‘Chronicling History’: Alums, Students Document Tennessee Baseball First National Title
The Daily Beacon released a special issue to commemorate Tennessee baseball winning its first Men’s College World Series title in June.
After the Tennessee Vols defeated Florida State University to advance to the championship game at the 2024 Men’s College World Series Finals, it started to sink in for The Daily Beacon sports editor Caleb Jarreau that he may have the opportunity to cover history.
Fast forward to the final game on June 24 and Jarreau’s stomach was in knots all day. He felt the pressure to write the best stories ever if Tennessee won.
However, when pitcher Aaron Combs finally closed out the game for the Vols, all that went through his mind was time to work. With confetti raining down and fans cheering, he was darting around Charles Schwab Field capturing as much of that moment as possible for readers.
From Peyton Manning embracing Vols baseball head coach Tony Vittelo in the air with delight at winning the series to interviewing all the Tennessee native players on the team on what this victory means for them, he worked diligently to report on it all.
It was not until two hours after the big win that he himself took in the moment.
“I was sitting in the radio booth working and it kind of set in that I had just spoken to Peyton Manning and all these players who just won their first championship in program history and that I was chronicling history,” Jarreau said. “The pressure to write good stories went away and everything just flowed.”
This was Jarreau’s second consecutive year covering the Tennessee Vols at the College World Series. He said reporting on last year’s championship helped him cover the games this year, noting that leading up to the tournament, the players and coaches’ mentality was starkly different.
“Last year, it felt like that team was nervous, versus this year they pulled up listening to music and it just felt like they were there to win,” Jarreau said. “And that’s what they did.”
Sports Alumni Well-represented at Championship
Jarreau was not alone in chronicling Tennessee Vols history in Omaha.
In addition to being supported by fellow Beacon reporter Trevor McGee, photographer Cole Moore, several School of Journalism and Media alumni were there covering the series.
Among them were legends including John Wilkerson (’88), the voice of UT baseball, ESPN’s Ryan McGee (’94), 247Sports senior writer Wes Rucker (‘04), Noah Taylor (’20), managing editor of VolReport, and Rocky Top Insider reporters Ryan Schumpert (‘22) and Jack Foster (’23).
Jarreau said it was cool working alongside other alumni during such a historic moment for Tennessee Vols baseball. He recalls the excitement on Wilkerson’s face in the booth next to him long after the game ended, Ryan McGee beelining to the Beacon team to greet them, and catching up over meals and in the press box with the other alumni.
“Getting to learn from them, talk to them, and be with them at the championship really helps me because those are the guys I look up to,” Jarreau said.
He especially was happy to work alongside Taylor, who has helped him personally grow in his craft. Taylor said the feeling was mutual, adding it is incredibly kind of Jarreau to say he’s helped him when he thinks Beacon sports editor has done so much on his own.
“It’s a special thing to watch,” Taylor said. “As a former Beacon sports editor, it just means so much to see the current staff excel under his leadership.”
Jarreau said he feels fortunate to be covering Tennessee sports at a time when all teams seem to be hitting their stride. Other alumni of the program have been covering the Vols for decades without opportunities to capture moments such as winning a championship title.
Schumpert said covering Tennessee baseball was his first beat as a sports reporter at The Beacon. He started his freshman year and for the past seven years has chronicled the team’s growth.
Schumpert said receiving the baseball beat helped him realize he wanted to cover sports professionally.
“It’s hard to put into words, but it has been surreal to watch all these people I have been around for a number of years reach the peak in their athletic and/or professional lives,” Schumpert said.
“Surreal” was also how freshman Trevor McGee described covering the world series.
The 18-year-old also started covering the Tennessee Vols baseball team as his first beat with The Beacon, and while he knew the team had a good chance of making it to Omaha, he never could have predicted it included winning it all.
“Ever since I made the decision to go to Tennessee, I’ve expressed to anybody that has asked how I would hate to be anywhere else,” McGee said. “Going to Omaha and covering a National Championship at 18 years old is just a testament to my story. I’m beyond happy with my choice and I can only imagine where the next three years will take me.”
Working the beat this season really helped him when it came time to cover the championship game. McGee said the only difference he noticed was that, at this level, there were just many more storylines to find and follow, which made it even more fun.
One of his favorite stories from the weekend was getting to catch up with Tennessee Vols athletic director Danny White, football coach Josh Heupel, and men’s basketball coach Rick Barnes on the field following the victory.
Taylor started reporting on Tennessee baseball last season for VolReport. He said the tournament was like seeing an entire season’s worth of memorable plays and moments in a two-week span.
He feels just fortunate to be a part of it.
“Tennessee fans had been so starved for a moment like that and they soaked up every second they could postgame,” Taylor said. “We were able to get down on the field and interview players and coaches, and just being in the middle of that, it’s something I’ll never forget.”
‘Chronicling History’: Alums, Students Document Tennessee Baseball First National Title written by Ernest Rollins and originally published on the College of Communication & Information site.