Trent Grindlinger returning to Tennessee baseball for 2027 season

Trent Grindlinger is returning to Tennessee baseball for the 2027, he told Volquest on Tuesday.

Grindlinger was one of Tennessee’s best hitters in the 2026 season as a freshman, rising into the cleanup spot in the back half of the season.

He joins pitcher Cam Appenzeller as a pair of pivotal returners for the Vols and coach Josh Elander. Appenzeller also told Volquest on Tuesday he would be returning.

Grindlinger moved into the starting lineup on an everyday basis for the Vols to begin the month of April. The freshman finished the season with a .345 batting average, which was second on the team, in 43 games and 145 at-bats. Grindlinger launched eight home runs, drove in 29 runs, scored 26 runs and walked 13 times on the season and was named to the SEC All-Freshman squad.

The designated hitter tallied a four-hit day against Texas on May 9, registered four other three-hit days and totaled 15 multi-hit efforts on the year. Grindlinger drove in a career-high five runs against Vanderbilt on March 29 in a game when he came off the bench.

Grindlinger is a draft-eligible sophomore in the 2027 MLB Draft.

His younger brother, Jared, is a Tennessee baseball signee for the 2026 class. Jared could bypass college and sign professionally as an early round pick this summer in the 2026 MLB Draft.