Tennessee pitching staff got some good news for 2027 with the returns of Cam Appenzeller and Landon Mack, who should both be top candidates to help fill out the weekend rotation. It appears as though the man on the other end of the battery will be back as well.
Per Mike Wilson of VolQuest, catcher Stone Lawless is returning to the program for 2027 as well.
Lawless appeared in 40 games this year for Tennessee with 34 starts. He would have had a bigger number there, but he took a pitch off the face this year at
Vanderbilt in late March and was out for three weeks with a facial fracture. He was able to return in Tennessee’s series against Ole Miss in mid-April.
For the season, Lawless hit seven home runs with 19 RBIs with a .236 average. However, his slugging percentage dipped considerably from 2025 to 2026 (.644 to .467), as did his on-base percentage (.468 to .366). He also had less RBIs this season in 12 less games with his batting average dipping down from .288 from 2025.
As such, we’ll see if 2027 can be a bit of a bounce back season at the plate for Lawless. Hopefully he can also help the pitching staff take a jump after one of the worst overall seasons on the mound in a long time in Knoxville.
