Chris Newstrom enters transfer portal to leave Tennessee baseball after two seasons

Chris Newstrom is entering the transfer portal to leave Tennessee baseball, a source with direct knowledge of the situation told Volquest on Monday.

Newstrom hit .266 with six homers and 26 RBIs in 60 games with 28 starts in two seasons.

He is the third player to enter the portal following the season, joining junior shortstop Ariel Antigua and freshman infielder Ethan Moore on the first day the portal is open. Newstrom has not publicly announced his decision.

He hit .173 with one homer and seven RBIs in 27 games with 15 starts in 2026.

The Arizona native had a slow start to the season before a torrid week that included Tennessee’s three-game run in the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series. He slumped afterward and barely played in SEC play.

Newstrom did not start again following March 22 against Missouri. He played as a defensive replacement during Tennessee’s win against LSU on April 4. He played in four games the rest of the season.

He had a two-hit game against ETCU on March 3, but did not have a hit in the rest of the season. He went 0-for-20 since that performance.

Newstrom hit .351 with five homers and 19 RBIs as a freshman. He played in 33 games with 13 starts.

The Vols went 38-22 in coach Josh Elander‘s first season. They went 15-15 in SEC play with notable series wins against top-10 opponents in Mississippi State and Texas. They were the only program in the nation to go unbeaten in midweek games with a 14-0 record. UT’s season ended in the Chapel Hill Regional after it reached the postseason for the seventh straight season.

The portal opens Monday and is open until June 30 for Division I baseball players. Players have to submit paperwork in that window in order to transfer. They do not have to commit to a school during that window and programs can continue to add players following the transfer portal window.