In 2025, Levi Clark stepped onto the scene with a great freshman season for the Tennessee Volunteers.
In 128 at-bats, he had a .289 batting average and a .459 on-base percentage. He also showed off the power and contributed to scoring runs with 10 home runs and 34 RBI.
Clark also scored 30 runs himself and drew 35 walks as well.
The sophomore from Marietta, Ga. discussed what went into him having a great 2025 season in Knoxville.
“The older guys and coaches did a good job preparing all of the freshmen,” Clark said. “That’s why so many of us had success. Baseball is a hard game — there are always ups and downs — but they kept us steady and focused no matter what.”
He mentioned plenty of specific players from the 2025 Tennessee roster that helped him adjust to the college level a season ago.
“Honestly, I went to everybody,” Clark stated regarding mentors. “Hunt [Hunter Ensley] and I had a lot of conversations; I talked hitting with Reese Chapman all the time — love that guy — and Gavin [Kilen] too. Everyone was a huge help.”
With a year of college baseball under his belt, Clark talked about what the experience of playing for Tennessee is like. He mentioned what it means to play for head coach Tony Vitello as well.
“It’s hard to describe,” Clark said. “It’s special to put on that jersey and play for Coach Vitello. People hate us wherever we go, but we embrace it — we love it.”
In June of 2024, Tennessee’s Lindsey Nelson Stadium began a massive renovation.
The new renovation will add a new entrance into the ballpark, suites for fans on the third level, improved concessions, and it will make the ballpark larger in general.
Tennessee is looking for the mass renovation project to be completed for the 2026 college baseball season.
Clark was ecstatic about these renovations and talked about how it will turn up the baseball environment in Knoxville.
“It’s crazy,” Clark said. “After practice, we’ll stand on the field just looking at all the construction. It already looks amazing. I can’t wait to see the finished product — it’s going to be a madhouse this spring.”
The Tennessee Volunteers made a fifth-straight super regional in 2025 during the NCAA Tournament.
However, the program’s standard and all-around success this decade has set higher aspirations for Clark and the rest of the team in 2026.
“Making a Super Regional is good, but at Tennessee, we expect more,” Clark said. “We expect Omaha at the very least. We’re still young, but that can actually help us. We’ve got a lot to learn, but we think we can be a really good team.”
Clark mentioned that a lot of the newcomers, both transfers and freshmen, have all stepped up in the early goings of fall practices.
“Honestly, they’ve all been really good,” Clark stated regarding Tennessee’s newcomers. “The competition in scrimmages has been intense.”
A specific name the Tennessee sophomore mentioned was freshman Trent Grindlinger. According to Perfect Game, the catcher prospect from Huntington Beach, Calif. was ranked as a top 30 player in the 2025 class.
He was also ranked as the second-best catcher in the class.
Clark had some advice for Grindlinger and the other freshmen on Tennessee’s team as they prepare for the 2026 season.
“The biggest thing is slowing the game down,” Clark stated. “At first, it feels like it’s moving a million miles per hour, but it’s not. That’s the biggest difference I’ve noticed between last year and now. You’ve got to slow it down and be where your feet are.”
NCAA News: https://worldbaseball.com/league/ncaa/
PHOTO: Tennessee catcher Levi Clark (30) plays East Tennessee in an NCAA baseball game on Tuesday, March 18, 2025, in Knoxville, Tenn. (AP Photo/John Amis)
