UT baseball first: Helton's No. 3 jersey to be retired

It’s hard to miss Todd Helton’s name in the University of Tennessee baseball record book.

The former Vol sits in the top three of 27 career or single-season categories among all-time UT greats.

Now he’s about to add another first to his legend.

Helton, who wore jersey No. 3, is set to become the first Tennessee baseball player to have his number officially retired.

“He’s just a great guy and he’s excited about it,” first-year UT coach Todd Raleigh said. “He certainly has a lot of love for this university and we’re just glad to have him back in the mix of being one of our own here.”

Helton spent 1993-95 helping boost the Vols’ program into the national spotlight.

He has since gone on to put up All-Star numbers as a first baseman for the Colorado Rockies.

Raleigh and UT athletic director Mike Hamilton made it a priority to personally talk with Helton and discuss his interest in being honored by his alma mater.

“That ball was rolling before I took the job,” Raleigh said. “To be honest with you, I thought his number had probably been retired already.

“I just kind of took the momentum they already had with it and kept pushing.”

Helton, a hometown hero and former Central High School star, is scheduled to return to Knoxville to accept the honor at the annual UT Leadoff Banquet in January.

Tennessee officials said as of right now there is no definitive criteria for determining which players may be eligible to have their numbers retired.

“There isn’t yet, but we have pulled the criteria from other schools so we can create our own criteria in the future,” said Tiffany Carpenter, director of public relations for the UT athletic department.

Helton’s not just in rarified air in the UT record books, he’s putting a dent in some major league marks.

In recent years, he joined Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig as the only players in history to post seven consecutive seasons with 25 home runs, 95 RBIs and a batting average higher than .315.

Another name already engrained in Raleigh’s mind as a possible candidate to have his number retired is Phil Garner.

“I would certainly think Phil Garner would be somewhere at the top of the list, not just for what he did here, but for what he has done since,” Raleigh said. “He didn’t just have a couple of good seasons, he has been pretty solid his whole life as a player and manager.”

Ready To Get Going: Raleigh just wants to get down to the business of coaching a baseball team.

“We start fall practice on Sept. 17 and we’ll go to Oct. 21,” he said. “It’s here. It’s on us right now and to be honest with you I can’t wait.

“I’m tired of doing paper work and all this other stuff. I’m excited about getting started.”

The Vols made it through the draft and signing period in fairly good shape, especially with the news this week that highly regarded signee Kentrail Davis opted to join UT instead of signing with the Rockies after being selected in the 14th round.

“Kentrail’s a person who could have made a lot of money,” Raleigh said. “That was one of our biggest worries.

“You don’t want to put too much pressure on somebody, but if you don’t think he can have an impact from day one, you’re crazy.”

The 5-foot-10, 195-pound outfielder from Theodore, Ala., has been compared to Kirby Puckett in some circles.

Late Additions: Raleigh obviously has been busy on the recruiting circuit and has added a couple of names to the roster in the past month.

Steve Crnkovich is a 6-foot-5 right-handed pitcher transferring from Illinois-Chicago.

He was a second-team freshman All-American at UI-C with a 4-4 record and a 2.39 in 94 innings last season. He held No. 1-ranked Vanderbilt to one run and three hits during one eight-inning outing.

Another recent addition is Matt Hamaker, a catcher from Jackson State Cummunity College in Jackson, Tenn. He hit .403 with 16 home runs and 76 RBIs last season and was the TJCCAA Player of the Year. He picked UT over Clemson and North Carolina State.

Late Departures: Raleigh also announced former South-Doyle standout Lance McClain and Ryan Butner would not be rejoining the Vols for academic reasons.

McClain, who was 6-5 with a 4.64 ERA for the Vols last season, has transferred to Lee College.