On Sunday, the 2025 MLB draft began with the first round of picks being made. The Tennessee Volunteers made headlines as they had four first round picks in the draft. This is the most they have had in one draft in program history.
The first Tennessee player off the board was Liam Doyle. The southpaw ace was selected fifth overall by the St. Louis Cardinals.
Doyle is the highest drafted Tennessee player since Tony Vitello began coaching in Knoxville in 2018.
Shortly after Doyle, shortstop Gavin Kilen was selected 13th overall by the San Francisco Giants. This made Tennessee the first college team to have multiple players selected in the 2025 draft.
Then, third baseman Andrew Fischer was selected 20th overall by the Milwaukee Brewers. Fischer will join Blake Burke in the Milwaukee farm system, another former Tennessee player taken by the Brewers in the 2024 MLB draft.
In competitive balance round A, the Boston Red Sox took Marcus Phillips with the 33rd overall pick. Phillips was a mainstay in the Tennessee starting rotation in 2025 alongside Doyle.
In total, Doyle, Kilen, Fischer, and Phillips are all expected to make $20.82 million in combined signing bonuses.
Other Tennessee Players Taken in the MLB Draft
Four more Tennessee players have been taken in the 2025 MLB draft thus far besides the four first rounders.
AJ Russell was taken by the Texas Rangers in the second round. Shortly thereafter, Dean Curley was taken by the Cleveland Guardians.
Pitchers Tanner Franklin and Nate Snead were also selected as they were drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Angels respectively.
After Sunday night’s drafting ended, the Volunteers had the most players selected through three rounds with eight. The schools with the next highest number of selections were Arkansas, Florida State, and LSU which all had four players picked each.
The MLB Draft resumes for rounds 4-20 on Monday, July 14, at 11:30 p.m. EDT. LSU had a record 13 players drafted in the 2023 MLB Draft off the heels of their national championship. Tennessee could push for that number by draft’s end on Monday night.
WBN NCAA: https://worldbaseball.com/league/ncaa/
Photo: Tennessee pitcher Liam Doyle (12) throws to a batter during an NCAA regional baseball game against Miami on Friday, May 30, 2025, in Knoxville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)
