Most think of Drayk Bowen as a football prospect and just that.

What many don’t realize is that the 2023 four-star outside linebacker from Merrillville, Indiana — located just south of Chicago — also wants to play college baseball.

In his pursuit of being a two-sport athlete, Bowen has spoken with Vols head baseball coach Tony Vitello. As a matter of fact, on his most recent visit to Tennessee, he was able to catch a few innings of the Vols’ regional game against Wright State in the NCAA Tournament.

“We were only there for about three or four innings but it was awesome,” Bowen told Volquest. “I think Coach Vitello really wants to win. He’s doing a great job over there from what I’ve seen.”

Bowen currently plays on the left side of the infield in high school. He thinks that he’ll continue to play third base in college or even one of the corner outfield spots.

As interested in Bowen is about playing college baseball, there was a different emphasis on this trip to Tennessee.

“I had already seen things before with the baseball facility, but this time I wanted to see the football facility and the football side of things,” Bowen said. “I wanted to see the coaches and feel the new culture with Coach Heupel and the new staff coming in.

“It was really good. I liked the place and seeing the campus and the culture. It seemed like a really cool place.”

The 6-foot-2, 215-pound Bowen out of Andrean High School is currently ranked as the No. 16 overall player in the country by Rivals and has over 25 scholarship offers.

Bowen had already seen Notre Dame and Michigan when he stopped by Rocky Top. He was on his way to Ole Miss after being impressed by Josh Heupel on his stop in Knoxville.

“I really like Coach Heupel,” Bowen said. “He likes to keep it loose and fun, but likes to compete when it’s time to compete. Overall, he likes how I play. We met the other coaches and got to talk football with Coach (Brian Jean-Mary). The facilities were awesome and we really liked them.”

Bowen and his family spoke with Heupel and Tennessee’s staff about how he would be used in new defensive coordinator Tim Banks’ defense.

The Vols view Bowen as a linebacker who can play inside or outside, and Bowen is fine with that because he knows he can do both.

“They really like how tall I am and my length,” Bowen said. “They like how I play downhill and how aggressive I am because that will translate well. They also like that I can play both in space and go sideline to sideline.”

Bowen wants to see more campuses and more coaches before narrowing things down going into his junior season. He also intends to camp with Clemson, Alabama, Auburn and LSU amongst others this month.

Regardless of how many schools he visits this summer, he intends to consider Tennessee long-term.

“I want it to be a second home,” Bowen said of the school he wants to end up at. “Have a winning culture, allow me to get a good education, obviously football, baseball. All of those are really important and I want to compete for a spot as a freshman.”