Tennessee centerfielder Hunter Ensley is the second-best senior in college baseball heading into the 2025 season according to Perfect Game. The publication slotted Ensley behind Vanderbilt shortstop Jonathan Vastine in their list of ‘Top 75 Collegiate Seniors’ on Friday.
“College baseball is still veteran heavy and this year’s senior group has a good blend of power and upper-tier arms at the front end of a rotation or key specialists out of the bullpen,” Perfect Game wrote.”There are a number of big time college performers who have long track records of production in the middle of an order scattered all throughout the board.
“None may be more enticing than returning Vanderbilt shortstop Jonathan Vastine, who comes in at No. 1 on the list as one of the better gloves in college baseball and good bat-to-ball ball from the left side. Lefty Jared Spencer turned a slot bonus in last year’s draft and will be an intriguing option in Texas’ new look bullpen. A pair of backstops in Georgia’s.”
Ensley played a key role in Tennessee winning its first national championship last June. He’s started in centerfield for the Vols each of the past two seasons.
The Huntingdon, Tenn. native announced in July that he was returning to Tennessee to play a fifth season for the Vols. Ensley could have pursued professional opportunities in the 2024 MLB Draft.
Here’s Perfect Game’s list of top-10 seniors in college baseball heading into the 2025 season:
- SS, Jonathan Vastine, Vanderbilt
- CF, Hunter Ensley, Tennessee
- C, Henry Hunter, Georgia
- LHP, Jared Spencer, Texas
- 1B, Hunter Hines, Mississippi State
- C, Luis Hernandez, LSU
- OF, Jeffrey Heard, Oregon
- OF, Gabe Swansen, Nebraska
- 2B/3B, Aidan Meola, Oklahoma State
- 1B, Gavin Kash, Texas A&M
2025 College Baseball Top 75 Seniors ?https://t.co/aEJs4XHy7r pic.twitter.com/KUfkslNcIc
— Perfect Game USA (@PerfectGameUSA) January 10, 2025
Ensley has played in 141 games during his four-year career at Tennessee. He’s made 110 starts to hit .284, 19 home runs and tally 79 RBIs in 426 at-bats.
“It wasn’t a tough decision for me at all,” Ensley told GoVols247 when he announced his return. “What we did this year was awesome and I want to be the older guy to come back and help lead some of the younger guys in the right direction. I want to see this program succeed until the day I die, so next year, I need to have a big impact doing that. I’ve been around the program for four years. This will be my fifth, so I know how it works and what works. We know how to win.”
Ensley had a career year for the Vols this season as a redshirt-junior. He hit .296, 12 homers and drove in 48 runs, all of which were career highs. He added 45 runs, 64 hits, 15 doubles and 27 walks as he started 60 of the 68 games he played in.
Tennessee won its first national championship in its seventh appearance at the Men’s College World Series and its second in the CWS Finals. It was UT’s first appearance in the finals since 1951 when it finished as the runner-up to Oklahoma.
Ensley scored the winning run in Tennessee’s 6-5 win over Texas A&M in Game 3 to clinch the title on June 24. It added to Ensley’s heroics in Omaha, as it followed a play against North Carolina in which he ran full speed into the wall at Charles Schwab Field to complete an emphatic catch. He left the game with a hamstring injury and played four more games in Omaha while managing the injury.
“No better team to win for the University of Tennessee than a bunch of guys who were truly the definition of a team,” Tony Vitello said. “And no better play for our program to, I think, be the winning run on that slide, a guy (Ensley) that’s just built with a ton of grit. And his teammates follow his leadership. And it’s a great example of how this group got things done.”
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