Tennessee lost a significant amount of talent from its dominant 2022 team, but one reason the Volunteers were expected to remain one of the best in college baseball was the arrival of shortstop Maui Ahuna.
Ahuna, a transfer from Kansas, is considered one of the nation's most impressive defensive shortstops, and he has flashed enough ability with the bat to make himself a legitimate MLB Draft prospect. MLB Pipeline ranks as Ahuna the No. 47 overall prospect in July's draft.
Early this season, however, Tennessee was without Ahuna. The NCAA was preventing him from gaining eligibility, creating a saga that ended with Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello taking a suspension of his own.
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Here's what you need to know about why Ahuna wasn't initially eligible to play for Tennessee.
Why was Maui Ahuna ineligible to play for Tennessee?
The NCAA informed Tennessee just before the start of the season in February that Ahuna was ineligible until further notice. Days later, 247Sports' Ben McKee reported that Tennessee reported a self-violation that put Ahuna's eligibility in question. He added that the team expected the issue to be taken care of before the season.
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Further reports revealed the violation was a flight to campus for Ahuna that was approved before the school received his Kansas transcript. Kansas told Outkick that the athletic problem complied with all requests related to Ahuna
Vitello told reporters Ahuna handled the uncertainty "like a champ." Ahuna was finally granted eligibility on Feb. 27, more than a week into the season.
He was thrilled to be on the field again:
Suppah man is back
— Maui Ahuna (@MauiAhuna) February 27, 2023
Ahuna enters the College World Series with a .302 batting average, eight home runs and a .960 OPS. He posted a 1.113 OPS in his final season at Kansas to go with his terrific defense.
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Why was Tony Vitello suspended?
Vitello was suspended for three games early in the season for making improper contact with Ahuna while trying to recruit him out of the transfer portal, presumably referring to the flight that was arranged before his transcript arrived.
The ban was not imposed by the NCAA, however. A Tennessee spokesperson said in February that the suspension was decided by Vitello and the athletics department, though it was likely agreed upon to satisfy the NCAA.
Vitello missed a three-game series against Dayton, which Tennessee swept. Josh Elander served as acting head coach during the ban.
The Volunteers did a fine job of putting the saga behind them during the season, and they enter the College World Series with an eye toward redemption after seeing their historic season (57 wins, a program record) cut short in the super regionals a year ago.
