After missing a large chunk of his sophomore season, Tennessee baseball pitcher AJ Russell will undergo Tommy John surgery as reported by Ben McKee of GoVols247.
This comes less than a week after head coach Tony Vitello revealed to the media that Russell would likely be shut down for the season. Instead, he was tasked with making an impact from the dugout in a sort of coaching position.
The surgery typically takes about a year to recover. Currently, it is unclear whether he will be ready for next season.. He will draft eligibility after the 2025 campaign.
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In 2024, Russell appeared in six games and made four starts. He posted a 5.02 ERA in 14.1 innings pitched with a .231 opponent batting average and 21 strikeouts.
As a freshman, he made 24 appearances with all but one coming as a reliever. He earned a 0.89 ERA in 30.1 innings pitched as one of the Vols' more reliable arms out of the bullpen. The NCBWA placed him as a Third-Team All-American and Freshman First-Team All-American after the season.
Russell pitched against Texas Tech and Albany in out-of-conference matches before missing time and returning for the first SEC series. He would pitch against Alabama and Ole Miss before not reappearing until the SEC Tournament.
In Hoover, he appeared in relief in the opening loss to Vanderbilt where he went one inning without giving up a run. Then, he got the start in the title game against LSU where he went one inning and gave up a solo shot.
If Russell ends up redshirting next season, he will enter 2026 as a redshirt junior with two years of eligibility remaining. Despite the limited sample size, he still may entice a team to draft him to pull him away from college, though.
Out of high school, Russell was ranked the No. 14 player in Tennessee and the No. 6 right handed pitcher in the state. He played prep ball at Franklin High School outside of Nashville.
He ultimately chose the Vols over Alabama and Western Kentucky.
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