HOOVER, Ala. − Tennessee baseball will face Vanderbilt in the SEC Tournament semifinals for the second straight season.
No. 8 seed Tennessee and No. 4 seed Vanderbilt will play on May 24 (1 p.m. ET, SEC Network) for a spot in the conference tournament title game. The No. 8 seed Vols (43-15) advanced with a 7-5 win against top-seeded Texas to set up another matchup with the Commodores (40-16) at Hoover Met. Vanderbilt topped No. 12 seed Oklahoma 6-1 in the nightcap May 22.
UT is in the SEC semifinals for the fourth time in the past five seasons. It reached the finals in each of its previous three appearances, winning the title in 2022 and 2024.
Tennessee beat Vanderbilt 6-4 in the semifinals in 2024 before beating LSU 4-3 to win its second SEC Tournament title under coach Tony Vitello. It lost 13-4 in its opening game in Hoover to the Commodores last season.
The Vols lost the regular-season series to the Commodores in early May. They won the opener 3-2 behind a strong start from Liam Doyle, but lost the final two games 10-6 and 7-5 to drop the series. UT had won three straight series against Vanderbilt prior to the series loss.
It had won 10 of the past 12 meetings with the Commodores entering the series.
Tennessee was 4-8 against Vanderbilt in Vitello’s first four seasons. It won the next nine matchups and 10 of the next 12, including the win in the 2024 SEC Tournament semifinals.
Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on X @ByMikeWilson or Bluesky @bymikewilson.bsky.social. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee baseball to face Vanderbilt in SEC Tournament semifinals