Hamilton likes Raleigh's at-bat

Coach Bruce Pearl quickly transformed Tennessee into an NCAA tournament regular in basketball. New coach Lane Kiffin has been assigned the task of rebuilding UT's football program.

But while Pearl closes in on another NCAA tournament and Kiffin lays the foundation for his football program, UT athletic director Mike Hamilton hasn't lost sight of what's going on in baseball. He expects another turnaround.

"We feel like this is an NCAA tournament team," Hamilton said of coach Todd Raleigh's second team, which will open its season against Oregon State on Friday afternoon at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.

Raleigh's first team went 27-29. But the losing record didn't change Hamilton's opinion of the coach he hired a year earlier to replace Rod Delmonico.

"He wasn't left with much scholarship money for his first recruiting class, but I think he did a really nice job of filling some needs with the scholarship dollars he had available," Hamilton said. "Also, realize his style of play differed from Coach Delmonico's style of play.

"He's more of a long-ball guy. You'll see the physical statue of our players change a little bit, this year and the years ahead.

"They tore the program down and rebuilt it in terms of off-the-field discipline and conditioning. You'll see, I think, the fruits of some of that labor this season."

Hamilton also is pleased with how the team has improved academically. The team's Academic Progress Rate (APR) has improved dramatically under Raleigh.

"Our APR in baseball was low," Hamilton said. "When Todd came on board, he turned that almost immediately."

Hamilton now looks forward to improvement on the field.

Two Vols have been honored as preseason All-Americans. Sophomore outfielder Kentrail Davis, who batted .330 with 13 home runs, was a first-team selection by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. Sophomore pitcher Bryan Morgado was a third-team selection.

As a team, UT received votes in the NCBWA top 35 poll. LSU, Georgia, Ole Miss, Kentucky and Florida were all ranked in the Top 25. Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, South Carolina and Vanderbilt also were listed among "other teams receiving votes."

"If you finish in the top eight in our league, you can be in the NCAA tournament," Hamilton said. "I believe - and I know Todd believes - that we can be a consistent NCAA tournament baseball program at the University of Tennessee."

That outlook is based, in part, on the in-state recruiting base.

"I believe Knoxville is a good baseball town, and Tennessee is a good baseball state," Hamilton said. "In contrast to some other sports, there's baseball talent in this state to be able to win nationally.

"We have the greatest chance to have Tennesseans be on the team and have national success of any of the 20 sports that we field. And it starts with having good baseball here in this city."

Improving facilities is a key to improving the program, according to Hamilton.

"We're really proud of the new clubhouse and locker room facilities that the players have," Hamilton said. "We've got a new training room and a new team lounge."

UT also is close to completing work on a new weight room, adjacent to the team locker room and lounge.

"We've got to continue to give (Raleigh) the resources to be successful," Hamilton said.

Succeeding in baseball is more than just business for Hamilton, who is a longtime baseball fan.

"It's personal with me," he said. "I want us to be successful in baseball."