Following a two-year career with the Tennessee Volunteers, Tegan Kuhns has come off the board in the 2026 MLB Draft. The right-handed pitcher went 32nd overall to the St. Louis Cardinals.
Tegan Kuhns MLB Draft Profile
Height: 6-3
Weight: 193 pounds
Hometown: Gettysburg, Pa.
Age: 21 (Birthday — May 25, 2005)
High School Ranking: Top 50 overall, No. 11 rated right-handed pitcher by Perfect Game in the 2024 class
Tennessee Career
Kuhns arrived on campus in 2025 as one of the top freshman arms in the nation to make it to campus. Tony Vitello
got his feet wet in non-conference play before really thrusting him into action once SEC play arrived. Kuhns started hot with big outings against Alabama, Florida and South Carolina, posting an ERA in the one-range to begin his career.
Things were bumpy from there, however. Kuhns, who settled into the Sunday starter role for Tennessee, worked just eight innings over his next four starts, finding a lot of bats. The flashes were there, but the consistency was lacking — not all that surprising from a freshman pitcher. Kuhns finished with a 2-4 record and a 5.40 ERA. He struck out 40 and walked 16 batters in 36 innings pitched.
Kuhns posted a really strong summer in the Cape Cod league (1.35 ERA, 20 strikeouts in 13.1 innings pitched), rolling him into the 2026 season where he took over as Tennessee’s top arm.
As expected, Kuhns came back as a sophomore much improved. He consistently went much deeper into games with a handful of truly electric starts for the Volunteers. Kuhns went eight strong late in the year against Alabama, striking out nine batters. He followed that up with seven innings against Texas, striking out a staggering 15 batters. His season ended on a sour note, pitching sick against VCU in an elimination game.
Kuhns’ strikeout numbers soared in 2026 while his walks stayed in check. In 81 innings pitched, Kuhns struck out 106 batters while walking only 16. He posted a 3.56 ERA over 14 starts, finishing 40th in the NCAA in strikeouts. Kuhns was ninth in the NCAA in strikeout-to-walk ratio (6.62).
The scout on Tegan Kuhns
Kuhns has a blistering mid-90s fastball, along with a mid-70s curve. That off-speed curveball pairs well with his plus fastball. Kuhns has room to grow into a slider and change-up, which he has featured sparingly at Tennessee.
“I think just the separation between the two, and they come out of the same window,” Tennessee head coach Josh Elander said of Kuhns’ top two pitches. “One’s going like this and one’s going down in a hurry. So if you really try to cheat to one or the other, you get in trouble real quick. And then the fastball has just enough life at the top.
“But then the problem is then you got the breaker coming out of the same window. So you got conflicting angles you’re trying to cover at the same time.”
Kuhns will join Tennessee commit Trevor Condon and last year’s first round pick Liam Doyle in the Cardinals organization.
