Due to setback of the team;The all time player in volunteer Tennessee baseball Zane Denton has officially announced his retirement.
Zane Denton stated on Saturday that he will be moving from Tennessee to Austin Peay baseball. Denton did not play for the Vols in 2024, having established himself as a Tennessee hero during the 2023 College World Series. He revealed in August that he would return to Tennessee for a second season after being undrafted in the 2023 MLB Draft. He never returned to the roster for personal reasons.
In September, Vols coach Tony Vitello stated that Denton was sitting out fall baseball while “handling some things he has to.” Denton and Vitello continued to meet in January prior to the season, but Denton did not join the team. The switch-hitting third baseman has one year of eligibility left.
In 2023, Denton hit.269 with 16 home runs and a team-high 59 RBIs after transferring from Alabama. He hit a three-run homer against Clemson in the ninth inning of the Clemson Regional. The homer gave UT a 5-4 lead, and the Vols triumphed 6-5 in extra innings, propelling them to the regional title and the CWS for the second time in three seasons.
Denton is a career.276 hitter with 39 home runs and 156 RBIs in 195 games at Alabama and Tennessee. Denton spent three seasons at Alabama before moving to UT after the 2022 season. He has a fifth year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Brentwood native became the second Vol to enter the portal. Wyatt Evans, a pitcher who did not play in 2024, was the first.
