The University of Tennessee baseball team enters the 2008 season looking to improve upon the past two disappointing seasons and return to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2005.

First-year head coach Todd Raleigh brings a new attitude and style of play to the program after spending the past eight seasons as the head man at Western Carolina University.

Raleigh guided the Catamounts to a pair of NCAA Regional final appearances and was also named Southern Conference Coach of the Year twice, including last season.

Raleigh replaces Rod Delmonico, who had been in charge of the Vols' baseball squad for 18 seasons. The Volunteers reached the College World Series three times during Delmonico's tenure with the last appearance coming three seasons ago.

However, the past two seasons Tennessee failed to live up to expectations leading to the coaching change.

We want the persona of our program to be a more blue-collar, tougher team that can deal with adversity.Diamond Vols' coach Todd Raleigh "We want to be more consistent," Raleigh said in an interview prior to Wednesday's practice.

"I think we've been to three regionals in the last 10 years here. We need to be going there every year. We want the persona of our program to be a more blue-collar, tougher team that can deal with adversity."

The Vols will look to prove their toughness right away as they enter this season with low expectations from those outside the program.

The SEC coaches picked Tennessee to finish last in the Eastern division by a large margin as the team garnered just 18 points in the voting. Florida and Alabama were the two closest teams to the Vols finishing with 29 points each.

"If we play hard and hang around in games I think we can be a tough team and win some of those games, Raleigh said. "I don't think that prediction is going to hold true."

Raleigh sees the loss of some great players as the reason for the low expectations. Pitcher James Adkins, outfielder Julio Borbon and catcher J.P. Arencibia all must be replaced after each was selected in the first round of last year's Major League Baseball Amateur Draft.

The first-year coach will rely upon a youthful team to make up for the losses. Sophomores Yan Gomes and Jeff Lockwood were each Preseason All-SEC selections by SEBaseball.com after earning Freshmen All-America honors a season ago.

The duo will be forced to step up and provide leadership for a roster that features just 18 returning players and 13 newcomers.

"Yan Gomes and Jeff Lockwood are now sophomores," Raleigh said. "It doesn't seem like they're very old, but on this team a sophomore is pretty old."

Lockwood returns as the Vols' closer this season and will also be the team's everyday first baseman. Last season the Knoxville native led the SEC with eight saves to go along with 42 strikeouts in 46 2/3 innings.

He also hit .315 with four homers and 34 RBI while spending time in the outfield and at designated hitter.

Gomes returns to the Vols as the team's most proven power hitter after hitting eight home runs in 2007 to lead all returning players. He also drove in 47 runs and hit .310 while splitting time between catcher and first base.

The Miami, Fla., native will be the team's number one catcher this season after throwing out 11 base runners last season. Gomes claims to have no expectations for this season, however, he enters the year ready to prove doubters of Tennessee baseball wrong.

"Nobody expects anything out of us this year," Gomes said. "It's kind of like we have nothing to lose. All we have to do is play the same way we have been playing in practice and play hard. We want to show them we can battle."

Nobody expects anything out of us this year. We want to show them we can battle.Tennessee catcher Yan Gomes

The Vols also have some more experienced players they can lean on including Andy Simunic. The senior will move from the outfield to second base this year and will look to build upon 2007 when he led the SEC in stolen bases with 29.

Simunic scored 44 runs, drove in 27 more and led the Vols with 75 hits a season ago. His .333 batting average is tops among returning players and the Collierville, Tenn., product will look to take the same approach at the plate that helped him find success last season.

"Every game is a new start and you have to come out and prove yourself," Simunic said. "The SEC has some of the top pitchers in the country so you have to be ready everyday."

Tennessee can also look to upperclassmen Cody Brown, Danny Lima and Shawn Griffin for leadership. Brown and Lima return as juniors to anchor the left side of the infield while Griffin will likely start in left field as a senior.

Griffin's leadership will be key as he will be joined by two freshmen in the outfield. Centerfielder Kentrail Davis out of Alabama has drawn comparisons to Kirby Puckett by some, while Josh Liles from Jackson, Tenn., will flank Davis in right field.

"Kentrail Davis can be a really fun player to watch," said Raleigh. "He plays hard and plays the game you way you want it to be played. He's got a lot of tools. Josh is the same kind of player Kentrail is. He can run, throw and hit. We'll look for big things from him."

The Vols face major questions in the pitching staff where they will be forced to replace over half of the team's total wins and innings pitched from last season.

Raleigh plans to use a deep rotation featuring two returning players and two pitchers who have yet to pitch for the Vols to fill the void.

Sophomore Steve Crnkovich comes to Knoxville after pitching last season at the University of Illinois-Chicago. The right-hander led the Horizon League with a 2.39 ERA as a freshman last season.

Freshman Bryan Morgado will look to emerge as a pitching threat after sitting out his first season as a Vol. The southpaw came to Tennessee as one of the program's most highly-regarded pitching prospects in years but was forced to redshirt last season due to surgery.

"Morgado was here last year but was hurt, and he can be electric at times," Raleigh said. "Crnkovich was an All-American last year as a freshman. Look for those guys to add some depth to the staff."

Nick Hernandez returns as a sophomore after posting a 4-4 record with one save in 21 appearances last season. The lefty will look to improve upon his 6.23 ERA from last season.

Right-hander Aaron Everett also returns this year carrying a 3.32 career ERA. However, the submarine-style pitcher has pitched just 57 innings in his career.

Our kids are going to  play for the name on the front which is Tennessee. Hopefully our students can get behind us. Coach Raleigh

The bullpen also faces some questions in getting the ball to Lockwood to close out games. The Vols lack a proven left-handed reliever with sophomores Bryan Powell, D.J. Leffler and junior Joey Rosas making up the stable of lefties in the bullpen.

Powell made just nine appearances last season while Leffler and Rosas are entering their first season of Division I baseball.

The Vols' righties bring more experience to the table than their left-handed counterparts. Junior Danny Wiltz made 22 appearances in relief last season and struck out 30 batters in 30 1/3 innings pitched.

Senior Zane Stone and junior Ryne Simpson also return from last season, and Todd Barnett joins the staff after spending last season at Lambuth University to give the Vols' four right-handed options out of the bullpen.

Pitching coach Fred Corral returns to the Vols after spending the last three seasons at Oklahoma. Corral coached Tennessee's pitchers in 2003 and 2004 and guided six pitchers who went on to be selected in the MLB draft. His return should aid the development of the pitching staff.

The Vols open the season with a five-game home stand starting with a three-game set this weekend against Morehead State at Robert M. Lindsay field at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.

Crnkovich will make his debut for the Vols' in Friday's season opener at 3 p.m. Hernandez will start the second game of the series on Saturday at 2 p.m., and Morgado gets his first collegiate start Sunday at 1 p.m.

There will be a free schedule poster giveaway Friday, free schedule magnet giveaway Saturday and free admission for children 12 and under on Sunday. The team will also be signing autographs following Sunday's series finale.

Tennessee will then host Furman on Monday and Austin Peay on Wednesday with both games scheduled for 3 p.m.

The team will travel to play in the Houston College Classic next weekend before returning home for a nine-game home stand, giving fans plenty of opportunities to check out the new-look Vols in person.

"We're going to be fun to watch," Raleigh said. "Our kids are going to play hard and play for the name on the front which is Tennessee. Hopefully our students can get behind us."