plays OF and MIF; and Thedrick Harris, Jr. (John T. Overton) plays 1B and DH. All are healthy and eager to make contributions on the field and at the plate.
Six transfers, either sophomore or R/S freshman, have also been added to the 2024 position player group. Sophomore transfer OF's Reggie Cooper (Cleveland St/Stewarts Creek) and Stephen Bell (Alderson Broaddus/Ravenwood) saw significant action during the fall season. R/S freshman Walker Strange (Lipscomb/CAK) and R/S sophomore Kanon Lewis (Roane St/Beech) should add pop to the lineup. Sophomore Catcher Christian Dunn (Blinn CC/Dyersburg St/Collierville) and R/S freshman MIF Brady Knepper (Cumberland/Greenbrier) transferred after the Christmas break and will compete for playing time.
Incoming freshman Catcher's Lex Falsone (Stewarts Creek), who started more than half of the fall season games, and J.C. Menendez (Miami, FL), who is returning from injury, will look to challenge Dunn for backstop duties. OF's Luke Lawson (Halls), Gage Hoover (Stewarts Creek) and Cooper Wallace (Clarksville Academy), MIF Nathan Aguilar (Rockvale), First basemen Carson Sanders (Clarksville), Connor Paul (Ravenwood), and John Carter (Milan), along with two-way player Jack McLaury (MIF/RHP) (Independence) hope to take advantage of early opportunities to produce for the Pioneers.
The pitching staff will be heavily relied upon, especially early in the season, to give the Pioneers a good start. Sophomore LHP's Parker White (Knoxville West) and Caleb Pica (John T. Overton) and RHP's Noah Eatman (Parrish, FL), Noah Ward (Knoxville Catholic), and Brett Dowling (Green Hill) all have experience on the mound. White earned 2nd Team All-Conference honors as a Starting Pitcher (4.06 ERA) while leading the team with 5 wins and his 12 starts was 3rd on the club in 2023. Pica, an early signee to Lipscomb University, had a 1.50 ERA in 24 IP and led the team with 14.6 K/9. Eatman was 4th in IP (28) and finished with a 3.86 ERA in 14 appearances. Hard throwing righthanders Ward and Dowling will be asked to come out of the bullpen as they did last year.
After a year away from Vol State, LHP Caiden Johnson (Huntsville, AL) will look to improve on his freshman campaign in 2022 when he led the Pioneers in K's (37), was tied for Starts (9), and was 2nd in IP (37.2).
RHP's Alex Qualls (Lipscomb Academy), a medical R/S sophomore, along with R/S freshmen Caden Blackford (White House) and R.J. Moore (Beech), add experience to the young pitching staff.
Highly touted RHP, Trent Miller (Greenbrier), who is coming off injury, leads a group of eight freshman hurlers that will be asked to perform well if the Pioneers have any chance to exceed their 2023 season record. RHP's Chip Harris (Clarksville), Max Cassle (Clarksville Academy), Cooper Anderson (Ravenwood), Caden Trigg (Rockvale), Garrett Bruce (Gallatin) and McLaury, made multiple appearances on the mound last fall. LHP Carter Waltz (Springfield), who was unable to compete in the fall due to injury, hopes to be available later this spring. These freshmen are working to gain strength and experience as the season moves to conference action March 1st at Motlow State.
Sophomore transfer RHP Ryan Murphy (Lincoln Memorial/Clarksville), who enrolled in January, is also working toward a later debut due to arm discomfort.
Sophomore LHP's Braxten Alexander (Cannon County) and Devin Thrain (Summit), along with Freshman OF Cole Ullrich (Hendersonville), will sit out the year with a medical R/S as each recover from surgery.
The coaching staff, players, and their families along with other Pioneer baseball supporters are excited to get the 2024 season started. Opening day is Saturday, February 3rd, as Vol State hosts Vincennes University at 2 pm (CST) at the Tim Garrett Baseball Complex on the campus of Volunteer State Community College, Gallatin, TN. All games will be livestream broadcast on the Vol State YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/c/VolStateSportsNetwork?app=desktop. Go 'Neers!