Tennessee First Baseman Evan Hankins Commits To Virginia Tech

Virginia Tech baseball and head coach John Szefc have landed their first commitment of the transfer portal: Tennessee first basemen / outfielder Evan Hankins, who played in five games and notched six at bats for the Volunteers as a true freshman.

Committed. @HokiesBaseball pic.twitter.com/GKmkvdMn2m
— Evan Hankins (@evan_hankins7) June 8, 2026

From Charlottesville, Virginia, Hankins was recruited by the Hokies out of high school but ultimately chose to go to Tennessee after an electric high school career, where he led Miller School of Albermarle — a school that current Virginia Tech softball player Lily Pallante comes from — to a 34-6 record, along with a state championship over Northern Virginia powerhouse Paul VI, where multiple Virginia Tech athletes — Including men's basketball's Ben Hammond and pitcher Logan Eisenreich — have come from.

At Tennessee, Hankins found the field in just five games, where he went 0-for-6 with a walk and a run, never seeing SEC play.

Out of high school, Hankins was the No. 156 overall player and the No. 2 first basemen in the country. He ranked as the fourth best player and the top first basemen in the state of Virginia. He also earned honors as Preseason All-American and All-Atlantic First team from Perfect game following his senior season, counting for 2 of his 59 overall rewards out of high school.

His Maxpreps does not have any stats for his senior season. As a junior, he hit .318 with four doubles and three homers. He also threw 40.2 innings on the mound across eight starts, where he yielded a 2.75 ERA, striking out 46 batters and walking just 13 and allowing just two extra base hits.

Hankins was listed as the No. 384 prospect in the 2025 MLB draft, but he never got drafted and opted to go the college route instead.

With little shown due to a torn ACL sustained in March, Hankins is a very unknown prospect. The Hokies could see him find a rotational spot as a platoon infielder, but he could also be somebody that the Hokies want to develop. They've shown the ability to develop hitters over the long run with guys like Nick Locurto and Ethan Gibson having breakout season in 2026, along with Sam Tackett's 2025 breakout season.

In an article I wrote yesterday, I stated that the Hokies didn't need an addition to the infield via the transfer portal. But as somebody who could have outfield capabilities, he fits in to a desperately needed role as outfield depth at mininum, while potentially being somebody who could create competition.

It's unknown how Virginia Tech plans to use Hankins, but more will come to light around that as the team gets closer and closer to fall ball.

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