Tennessee Signee Brady House Selected in 1st Round of MLB Draft
Tony Vitello's baseball program captivated the Big Orange faithful during their run Omaha. If Nick Saban's success at Alabama has shown the sports world anything, it is that with success comes departures. Saban routinely loses players to the NFL Draft and coaches to bigger opportunities. Vitello has already lost volunteer assistant Ross Kivett to a paid position with Houston, and with the MLB draft upon us, the Volunteers are expected to lose several players to the professional ranks.
However, Brady House, a 2021 signee who has yet to suit up for Vitello, is another household name in this year's draft. House has been committed to Tennessee since 2018, but he just came off the board to the with the 11th pick to Washington Nationals in the first round.
House entered the draft with projections suggesting he could go as high as No.3 overall. He slid down the board from that projection, but the selection at this stage likely jeopardizes his future for the Vols on Rocky Top.
The prized infield and right-handed pitcher had flirted with the idea of doing both for Tennessee. Having success with this is something we have seen of late from Japanese sensation Shohei Ohtani in the past few seasons, as he leads the league in home runs and plays in the outfield while also taking the mound for at least one start a week.
According to the Perfect Game ranking system, the Winder-Barrow (Ga.) prospect is rated as the No.1 overall player in the 2021 recruiting class.
House's fastball exhibits a velocity of 96 mph routinely. According to MaxPreps, House went 5-1 as a pitcher while hitting .549 with 14 doubles and eight home runs.