Drew Pestka Breaks Down His Commitment To The Vols

Tennessee Volunteers commit Drew Pestka breaks down his commitment to Tony Vitello and the Volunteers. He also details his visit to the Vols which led to his decision.

Coach Vitello and the Tennessee Base-Vols have had an impressive offseason. They have landed multiple guys that will be very useful right away. One of those guys is Drew Pestka from the John A. Logan College Vols.

Drew Pestka is a 6’5, 240-pound right-handed pitcher who is from Carterville, Illinois. Pestka had an impressive first year as a starter; he made 14 appearances and finished with a win-loss record of 7-2. He also put up great stats in 68.1 innings pitched; he struck out 85 batters and had an ERA of 3.69. The future Vols pitcher still has to play his spring season with John A. Logan but plans to head to Tennessee shortly after.

Pestka took a visit to Tennessee and felt a connection right away. “So I went and visited five others. I got to see it all, and I didn’t really know what my coaches had talked about. About the feeling you get when you walk into a place like you know you’re at the right place; until I stepped foot in Knoxville from beginning to end that weekend, it was just amazing. All around, coaches, culture, and players, everybody was just there. It was an amazing feeling. Just had an amazing atmosphere too, and after I left that place, I kind of knew I wanted to go there, like I knew deep down in my heart, and I still had a visit after that, but the next visit, I had was almost like a reassurance that Tennessee is the place, and that’s exactly what it was,” the young pitcher stated. On his visit, he had the chance to speak with many of the coaches on the staff. The right-handed pitcher mentions, “I talked to coach Vitello and coach Anderson. I was most of the time around Coach Bonfield and Coach Elander; they were the guys who set up the majority of the visit, but I did get to talk to Coach Vitello a lot up in his office; we just hung out a little bit. We talked baseball, we talked about his life, and we talked about my life. I talked to Coach Anderson for a long time as well, talked pitching, and talked about his life as well. Both are amazing dudes and amazing coaches. There is a reason they get paid the money they do and how long they’ve been in the game for. You can almost just feel the experience coming off of them when you’re sitting there talking to them. Then coach Bonfield and coach Elander are just amazing dudes when it comes to connecting, and coach Elander is really good at baseball as well, so it was a really good time to talk to all of them.”

One thing in common is the fact that everyone who commits to a school has a specific reason for deciding to choose that school. Pestka had his own reason, mentioning “the culture there. I got to talk to Drew Beam specifically for a while while I was there. He almost took me under his wing on my visit as a host, and he wasn’t even supposed to be my host, but at the scrimmage, when I first showed up, we were out there talking for a while. It was almost like a reassurance of how good the culture is there and the vibe that goes around, and I got to see that, and he kind of explained it. It also seems like the fans and stuff there are amazing. That’s what he said, too. He said everyone loves you. In Knoxville, in all sports, any sports involved, if they’re a Tennessee fan, they’re a Tennessee fan, and I love that.” Being a pitcher at Tennessee is a huge accomplishment. Drew Beam is the face of the Tennessee pitching rotation this year as a veteran leader. When the 6’5 pitcher was asked how big of a deal it was for Drew Beam to take him under his wing, he responded, “It was a huge deal; it was kind of amazing. I had a couple of my visits; some did that, but not to the extent Drew did, so it was kind of nice to talk pitching with him, especially with someone with that amount of experience and him being that dude and being a projected first-rounder this year. It was amazing, and it helped me a lot this year. It helped me a lot in getting ready for next year. It was just amazing.”

Pestka also spoke really highly of the pitching staff. He mentions a few key factors about what intrigues him the most, stating, “The track record stands out the most. I mean, Tennessee has had an amazing track record of dudes like me or dudes with the tools like me turning them into first-round draft picks, giving them good careers, and some going straight to the MLB. Obviously, I was looking for a place to get in for a year, teach me everything they know, and then get me out by junior year, so in and out in 9 months, so it had to be a place that has done that in the past, and coach Anderson has done it with multiple people, including his son. I mean, it was just an amazing fit. Amazing coaching and I could see myself there getting coached for the nine months and getting out.”

We often see commits keep their recruitments open just in case they get a better offer or find something that catches their eye even more than before. This is not the case with the future Volunteer. “My recruitment is closed. I’m committed. Like I said, my visit to Tennessee, out of all the schools, just gave me that feeling. So I knew then and there that it was the place, and then I had a visit after Tennessee, and I had it planned out; it was a good school and everything, but when I went, it was like reassurance that I made the right decision like it’s got to be Tennessee. So 100% Tennessee.” It will be interesting to see how Pestka is used and how he will play in their pitching rotation in a few seasons. Until then, most Volunteer fans will be keeping an eye out for this future Tennessee pitcher.