Blake Burke was preparing to board a plane when he saw Andrew Fischer had been drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers.
Burke was the organization’s first-round pick the year prior and was heading home for the 2025 All-Star break when he saw the news. He knew exactly what the Brewers were getting in Fischer, who was coming off an All-America season at Tennessee. Burke, after all, was synonymous with the program’s rise to the top of college baseball as a centerpiece of the Vols’ 2024 national championship team.
While the two didn’t overlap at Tennessee – Fischer only played one season with the Vols – they knew each other from when Burke came back to train in the offseason. Burke reached out to offer his congratulations.
“He big-leagued me the first time I called him,” Burke said. “Didn’t get a text or a call back for a few days, but that’s all right. Getting him in the organization was pretty exciting because I didn’t get to play with him.”
The two are now not only playing together, but this week are doing so back in Knoxville with the Biloxi Shuckers, the Double-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers, for a six-game series against the Smokies at Covenant Health Park.