KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — As Tennessee Baseball gets ready for the NCAA Tournament, it will rely on many players to step up and make an impact. Vols pitcher Chris Stamos has done that in his first and last season with the Vols.
Stamos was inspired by his dad from a young age to play baseball. He wanted the best for his kids and he set the tone.
“If we weren’t competing on the field or had bad body language, we would know it the second we were in the car," Stamos said.
For 16 years, Chris’ dad pushed him to be better. But in his junior year of high school, his dad passed away.
“I’m so grateful for him, I’m grateful I had 16 years with my dad and he is an unbelievable person and from that point, I only felt like give me more ways to make that guy proud," said Stamos.
Stamos had dreams of playing at the Division 1 level. But his journey started him in Division 3, where he played at Principia College. He spent two seasons there as a two-way player before wanting to take the next step.
The California native shot his shot ahead of the 2022 season, texting the head coach at the University of California to give him a chance.
“I was like, 'Hey man, I looked at your roster,'" he said. "'You have like one left-handed pitcher and I’m a left-handed pitcher. So we should be friends.'"
He got on that roster and played for two seasons as a pitcher. Tennessee liked what they saw and gave Stamos a call when he entered the transfer portal.
His message to Tony Vitello was simple.
“V was like, 'We’ll need you to throw some important innings,'" he said. "And I said, 'I’ll do whatever you need.'”
What Vitello needed was for Stamos to eventually be a starting pitcher for the LSU series.
“He was like, 'Alright, we are going to play tomorrow and Stam is going to throw the first pitch.' I was like, 'Well, I guess that means I’m starting,'" Stamos said.
UT kept him as the Friday starter after that. He has started seven games up to this point with 18 total appearances. Stamos had a long journey to get here and is making the most of it. He’s grateful for it, and he believes his dad would be proud.
“His first thing would be like, 'You have X amount of starts left, so the train is not coming off the track,'" Stamos said.
Stamos will start for the Vols in their first game of the NCAA Tournament against Northern Kentucky. That game will be on Friday at 7 p.m. inside Lindsey Nelson Stadium.