Grines and Sitton Named OVC Players To Watch
2/5/2026 9:03:00 AM | Baseball
BRENTWOOD, Tenn.- A little over a week remains until the University of Tennessee at Martin baseball season begins and the Ohio Valley Conference named Skyhawk standouts TJ Grines and Jacob Sitton to the preseason players to watch list.
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 Grines returns after having his season cut short due to injury last year. The senior started all 23 games he played in while batting .364 with two home runs, two triples, seven doubles, 32 hits and 23 runs scored. He slugged .557 with an on-base percentage of .423 and an OPS of .980. The Alexandria, La. native stole 15 bases and only got caught stealing once. He struck out just nine times in 88 at-bats with nine walks. He tallied nine multi-hit games and three multi-RBI games while reaching base safely in 19 of his 23 contests. This marks the second straight season he's been named an OVC Player to Watch.
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Sitton established himself as one of the top arms in the league during his debut season at UT Martin. He ended the year as the Friday night starter in his first season for the Skyhawks. The Bradford, Tenn. native totaled six quality starts in 15 starts and 77 innings pitched (team-high, eighth in the OVC) with three victories. He tied for the team lead in strikeouts with 53 and ranked seventh in the OVC in conference play in earned run average (3.86). He notched a career-best seven innings against SIUE (May 15) and fanned a career-high eight batters in his debut at Florida A&M (Feb. 15).
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Grines and Sitton begin the 2026 season with their Skyhawk teammates on Friday, Feb. 13 at 3 p.m. when UT Martin hosts Butler.
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 Grines returns after having his season cut short due to injury last year. The senior started all 23 games he played in while batting .364 with two home runs, two triples, seven doubles, 32 hits and 23 runs scored. He slugged .557 with an on-base percentage of .423 and an OPS of .980. The Alexandria, La. native stole 15 bases and only got caught stealing once. He struck out just nine times in 88 at-bats with nine walks. He tallied nine multi-hit games and three multi-RBI games while reaching base safely in 19 of his 23 contests. This marks the second straight season he's been named an OVC Player to Watch.
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Sitton established himself as one of the top arms in the league during his debut season at UT Martin. He ended the year as the Friday night starter in his first season for the Skyhawks. The Bradford, Tenn. native totaled six quality starts in 15 starts and 77 innings pitched (team-high, eighth in the OVC) with three victories. He tied for the team lead in strikeouts with 53 and ranked seventh in the OVC in conference play in earned run average (3.86). He notched a career-best seven innings against SIUE (May 15) and fanned a career-high eight batters in his debut at Florida A&M (Feb. 15).
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Grines and Sitton begin the 2026 season with their Skyhawk teammates on Friday, Feb. 13 at 3 p.m. when UT Martin hosts Butler.
Players Mentioned
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