Tennessee boasts one of the best pitching staffs in college baseball.

The three starters in the Vols' rotation as well as the arms out of the bullpen have been key in the team's turnaround, which has them in position to reach the College World Series for the second time in three seasons.

Among the talented arms in Tennessee's arsenal is right-hander AJ Russell who has starred as a reliever this season. He was named a Freshman All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association on Monday.

A Tennessee native that starred at Franklin High School, Russell was rated as a national Top 500 prospect by Perfect Game was rated as the No. 14 overall player in the state.

Russell has appeared in 22 games this season and has a 2-0 record.

He totaled 46 strikeouts while allowing just nine hits and four runs in 28.2 innings. Russell has a 0.94 ERA.

Russell went a season-high 3.1 innings while tying a high in strikeouts with five against Georgia on May 7. He's appeared in two games so far in the postseason, combining for 2.1 innings versus Texas A&M in the SEC Tournament and Charlotte in the Clemson Regional last week.

Though Drew Beam is expected to start, Tennessee could call on Russell again in Game 3 of the Hattiesburg Super Regional against Southern Miss on Monday. A Vols win would clinch them a spot in the CWS against LSU this weekend.

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