On June 11, Jay Abernathy, a former Tennessee baseball standout, revealed via a social‑media post that he would be continuing his collegiate career at Oklahoma.
During his junior season with the Volunteers, Abernathy started 39 games, primarily at second base and center field, and posted a .236 batting average while adding three home runs, 16 RBIs and a team‑leading nine stolen bases.
Ripple Effects Across the SEC
His arrival in Norman comes just after Oklahoma’s first College World Series appearance in four years, and he will be joining a program eager to build on that momentum.
Abernathy is not the only Vol heading out; sixteen Tennessee players have entered the transfer portal this cycle, including shortstop Manny Marin, backup Ariel Antigua, utility Chris Newstrom and outfielder Nate Eisfelder, each of whom have also secured new destinations.
The moves underscore a shifting landscape in the SEC, where intra‑conference transfers are becoming more common, and they open scholarship opportunities for fresh talent such as Mercer two‑way player Braydon Kersey and Northwestern State pitcher Brody Trosclair, who have already committed to the Vols.
Among the departures, catcher Cash Williams is headed to West Virginia while first baseman Evan Hankins will join Virginia Tech, completing a wave of exits that reflects both personal ambition and the growing influence of the transfer portal.