Pros, cons of Cardinals picking Tennessee's Tegan Kuhns in MLB draft

Tennessee pitcher Tegan Kuhns was drafted No. 32 overall in the 2026 MLB Draft by the St. Louis Cardinals on July 11, marking the fifth straight year a Tennessee player was selected within the top 35 picks.

Kuhns' selection came in the Competitive Balance Round A of the draft. The Cardinals took Vols signee Trevor Condon with their first-round pick at No. 13 overall.

Kuhns was named to the All-SEC second team this season as a sophomore and Tennessee's top starting pitcher. The right-hander had a 3.56 ERA in 81 innings with 106 strikeouts and 16 walks, asserting himself as the Vols' top professional prospect.

He became the Tennessee player drafted in the Josh Elander era, starting his career as a freshman under Tony Vitello and staying with the program after Elander took over ahead of the 2026 season.

Kuhns is the fourth Tennessee pitcher drafted in the first round in the last seven seasons, joining Liam Doyle (No. 5 to St. Louis in 2025), Chase Dollander (No. 9 to Colorado in 2023) and Garrett Crochet (No. 11 to the Chicago White Sox in 2020).

Pros, cons of Cardinals picking Tegan Kuhns

Kuhns entered his sophomore season as one of the top pitching prospects in the SEC. He had his ups and downs, notably a slow start that saw him pushed from the top spot in Tennessee's rotation midway through the season. But he finished strong to cement himself as one of the top draft-eligible sophomores in the country.

Kuhns' final two home starts were among the best of his career. Against Alabama on April 24, he threw an eight-inning complete game shutout. On May 8 against Texas, he managed to top that with a career-high 15 strikeouts in seven shutout innings.

Kuhns has a fastball that consistently sits in the mid-90s and has peaked as high as 98 miles per hour. His curveball sits in the high 70s. Most scouts point to his reliance on those two pitches and command issues with his slider and changeup as places for improvement.

At 6-foot-3, 189 pounds, he projects to continue adding power to his arsenal.

Tegan Kuhns stats at Tennessee

Kuhns made 30 appearances over two seasons at Tennessee and 24 starts, pitching to a 4.13 ERA in 117.2 innings. He had 146 strikeouts to 32 walks with a .264 batting average against.

As a freshman in 2025, Kuhns had a 5.40 ERA in 36.2 innings, making 10 starts as the Vols' third starting pitcher.

Kuhns stepped into the role of Tennessee's top starter in 2026. He made 14 starts as a sophomore, totaling 81 innings. His 3.56 ERA and 106 strikeouts were best among qualified Tennessee pitchers and he only walked 16 batters.

Emmett Siegel covers Tennessee baseball for Knox News. Email: emmett.siegel@knoxnews.com; X: @EmmettSiegel_

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Pros, cons of Cardinals picking Tennessee's Tegan Kuhns in MLB draft