Tennessee standout reliever Chase Burns in transfer portal - ESPN

Tennessee pitcher Chase Burns, who was dominant out of the bullpen in the Vols' run to the College World Series, has entered the transfer portal.

Tennessee coach Tony Vitello said Tuesday morning on Sports Talk 99.1 FM in Knoxville that «we've known that he would be gone for a while,» and that while it's always wise to be careful about what's on Twitter that Burns' exit «has been pretty straightforward.»

With a fastball that topped the 100 mph mark during the postseason, Burns will have plenty of suitors. Sources told ESPN that TCU will be one of the top schools on his list and that he may look to leave the SEC.

Burns was DIBaseball.com's National Freshman of the Year in 2022 and was a first-team Preseason All-America selection in 2023. He spent his first season and a half as one of Tennessee's weekend starters, but after a rocky start to the 2023 season, was moved to the bullpen.

That move by Vitello and pitching coach Frank Anderson turned around Burns' season and also helped turn around Tennessee's season.

Burns, a 6-foot-4, 195-pound right-hander, started the season 2-3 with a 6.10 ERA. He was moved to the bullpen after allowing seven runs in 3 2/3 innings against Florida. But during the postseason, Burns re-emerged as one of college baseball's superstars as a reliever. He shut down Clemson in the NCAA Regional, Southern Miss in the Super Regional and then Stanford in the College World Series in Tennessee's only win in Omaha. Burns was 1-0 in the NCAA tournament with a save. He struck out 22 batters in 16 innings and allowed just eight hits and one run.

After moving to the bullpen, Burns held five opponents scoreless. Following his bullpen debut against Arkansas, a series in which Tennessee was swept, the Vols swept