Tony Vitello and Tennessee baseball are continuing to reload its roster for the 2026 season.

The Vols have landed Rice transfer Blaine Brown. He pitched and played the outfield for the Owls.

He is coming off a freshman season that saw him named to the All-AAC First-Team as a designated hitter and an unanimous member of the AAC All-Freshman Team.

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At the plate as a freshman, Brown led Rice in batting average (.292), slugging percentage (.493), hits (61), RBI (38), doubles (12), home runs (10), total bases (103) and multi-hit games (18).

He also tied for the team-high with eight multi-RBI games.

Brown is the first player at Rice to lead the team in batting average since Anthony Rendon did so in 2009. Rendon has since gone on to become an MLB All-Star and World Series champion.

Brown is also just the eighth freshman in school history to leave the yards 10 or more times in a season.

On April 12, Brown had a career game. He recorded a stunning six RBI including a walk-off grand slam in the win over USF on enforce the run-rule.

Brown also spent some time on the mound. The southpaw pitcher appeared in seven games while starting in four.

He posted a 20.77 ERA and 0-1 record in 4.1 innings pitched.

This is another top transfer addition for the Vols this off-season. Tennessee has already landed Virginia slugger Henry Ford, Bowling Green catcher Garrett Wright and two-way star DJ Newman along with pitchers Bo Rhudy of Kennesaw State, Mason Estrada of MIT, Clay Edmondson of UNC Asheville and Brady Frederick of ETSU.

The Vols also own juco commitments from right-handed hurler Matt Barr from Niagra and utility player Tyler Myatt from Walters State.

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