Former UNC Asheville pitcher Clay Edmondson was Tennessee baseball’s first commit out of the transfer portal this offseason. Edmondson committed to the Vols as a graduate transfer on April 24. The right-handed pitcher will never play in a Tennessee uniform despite his pledge. 

Edmondson was selected Monday in the 14th round of the 2025 MLB Draft by the San Diego Padres and is expected to sign. He was drafted with the No. 430 overall pick, but the pick was not given a slot value, which provides a ballpark range for the amount Edmondson could sign for in the coming weeks.

The Greensboro, N.C. native committed to the Vols out of the portal over Arkansas, LSU, Alabama, Florida State, Kentucky and several ACC programs.

“It felt just like home as soon as I stepped on campus and got to meet everybody in person,” Edmondson told GoVols247 about his decision at the time. “It reminded me of home, and it was one of those when you know, you know, situations. It was a no brainer.”

Edmondson was the ace of UNC Asheville’s staff this season. He finished the year 5-1 with an ERA of 2.23 in 13 starts, striking out 87 hitters in 81.2 innings of work. Opponents hit .224 off him.

The submarine righty has a similar arm slot to former Tennessee RHP AJ Causey, who transferred from Jacksonville State prior to UT’s national championship season. Causey’s development in Knoxville, along with other transfer pitchers, “stood out drastically” to Edmondson.

“Like Liam Doyle, he came in as a transfer and now he’s arguably one of the best pitchers in college baseball,” Edmondson said. “He’s tearing it up and that says a lot about how (pitching coach) Frank (Anderson) and Coach (Josh) Reynolds are as coaches, and how they develop players as they move forward in their careers.

“It was amazing what they did for Causey and it turns out he was a fifth round draft pick last year, and hopefully that could be me one day.”

Edmondson grew up in Greensboro, N.C., but his mom’s family consists of several diehard Vol fans from Johnson City, Tenn. He stayed home in Greensboro to play at Guilford Tech Community College out of Southern Guilford High School before making his way to UNC Asheville as a sophomore in 2023.

Tennessee’s proximity to his family was important to Edmondson. It’s a key reason he elected to go ahead and commit to the Vols without visiting any of the other schools he was hearing from.

“The vibe with the coaches was a perfect fit,” Edmondson said. “They didn’t pressure me at all into committing. They were very open about the plans this summer for me, because I told them, ‘Hey, there’s a possibility I could get drafted this year and I don’t want to be pressured into making a decision right away,’ but it worked out. They respected my decision and everything, and just let me do my own thing.”

Edmondson was one of four transfers that signed with Tennessee, who were selected on Day 2 of the 2025 MLB Draft. MIT RHP Mason Estrada was selected in the seventh round by the Los Angeles Dodgers, while Bowling Green two-way player DJ Newman was picked in the 15th round by the Houston Astros. Additionally, Vols JUCO signee Matt Barr was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the fifth round.

Barr, Edmondson and Estrada are all expected to sign with their respective organizations. It’s unclear if Newman will sign at the time of this writing.