• All-Time OVC Male Athlete of the Year Award Winners | 2025-26 Male Athlete of the Year Finalists
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – UT Martin senior outfielder
TJ Grines has been selected as the Ohio Valley Conference Male Athlete of the Year for 2025-26 in voting by school administrators and Conference staff.
Grines set numerous stolen base records this season while leading all NCAA baseball players (Division I, Division II or Division III) with 66 stolen bases. The 66 swipes were 20 more than any Division I player during the 2026 season (and most by a Division I player since 2007). He also became the first Division I player since 2010 to record at least 50 RBI and 50 stolen bases in a season.
The OVC Baseball Co-Player of the Year (the first in UTM history), Grines set the OVC single-season stolen bases record, breaking the previous mark of 57 established in 2003. He also swiped six bases in a May 3 game against Western Illinois, setting a new OVC and UTM single-game record.
Grines also ranked in the Top 30 in the country in hits per game (1.69, third), runs scored per game (1.36, sixth), hits (93, 13th), runs scored (75, 13th), batting average (.386, 25th) and doubles (21, 28th).
The senior led the OVC in hits (most in the league since 2022), runs scored, doubles, at-bats and stolen bases and ranked in the Top 10 in the OVC in batting average (fourth), slugging percentage (.622, seventh), triples (3, sixth), OPS (1.061, eighth) and RBI.
In addition to stolen bases, he set new Skyhawk single-season records in at-bats (241), runs scored and total bases while ranking in the program’s top-five in single-season history in hits (second), doubles (second) and RBI (56, fifth) while starting in all 55 games out of the leadoff spot in the lineup. He anchored a UT Martin offense that ranked in the Top 15 nationally in batting average (.320, fourth), doubles per game (2.47, sixth), doubles (136, 10th), stolen bases (145, 11th) and stolen bases per game (2.64, 15th) and set single-season school records in NCAA Division I wins (26), runs scored (429, 45 more than previous mark), hits (609), doubles (136), RBI (387, 40 more than previous record), total bases (934) and stolen bases (145).
Grines is the second UT Martin athlete to earn the award, joining men's basketball player Lester Hudson who won the award in back-to-back years (2007-08 and 2008-09).
He is the first baseball player to win the award since 2009-10 (SEMO's Jim Klocke).