Top 5 recruit Billy Carlson flips to Tennessee baseball, Tony Vitello from Vanderbilt

Billy Carlson, a top-five prospect and a former Vanderbilt commit, committed to Tennessee baseball on Friday.

The Corona (California) High School two-way player is ranked the No. 5 prospect in the nation by Perfect Game. Carlson is a shortstop and right-handed pitcher. He's considered to be elite defensively at shortstop, while he throws in the upper-90s on the mound.

He took an official visit to Tennessee in mid-October when the Vols faced Florida in football.

Carlson was a longtime Vanderbilt commitment, but his recruitment shifted in recent months as Vanderbilt's staff changed. The Vols got involved in Carlson's recruitment after coach Tim Corbin fired two assistants, including hitting coach Mike Baxter. Carlson looked at other options and chose Tennessee.

The 6-foot-1, 180-pound Carlson is ranked the No. 6 high school prospect in the 2025 MLB Draft by MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo .

The Vols and coach Tony Vitello signed the top-ranked recruiting class in the nation in 2024, according to Perfect Game. The class included seven top-100 prospects who made it to campus.

EXHIBITIONS: Pay attention to these Tennessee baseball positions in Nashville, Jackson exhibition games

Tennessee won the program's first national title in June. It became the first team in SEC history to win 60 games when it topped Texas A&M in the three-game College World Series finals. The Vols also won the SEC regular-season title and the SEC Tournament title, sweeping the crowns for the second time in three seasons.

The Vols have the most wins in the country in the past five seasons with 226. They have the a national-leading .779 winning percentage in that five-year span. They have won at least 50 games in three of the past four seasons and have reached the CWS three times in those four seasons.

Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on Twitter @ ByMikeWilson . If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Top 5 recruit Billy Carlson flips to Tennessee baseball, Tony Vitello from Vanderbilt