Raleigh wants 'to get this thing right'

Tennessee's baseball team began fall practices last Sunday for what could be a pivotal 2010 season under third-year coach Todd Raleigh.

The Vols posted almost identical records in Raleigh's first two seasons, going 27-29 in 2008 and 26-29 this past spring. In SEC games, the Vols were 12-18 in 2008 and 11-19 this past spring and missed making the SEC tournament both seasons.

If Raleigh is on the hot seat this coming season, nobody has told him.

"I want to get this thing right, and I feel like we have gotten it right," Raleigh said. "I wish there was other ways of doing it other than just taking time, but there's not.

"There's so many things we've had to deal with here, but to see how we're progressing academically to on the field, and having the kind players we have, I feel good about it."

Raleigh said UT athletic director Mike Hamilton has not talked with him about a win-or-you're-out situation.

He said the team's RPI jumped 50 spots from the 2008 season to after 2009, thanks in large part to a difficult schedule.

"I don't see how you can say we're not getting better," he said. "We have nobody ineligible. The kids are doing the right things. The draft prospects are going up, recruiting classes are getting better. We have an All-SEC player with (shortstop) Zach Osborne as a freshman. We brought in four freshmen who were drafted and kept them. That doesn't happen (often).

"Cody Hawn, we're getting kids like that, keeping Bryan Morgado. Show me where we're not getting better. If you want me to go back, I'll start playing Carson-Newman eight times a year and I'll get 33 wins and everybody will be happy, but I'm not going to do that."

Morgado, a junior left-hander, was drafted in the third round of the draft in June by the Chicago White Sox, but opted to stay with the Vols. Morgado was recently rated the 13th-best college prospect for the 2010 MLB draft by Baseball America

Raleigh said he believes Morgado can be a first-round pick next summer.

"It was definitely a hard decision for me and my family (not signing)," Morgado said. "Getting drafted in the third round is kind of an honor. We were happy with that at that time but we felt in my case, as a family, we felt the best decision was for me to come back for my junior year, improve my stock, and have another shot at playing in the SEC tournament and going to a (NCAA) regional and doing great things here."

Three of the four UT signees drafted and not signed are pitchers Andy Hillis of Brentwood, Alan Walden of Chattanooga, and Jon Reed of Tulsa, Okla. The fourth UT freshman drafted is first baseman Cody Stubbs of Waynesville, N.C.

"I think it's one of the top recruiting classes in the country, so I'm excited about mixing them in with the returning players," Raleigh said.

UT pitcher Rob Catapano, former Farragut High School and North Carolina pitcher, sat out last season under NCAA transfer rules. Catapano pitched in the College World Series as a freshman and sophomore at North Carolina before transferring to UT.

"I think we've got a good chance to surprise a lot of people," Catapano said. "With the coaches and staff we've got, there's no reason we shouldn't be able to compete for an SEC championship, the NCAA Regionals, Super Regionals and then Omaha (for the CWS)."

Dave Link is a freelance contributor.

© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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