Saul Young/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Key Tennessee player that still has eligibility remaining appears to say goodbye on social media after Vols' loss to Arkansas

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By Craig Smith | Last updated Jun 8, 2025 11:14 PM ET

It was a tough weekend for the Tennessee Vols in Fayetteville, as the Arkansas Razorbacks took the first two games of the series to advance to the College World Series and stop UT short of Omaha for just the second time in the last five years.

With the end of the season, the focus now turns for Tony Vitello and his staff fully to determining what his 2026 roster will look like to try to get Tennessee back to college baseball's promised land. That includes keeping key talent and adding more through the transfer portal.

One player who appears may not be back in 2026 is relief pitcher Nate Snead. The right-handed hurler took to Twitter/X on Saturday evening and issued what seems like a goodbye to the program, thanks the fans and saying he "gave" his all for Tennessee while adding "[f]orever go Vols!"

Gave my all for Tennessee each and everyday. Thank you Vol Nation! Forever go Vols!
— Nate Snead (@SneadNate) June 8, 2025

Snead was a junior in 2025, so he has one year of eligibility remaining at the college level. He started his career in 2023 at Wichita State and spent the last two years with the Big Orange. He was an important part of the Vols' bullpen that helped secure the program's first-ever national title last summer.

It's likely Snead will be turning his attention to the Major League Baseball draft in July, where he should be drafted inside the first four rounds. He's been projected recently as the #113 overall draft prospect, which would put him as a fourth-round draft pick if that's how things were to shake out.

In 2024, fourth round draft picks earned between $530,400 and $703,400 depending on where in the round they were picked. The 113th pick was slated to earn $643,500. That's a big chunk of change. Although we don't know exactly how much athletes will be earning between direct school payouts (thanks to the recent House vs. NCAA settlement) and NIL, it's hard to imagine it adding up to anywhere close that much for a year at the college level for Snead.

If this indeed is the end of Snead's time in Knoxville, it's hard to look back at it but anything but outstanding.

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: