Tennessee had two baseball players recognized with Southeastern Conference weekly honors on April 27. Sophomore pitcher Tegan Kuhns was named SEC Pitcher of the Week, while freshman designated hitter and catcher Trent Grindlinger earned SEC Co-Freshman of the Week.
These awards come after Tennessee’s series victory over No. 13 Alabama, a result that highlighted strong performances from both athletes. Such recognition is considered important as it reflects individual contributions to the team’s success during a key stretch of the season.
Kuhns received his first career SEC Pitcher of the Week honor following an eight-inning, complete-game shutout in the opening game of Friday’s doubleheader against Alabama. The right-hander allowed only three hits and one walk while striking out nine batters. This marked Kuhns’ first complete game and was also the first by a Tennessee pitcher since Marcus Phillips threw a seven-inning shutout against Florida in March 2025. Kuhns set down Alabama in order five times across his outing and became the first Vol to earn this pitching award since Liam Doyle on April 14 last year.
Grindlinger shared Co-Freshman of the Week honors after leading or tying for Tennessee’s team lead in several offensive categories for the week, including batting average (.533), hits (eight), home runs (three), RBIs (six), slugging percentage (1.200) and on-base percentage (.632). Seven of his eight hits came during UT’s series win over Alabama, where he batted .583 with three multi-hit games and five RBIs. In Friday’s doubleheader sweep, Grindlinger recorded five hits, three runs scored, a double, two home runs and five RBIs.
He is now the second Vol to be named SEC Freshman of the Week this season—joining pitcher Cam Appenzeller who received it earlier in April—and becomes Tennessee’s first position player or hitter to earn this recognition since Levi Clark last March.
The latest conference accolades underscore individual achievements that contributed to Tennessee’s recent victories as they continue their season.
