After multiple seasons were canceled or interrupted by the coronavirus in 2020, sports – and fans in the stands – returned with renewed enthusiasm in 2021. The typical highs and lows of competition also returned to provide us with plenty of memorable storylines throughout the year.
Here are a few of the biggest sports stories either produced by Chattanooga-area teams and athletes, or by the teams most of our area follows, during 2021.
– In January, Jeremy Pruitt’s time as University of Tennessee football coach ended in disgrace when he, along with nine other members of his staff, were fired amid a “significant number” of NCAA violations, according to the university. Pruitt had a turbulent three seasons with the Volunteers that yielded a 16-19 record, including 3-7 in 2020 against a schedule consisting solely of Southeastern Conference opposition due to COVID-19. Pruitt wound up 0-9 against the rivalry trio of Alabama, Florida and Georgia by an average score of 42-16 during his tenure. By firing him with cause, the university was not responsible for his contract buyout of roughly $12 million.
– Chattanooga Lookouts pitcher Hunter Greene set a professional baseball velocity record with 37 pitches in excess of 100 mph. Greene set the record in the season opener at AT&T Field on May 5 and was later promoted from the Class AA Lookouts to Triple-A Louisville in the Cincinnati Reds system.
– In May’s TSSAA Spring Fling, led by TSSAA Division II-AA Mr. Baseball award winner Cooper Kinney, who was later drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays, Baylor finished a 27-4 season with its third straight state title and fifth overall. Kinney batted .456 with nine home runs, 17 doubles, 44 RBIs and a .967 slugging percentage against a schedule that included six of the top 30 teams in the nation.