Drew Gilbert was the biggest coup of Tennessee’s 2019 signing class. The two way player asked for a release from his LOI to Oregon State after head coach Pat Casey retired and after official visits to Tennessee, Arkansas and Florida State, Gilbert settled on the Vols.

As a freshman, Gilbert immediately made a mark, catching his teammates attention in fall ball with his high energy and talent.

The Stillwater, Minnesota native earned a role on the team right away, playing in 15 of Tennessee's 17 games before COVID-19 ended the season early.

“It was obviously exciting,” Gilbert said of his first year in Knoxville. “I got some action as a freshman but overall there’s just this feeling of unfinished business. Obviously we lost some guys to the draft, and we feel like we have some pretty good talent that, I don’t want to say replace them, but help fill some roles so we’re excited to see what we can do this year.”

Gilbert showed he belonged right away, hitting .350 with four extra base hits and eight RBIs, ranking third on the team with a .490 on base percentage in his first season.

Gilbert had a great chance to earn an everyday role in Tennessee’s lineup last season, whether that was starting in the outfield or as the designated hitter.

“Coming in, I’m very confident in myself,” Gilbert said. “I know I’m going to work to get better everyday. I didn’t really come in here and put expectations on playing time or any of that. I just came in here trying to get better every day. Obviously, I’d be lying to you if I

didn’t say I wanted to come in here and play right away. I was definitely confident I could come in and help this team.”

At the plate isn’t the only place where Gilbert earned coaches’ trust in his freshman season. The left hander earned four appearances out of the bullpen, turning in a 5.62 ERA with nine strikeouts and two walks in eight innings of work.

Gilbert’s numbers were a bit inflated with four of his five runs coming in a 1.2 inning outing versus Western Illinois. Gilbert also had a strong 4.1 inning, one run outing in Tennessee’s narrow win over Stanford.

Tennessee’s season abruptly ended before SEC play and before Gilbert could prove himself against the best, but the second year freshman has turned the page.

“You can either pout about it or get back to work,” Gilbert said.

Getting back to work meant staying in Knoxville for most of the quarantine where Gilbert had the ability to workout. Tennessee is hoping the work leads to a big jump from Gilbert’s first to second season, similar to what Max Ferguson, Jake Rucker and Connor Pavolony did last season.

“I feel like this year I’m a lot stronger than I was last year,” Gilbert said. “Obviously just being a second year guy you’re more confident where you are and a little more confident too. … It’s the same deal with everybody else though, so I just tried to do what I could over quarantine to get better every day.”

Tennessee lost a pair of outfielders to the MLB Draft in Al Soularie and Zach Daniels. The duo ranked first and second on the team in home runs and RBIs last season and replacing their production is a daunting task.

Nevertheless, Tony Vitello feels like the Vols have at least three guys in the outfield that can play in the MLB. While he’s quick to clarify that he doesn’t think that they’ll all hit .400, it shows competition and depth.

“I feel like we have a lot of depth out there,” Gilbert said. “I don’t think there’s a reason we can’t have multiple guys who can come in and fill their (Soularie and Daniels) roles per say, and we’re pretty confident in the group we have out there.”

Expectations won’t just be high for Gilbert at the plate but also on the mound. The 5-foot-9 left hander could have a big role in a clustered, but talented, Tennessee bullpen. Gilbert gives the Vols another capable left handed arm to go along with veterans Redmond Walsh and Will Heflin and true freshman Jake Fitzgibbons who has surprised and impressed this fall.

Managing where Gilbert spends his practice time remains an ongoing process for Tennessee and is crucial as the Vols want to rely on Gilbert’s bat and arm this coming spring.

“It’s on going,” Vitello said of Gilbert’s practice plan. “It’s a day-to-day, constant conversation. Making adjustments. There’s some days Drew doesn’t throw with the outfielders. There’s some days where Frank (Anderson) will grab him and do extra work in the bullpen. … It’s about us getting to know Drew and figuring out how to handle his

talents because he has a lot of them. I think as that familiarity cranks up he’ll feel more comfortable, we’ll feel more comfortable and his true ability will shine through and also his ability that’s been developed here in the weight room, the bullpen and the cage will shine through too.”

Tennessee has pieces to replace after the MLB Draft and a shortened 15-2 season. Drew Gilbert could replicate some of the production at the plate and on the mound.