Christian Scott, Seth Halvorsen hint at return to Tennessee baseball team

Seth Halvorsen and Christian Scott each posted on their Instagram profiles Tuesday.
Tennessee Youth Baseball Camp(Rick Russo)
Published: Jun. 15, 2022 at 3:15 PM EDT|Updated: Jun. 15, 2022 at 3:38 PM EDT

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) - After one of the best seasons in program history, Tennessee will see a significant amount of turnover on its roster. It’s conceivable that Tony Vitello could have to replace up to eight starters from this year’s team, either due to graduation or the draft.

This week, two Vols hinted at their intentions to stay in Knoxville and compete for Tennessee next season.

Seth Halvorsen and Christian Scott each posted on their Instagram profiles Tuesday with the captions, “It starts now,” and “Why not one more?”.

Scott, a senior outfielder from Clarksville, started 11 games last season and hit .200 in 70 at-bats. Scott made a splash at the beginning of the season with a home run and two RBI in a win over Georgia Southern in mid-February. Scott played in 31 games and made nine starts his junior season in 2021.

Tennessee will return outfielder Kyle Booker and utility player Jared Dickey next season. Seth Stephenson is a projected draft prospect, but could return for his senior season.

Halvorsen, a 6′2″ right-handed pitcher from Minnesota, didn’t play for Tennessee this season. The Missouri transfer served as the Tigers’ Friday night starter in 2021 and posted a 4-3 record in 14 starts. He was a two-time MLB Draft selection - last year in the 19th round by the Phillies, and in 2018 by the Twins in the 30th round.

Tennessee set a new program record Wednesday with seven players named to the American Baseball Coaches Association Southeast All-Region teams. UT’s seven selections were the most of any school in the southeast region as the Vols placed six players on the first team and one on the second team.

The Vols’ first-team selections were Trey Lipscomb (3B), Jorel Ortega (2B), Drew Gilbert (OF), Chase Dollander (RHP), Chase Burns (RHP) and Drew Beam (RHP). Jordan Beck (OF) was Tennessee’s lone representative on the second team. The previous program record for all-region team honorees was five, which was set just last year when Chad Dallas (RHP), Jake Rucker (3B), Liam Spence (SS), Max Ferguson (2B) and Beck (OF) were all selected.

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