Tony Vitello hints at a big next step for Tennessee Vols RHP AJ Russell that could be coming soon

Tennessee Vols RHP AJ Russell made his third appearance of the season on Tuesday night, pitching two innings in UT's 10-2 win against Alabama State. 

Russell allowed one hit and no runs against Alabama State while striking out two batters. 

It's the first time that Russell has pitched multiple innings in 2025 as he continues to build up his workload after returning from the internal brace procedure he underwent on his UCL last June. 

Russell previously pitched one inning against Tennessee Tech on April 1 and one inning against North Alabama on February 25. 

The Tennessee native is poised to be a big a weapon for the Vols down the stretch as he continues to be eased into competitive situations. 

On Tuesday night, after the win against Alabama State, Volunteers head coach Tony Vitello told reporters that the next step for Russell will likely be a situation where he comes into a game with runners on base. 

"I think that's a conversation to be had where it'd be nice to get him into some situations where he's got guys on (base) and he's got some pressure on him," said Vitello. "But it was just good to double up the pitch count, double up the amount of innings. I think he even went down again (to the bullpen) -- that was his request this go around -- was to go down and even get some more pitches in the bullpen. So I know he's hungry to do more. I think we want to do it in a proper progression.

"So what the next step is, I'm not sure. But for me, I'd like to involve some guys on base whether it's against our hitters or another team. And then the ultimate question that you want to ask is SEC play -- I don't think it's too far away. But again, I think we want to keep making steps up rather than climb to the top of the ladder right away."

Vitello noted that it's possible that Russell could come out of the bullpen as part of the next step of his progression.