Henry Ford has committed to Tennessee baseball as the Vols and coach Tony Vitello made a major splash in the portal by adding one of the top available players.
Ford hit .348 with 28 homers and 115 RBIs in two seasons at Virginia.
The right-handed Ford was a second-team All-ACC selection as a sophomore after hitting .362 with 11 home runs and 46 RBIs in 51 games. The Charlottesville, Virginia, native mostly played in the outfield, but can also play first base.
The 6-foot-5, 225-pound Ford is a draft-eligible sophomore and a top-100 prospect for the 2025 MLB Draft, according to MLB.com. He is visiting colleges still and evaluating options, which included a visit to Tennessee.
Ford hit .336 with 17 home runs with 69 RBI as a freshman in 2024.
He entered the portal after his sophomore season at Virginia when coach Brian O’Connor departed for Mississippi State.
He is the seventh player to commit to the Vols out of the portal and the second to commit June 22, following Bowling Green two-way star DJ Newman.
Newman hit .388 with 15 homers and 64 RBIs in 101 games in three seasons at Bowling Green. He is 7-4 with a 3.60 ERA in 27 career appearances with 15 starts. He struck out 91 in 85 innings.
Bowling Green athlete Garrett Wright joins Ford and Newman as the hitters committed. Pitchers Bo Rhudy of Kennesaw State, Clay Edmondson of UNC Asheville and Mason Estrada of MIT committed previously. Both Edmondson and Estrada are eligible for the 2025 MLB Draft and are considered draft risks.
Edmondson was 5-1 and a 2.20 ERA with 87 strikeouts in 81⅔ innings in 13 starts at UNC Asheville. The submarine right-hander was named the Big South pitcher of the year.
Estrada went 6-0 with a 2.21 ERA in 10 starts for MIT. The right-handed pitcher struck out 66 in 40⅔ innings with 23 walked. Opponents hit .154 against Estrada, who throws in the upper 90s.
Rhudy had a 2.97 ERA with a 6-1 record and 76 strikeouts to 19 walks in 72⅔ innings in two seasons with the Owls. He was 2-0 with a 3.16 ERA as a sophomore in 2025. He struck out 44 and walked five in 37 innings.
Wright can catch and play in the outfield. Wright is coming off his second straight All-MAC season after hitting .406 with eight homers and 48 RBIs. He also had 20 doubles and four triples for a .663 slugging percentage.
Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on X @ByMikeWilson or Bluesky @bymikewilson.bsky.social. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.
