Elite 2025 two-way player Billy Carlson from Corona, Calif. has committed to Tennessee baseball, the shortstop and right-handed pitcher announced Friday morning on his personal Instagram account. Carlson, who recently decommitted from Vanderbilt, was in Knoxville two weeks ago 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.
“Loose and athletic middle infielder’s build,” Perfect Game wrote about Carlson after watching him play at its 2024 National Showcase. “6.68 runner in the sixty. Primary shortstop on defense, has elite level defensive tools, top of the scale arm strength and makes accurate throws, has bounce and lightness in his footwork and glides smoothly through the ball, works through everything cleanly.
“Right handed hitter, hits from a medium straight stance, gets coiled in his lower half with an inward toe tap, has present bat speed and gets separated well, lived on the barrel with hard pull to mid field contact. Also pitched and could be one of the top arms in the country if he choose to concentrate on pitching. Fastball topped out at 96 mph with big carry through the zone. Curveball was a hammer with 18″ of IHB, also threw a nice change up.”
Tennessee’s 2025 recruiting class ranks No. 4 overall in the country according to Perfect Game, trailing only LSU, Texas and Arkansas. Carlson is the 22nd known commitment for the Vols in the ’25 class and becomes the highest-ranked player to commit. He’s one of three UT commits ranked inside the top-100, one of six ranked inside the top-160, and one of 11 in the top-300.
Carlson will be a draft risk for Tennessee in next summer’s 2025 MLB Draft. Just last month, MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo ranked Carlson as the No. 6 overall high school prospect for the ’25 draft.
“Another member of the NHSI-winning Corona team, Carlson is a Vanderbilt recruit with skills on both sides,” Mayo wrote. “He’s very athletic with good bat speed at the plate, using more of a line-drive approach at present. He has excellent actions and a plus arm at shortstop and should be able to stick there. Some might like him better on the mound, where that arm has been up to 95-96 mph at times with good breaking stuff.”
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