Kirby Connell Will Return to Tennessee in 2024

On Monday, Tennessee Volunteers pitcher Kirby Connell announced his return to Knoxville for a fifth season.

Four seasons just was not enough for Tennessee left-handed pitcher Kirby Connell. On Monday, the reliever announced that he would return for his fifth season on Rocky Top. Connell's leadership and experience could be vital to the pitching staff next season. The Vols lost some pitchers to the portal and MLB Draft, so getting Connell back is a huge plus for them. During the 2023 season, Connell only tossed 15.1 innings and put up one win. During that span, he put up an ERA of 3.52 and had 17 strikeouts.

He also put up allowed an opposing batting average of only .193. This was the best mark of his four years thus far pitching. He also has a very low walk rate of 3.4% throughout his career. Connell's 2022 season was very impressive as he put up a 1.66 ERA in 38.0 innings pitched. He also held opposing lineups to sub-.200 averages by giving up just 27 hits against 146 batters faced. His career record is 6-1, and that one loss came in 2021, as he has shown value throughout his career by coming out of the bullpen. He is successful with both eating up innings and getting the Vols out of sick situations with runners on the base paths.

Tennessee P Kirby Connell (Photo by Ian Cox of Tennessee Athletics)

Tennessee lost ten total pitchers to the MLB in this past draft. They also lost the explosive arm of Chase Burns to Wake Forest in the transfer portal. Getting Connell back is a fresh sigh of relief for Tennessee baseball because of the handful of pitchers that have left. He brings experience and great value out of the bullpen for Vols pitching coach Frank Anderson. Although he did not get as many innings this season, he could see much more pitches next season to help get the Vols staff in order. 

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