What Vols Coach Josh Elander Said About Ariel Antigua Ahead of Nicholls State Series

What Tennessee Volunteers baseball coach Josh Elander had to say about Ariel Antigua ahead of the opening series.

Tennessee infielder Ariel Antigua (2) throws the ball to first base during a NCAA baseball game between Tennessee and Kentucky at Lindsey Nelson Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn., on April 18, 2025. | Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Tennessee baseball is set for their series opener, as they set to take on Nicholls State, as this will begin on Friday. One of the key returning pieces for the Vols is Ariel Antigua, who is one of the better players in the nation on the defensive side of the coin.

Antigua has been a big stock riser, but he has some competition at both second base and shortstop. This is something that newly added head baseball coach Josh Elander said in his press conference earlier this week. He detailed how Antigua is competing, along with what he has to offer, as the position battle looms. Here is what the new head baseball coach had to say.

Josh Elander's Comments on Ariel Antigua

Tennessee's Ariel Antigua (2) fields the ball during a college baseball game between Tennessee and Vanderbilt at Lindsey Nelson Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn., on May 9, 2025. | Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

"I mean, again, they've made it as hard as possible on me, to be honest with you. And that's what I talked with him about, is at this point of the year, plant your flag. Force me to put you in there. And again, Ariel has played honestly out of his mind. If you go, if you look at what he did in the fall and how his teammates ranked him, and then out of the gate, we kind of bounced those guys back-and-forth over the last few games. But he's doing everything we ask for, overcommunicating on the infield. He's running the bases at a high level, keeping the ball in front on defense. So excited about those guys because there are a lot of guys that are capable of doing it at a high level, and we'll see how it plays out."

Tennessee Volunteers Baseball's Preseason Is Coming To An End

"Yeah, we're just excited to get going. I know the guys — it's been nice how the NCAA has opened it up. We've had a little bit more time. Had to battle the weather a little bit, but had a good weekend. We're able to get outside for three consecutive days, see those guys compete a little bit. But again, the start of the season is here. We're excited. But again, this will be a process where I told the guys, hey, Opening Day is right around the corner, but this needs to be a deal, this is just the beginning of getting better and better as we go through the course of the year, and then eventually get into SEC play."

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