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Local Baseball Recruit Chooses Tennessee Volunteers
Tennessee baseball coach Josh Elander during the NCAA baseball game between Tennessee and Alabama in Knoxville, Tenn. on Sunday, April 17, 2022.Kns Us Base Alabama Saul Young/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

Local Baseball Recruit Chooses Tennessee Volunteers

Originally posted on Tennessee Volunteers on SI
By Shayne Pickering  |  Last updated Nov 5, 2025 10:30 PM ET

Despite a change at the head of the program, the Tennessee baseball program recruiting efforts have not taken a backseat under new lead man Josh Elander and that was evident on Wednesday as his staff earned the commitment of local two-way standout Gaven French.

The right-handed pitcher/middle infield recruit has shined for Heritage High School in nearby Maryville and gives the Tennessee Volunteers their 14th commitment of the 2027 recruiting class.

He chose the local program over Clemson, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, and Vanderbilt after visiting those four programs as well as Tennessee.

As a sophomore last season, he shined as both a pitcher, earning a 1.70 ERA over 48 innings, and at the plate, batting for a .476 average and 1.371 OPS.

His success on the field earned himself the ranking of the 337th-best ranked player in the nation and 13th-best in the state according to the Perfect Game Rankings. According to Prep Baseball Report, he is the 134th-best prospect in the 2027 recruiting cycle.

French Chooses Vols After Another Visit

Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

After previously visiting campus to figure out his fit in the program, he returned to Rocky Top this past weekend and took in the football team's loss to visiting Oklahoma inside Neyland Stadium.

Coming out of that environment, French made the decision to announce his commitment to Elander, his staff, and the Tennessee baseball program.

He is the second recruit to choose the Volunteers since Josh Elander was named the head coach, joining right-handed pitcher and fellow high school junior Kaiden McCarthy to join the class.

Josh Elander Building Recruiting Momentum as Head Coach

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

Under the tutelage of former head coach Tony Vitello, a large amount of the recruiting responsibilities were handled by Elander, with the pair of coaches holding a large amount of the responsibility for top recruiting classes in the nation, hauls that would lead to bringing a national championship trophy back to Knoxville.

Since taking over at the helm, Elander has hired Chuck Jeroloman, who was the interim head coach at Florida and is also held in high regard nationally as a coach and ace recruiter, to replace himself on the staff.

With a great recruiter like Elander in charge and what remains a strong staff under his leadership, they have worked quickly to show that the level of recruiting is not going to take a step in the wrong direction and the goal is to maintain an expectation level consisting of national championship rings.

More From Vols on SI


This article first appeared on Tennessee Volunteers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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