Why Mt. Juliet's Austin Hunley could be the next great young pitcher for Tennessee
MT. JULIET – Austin Hunley can pinpoint the moment when things began to click for him on the mound.
It was his junior year. He was on the mound for Mt. Juliet, pitching against Beech.
Current Tennessee ace Chase Burns, a future teammate for Hunley, was throwing for the Buccaneers. Hunley said the nerves got to him early, but he settled in.
Hunley got the win that day for the Bears while Burns walked away with a no-decision. The confidence built from that day hasn't left Hunley since.
Hunley, now a Tennessee signee, is 8-0 this season sporting a 0.62 ERA with 99 strikeouts in 57.2 innings on the mound.
Hunley has been compared to Burns and former Blackman pitcher Drew Beam — also a current Tennessee freshman pitcher. Both former Nashville area high school aces have found success as freshmen with the Vols, Hunley said that he's more focused on the present even if the future is exciting.
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"The way I look at it is that I'm here now and I'll get to all of that eventually," Hunley said. "We have big things planned here that I want to finish up and then keep doing what I'm doing when I get to Knoxville.
"I'll learn from the older guys when that time comes and hopefully become a better pitcher."
Going to Tennessee always was the goal for Hunley.
He grew up going to baseball games at Lindsey Nelson Stadium and watched his older brother Sean, who pitched for the Vols from 2018-2021.
Austin committed to Tennessee right at the start of his sophomore season and signed last November. With that out of the way, he immediately picked back up where he left off following a strong junior season.
He has picked up his game once the postseason started winning two close games over Cookeville in the District 9-4A tournament and against Beech in the Region 5-4A semifinals. He allowed two hits and struck out 10 in a 2-0 win against the Cavaliers. He followed that by striking out 14 and allowing three hits in a 2-1 win over Beech on Monday.
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With the Golden Bears leading Beech 2-0 in the sixth inning, Beech got some hits against Hunley and finally pulled within one. Mt. Juliet coach Zach Tompkins went to the mound to talk with Hunley and settle him down.
The short conversation worked as Hunley struck out five of the next six batters he faced to secure the win.
Moments like that are what give Tompkins high hopes that Hunley will only continue to improve at the next level.
"Sean wouldn't like me saying this, but I think Austin's limit is a little bit higher than Sean's," said Tompkins joked after the win. "I think he'll have to go through some growing pains like most freshmen, but the way that he works, he'll thrive in the environment Tennessee coach Tony Vitello sets up for him.
"I can definitely see him coming in there and making an impact."
Hunley has kept tabs on the young Vols pitchers. He's talked with Burns a few times and those talks have only helped fuel his excitement for what the college game has in store for him.
"I know their pitching coach Frank Anderson knows a lot about the game," Hunley said. "He's coached for a long time and I am ready to get up there eventually and learn more things.
"I'm excited to get with Chase and Drew too so I can learn from them about what they went through as freshmen."
Reach Joe Spears at jspears2@gannett.com or 731-343-4923. Follow him on Instagram and Twitter @joe_spears7.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Mt. Juliet baseball's Austin Hunley could be next great pitcher for Vols
