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Tennessee baseball announces starting pitcher against East Carolina in Chapel Hill Regional

Mike Wilson credential pictureby: Mike Wilson05/27/26ByMikeWilson

Evan Blanco will start for Tennessee baseball in its opener against East Carolina in the Chapel Hill Regional, Vols coach Josh Elander announced.

The No. 2 seed Vols (38-20) face the No. 3 seed Pirates (36-22-1) on Friday (noon ET, ESPNU) in the Chapel Hill Regional.

The senior left-handed pitcher is 7-4 with a 4.94 ERA. He has struck out 97 in 82 innings. He has 29 walks and has allowed 17 homers, both are team-highs. The Virginia transfer turned in six quality starts in SEC play.

Tegan Kuhns (5-4, 3.39 ERA) is in line to start the second game, which could be against No. 1 seed North Carolina on Saturday. The Tar Heels  (45-11-1) open against No. 4 seed VCU (37-23) in the second game Friday (5 p.m. ET, ESPN+).

The winners of the two Friday games play Saturday and so do the losers in an elimination game. 

East Carolina is starting junior left-hander Ryan Towers, Pirates coach Cliff Godwin announced Wednesday on SportsTalk. Towers is 7-3 with a 3.04 ERA.

Towers, a transfer from Loyola Marymount following the 2024 season, moved into the Friday starter role against South Florida in late April. He has allowed five runs in 28.2 innings across five starts since taking on the role. He has allowed 20 hits and eight walks in that span. 

He has 42 strikeouts and 20 walks in 53.1 innings. He has allowed only six homers and five doubles.

Tennessee baseball recent history in NCAA Tournament

Tennessee has reached the NCAA Tournament seven straight times dating back to 2019.

The Vols reached the postseason in 2019 for the first time since 2005, setting off a major run of postseason successes. UT has been to five straight super regionals, a streak that started in the 2021 season. It has reached the College World Series three times in that span, making trips in 2021, 2023 and 2024.

Tennessee won the national title in 2024 for the first time in program history. It became the first SEC team to win 60 games that season and swept the SEC regular-season and tournament titles.

UT hosted a regional four times in its past six trips. It did not host in 2019 or 2023. The Vols lost in the Chapel Hill Regional in 2019 and won the Clemson Regional in 2023.