Tegan Kuhns has already put himself in the middle of the 2026 MLB Draft conversation, and the Tennessee right-hander looks like the kind of arm teams will spend a lot of time on between now and draft day.
The 6-foot-3, 190-pound sophomore is one of the more intriguing names in the class because the upside is obvious, but so is the work still ahead. Kuhns has the kind of raw stuff that gets attention fast: a fastball that sits in the mid-90s and has reached 99 mph, plus a 12-6 curveball that lives in the upper 70s and stands out as his best secondary pitch. He also mixes in a slider and a changeup, though his path forward depends on turning that four-pitch mix into something more complete.
Kuhns came out of Gettysburg Area High School in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, as a highly regarded prep arm. Perfect Game ranked him 45th overall and 11th among right-handed pitchers in the Class of 2024, and he was also named a Perfect Game All-American. He went undrafted in 2023 and followed through on his commitment to Tennessee.
His first season with the Volunteers was uneven. Kuhns worked mostly as a starter, making 15 appearances and 10 starts, and finished 2-4 with a 5.40 ERA, a 1.61 WHIP and 40 strikeouts in 36 ⅔ innings.
The sophomore year brought a much different story. Kuhns made 15 appearances and 14 starts, went 5-5 with a 3.56 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP, threw one complete game shutout and piled up 106 strikeouts in 81 innings.
That jump earned him Second Team All-SEC honors and sent his stock soaring.
The stuff is loud, but the profile still comes with clear questions. Kuhns needs a third pitch he can trust if he’s going to stick as a starter at the next level, whether that comes from sharpening the slider or changeup or adding something new.
His control has improved since his freshman season, but his command still needs work, and the source material points to too many pitches living over the plate. He’ll also need to fill out his frame and clean up his mechanics to make everything play more consistently.
The industry is already buying into the talent. ESPN has Kuhns as the 18th-ranked prospect and the fifth-ranked right-handed pitcher in the 2026 MLB Draft. Baseball America has him 22nd overall, while MLB Pipeline slots him 25th.
The fit is easy enough to see for Miami, which holds the 14th overall pick. If the Marlins think they can help Kuhns round into a more complete pitcher, he could be in play. The upside is real, and if the missing pieces come together, he has a chance to become one of the better pitchers in this draft class.
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