Elite left-handed pitcher commits to Tennessee baseball coming off visit

2025 LHP Cameron Appenzeller from Springfield, Ill. announced his commitment to Tennessee baseball on Monday morning coming off an official visit with the Vols over the weekend. Appenzeller, a former South Carolina commit, chose the Vols over Mississippi State.

Appenzeller is ranked by Perfect Game as the No. 21 overall player in the country, the No. 2 left-handed pitcher and the No. 2 player in Illinois.

“Extra large frame and build with long limbs, broad shoulders, and lots of physical projection remaining,” Perfect Game wrote about Appenzeller following the 2024 National Showcase. “Free and easy delivery with a very low effort release. Athletic delivery and repeats pretty well. Low arm slot and throws two different fastballs while topping out at 93 mph. Held the low-90s throughout the outing, getting up to 19″ of horizontal break on the two seam with up to 17″ of IVB on the four seam. Tunnels slider really well and acts as a flat sweeper. Very good pitch against left-handed hitters and has the comfort to land the pitch for strikes. Showed the changeup in his second inning of work, landing the pitch for strikes and getting up to 16″ of horizontal break. Very advanced three pitch mix with command and substantial projection remaining.”

Appenzeller will be a draft risk for Tennessee in next summer’s 2025 MLB Draft. Earlier this fall, MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo ranked Appenzeller as the No. 13 overall high school prospect for the ’25 draft.

“Appenzeller is a 6-foot-5 lean left-hander with a ton of projection,” Mayo wrote. “He put his name on the map with a strong showcase circuit, throwing three shutout innings with four strikeouts in the Area Code Games for one example. He can touch 94 mph with his fastball, but there’s more in the tank. He can miss bats with his upper-70s slider and there’s some feel for his mid-80s changeup.”

Tennessee’s 2025 recruiting class that features 22 known commitments ranked as the fourth-best in the nation prior to Appenzeller’s commitment. LSU, Texas and Arkansas are the only schools ranked ahead of UT.

Appenzeller is the second-highest ranked commit in the Vols’ 25 class and the highest-ranked pitcher. Tennessee recently received a commitment from elite two-way player Billy Carlson, who recently decommitted from Vanderbilt. Carlson was in Knoxville last month for an official visit with the Vols when the UT football team hosted Florida.

Carlson is viewed by many as the best defensive shortstop in his class because of his arm strength and athleticism. He sits mid-90’s on the mound with the ability to touch 97 mph, and is also a strong hitter in the box from the right side. The first-round talent is ranked by Perfect Game as the No. 5 overall player in the country, the No. 3 overall shortstop and the No. 2 overall player in the state of California out of Corona High School.

Tennessee’s 2025 class currently features four players ranked in the top 100, eight in the top 200, 13 in the top 300 and 18 in the top 500.

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