Knoxville, TN (WOKI) Two people are arrested in downtown Knoxville following a high-speed chase across multiple counties Monday morning.
The Monroe County Sheriff’s office says the chase began in Sweetwater after the driver, identified as Nathan Hatfield, and an unidentified female passenger fled from a traffic stop.
Officers then pursued the car into Loudon County before it was stopped using stop sticks on I-40 East near Hall of Fame Drive in Knox County.
Authorities say the suspects also threw over an ounce of methamphetamine out of the car during the chase, but a detective was able to recover it.
Hatfield is facing numerous charges to include:
Felony evading
Reckless driving
Possession of meth for resale
Tampering with evidence
Criminal impersonation
Driving on a revoked license
Officials say more charges against Hatfield are pending.
Kimberly Glenn with the Knox County Sheriff’s Office said that deputies assisted Tennessee Highway Patrol and Loudon County Sheriff’s Office in the chase. She said nobody was injured in the chase.
Authorities say the suspects also threw over an ounce of methamphetamine out of the car during the chase, but a detective was able to recover it. (Courtesy: Sweetwater Police Department)
Halls, TN (WOKI) A truck driver is trapped for over 40 minutes after a crash early Monday morning in Halls.
Officials with Rural Metro Fire Department say crews were called to Maynardville Highway at East Emory Road in North Knox County just before 6:00 a.m. where they found a box truck had collided with the rear end of a tractor trailer.
Rural Metro reports the driver of the box truck was heavily entrapped in the vehicle and that multiple crews worked for 45 minutes to free the victim.
He was transported to the trauma center with what appeared to be non-life threatening injuries.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Tennessee’s Liam Doyle was named the SEC Co-Pitcher of the Week, the conference announced on Monday afternoon, sharing the honor with LSU’s Kade Anderson.
For the second time this season, Doyle played the starring role in a combined no-hitter by the Big Orange. The junior lefty had eight strikeouts and two walks over six shutout innings in a 10-0, seven-inning run-rule victory over Texas A&M in Friday’s series opener.
It was the 10th no-hitter in program history and the first by an SEC team in league play since Vanderbilt no-hit Kentucky on April 22, 2022. Tennessee’s two no-hitters this season mark the second time in program history that it has recorded multiple no-hitters in the same year, joining the 1976 team that threw three.
This is the second time this season that Doyle has been tabbed the SEC Pitcher of the Week after also earning the honor on March 10 following UT’s first no-hitter of the year against St. Bonaventure.
The Vols have taken home five SEC weekly awards this season, including three pitcher of the week selections.
2025 SEC Weekly Award Winners
Levi Clark – Fr. – UTL SEC Freshman of the Week (March 10)
Liam Doyle – Jr. – LHP SEC Pitcher of the Week (March 10 | April 4)
Gavin Kilen – Jr. – INF SEC Player of the Week (March 3)
Marcus Phillips – Jr. – RHP SEC Pitcher of the Week (March 17)
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – University of Tennessee head men’s basketball coach Rick Barnes announced Monday the signing of Ja’Kobi Gillespie.
A guard who hails from nearby Greeneville, Tenn., Gillespie comes to Tennessee from Maryland, where he was a Third Team All-Big Ten selection in 2023-24. The second-ranked player in the transfer portal according to EvanMiya.com, Gillespie has one season of collegiate eligibility remaining.
“We are thrilled to welcome Ja’Kobi to Rocky Top, a place he and his wonderful family know well as East Tennessee natives who bleed orange. Ja’Kobi is a high-character young man who fits our program and truly wants to be a Volunteer,” Barnes said. “A dynamic point who can really shoot the ball from deep and get his teammates involved, Ja’Kobi is a fearless competitor with a high basketball IQ. We expect him to help lead our team from day one and we feel quite fortunate to have him as a part of our program.”
Before playing at Maryland in 2024-25, Gillespie was at in-state Belmont for two seasons. Across his three-year college career, he owns averages of 13.6 points, 4.2 assists, 2.8 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game. He possesses an excellent shooting line of 48.7 percent from the floor, 37.9 percent on 3-pointers and 81.0 percent at the stripe.
Gillespie owns 70 double-figure scoring performances, reaching 15 on 43 occasions and 20 in 14 contests. He has started 68 games in his career, including doing so in 60 of his 61 outings over the last two seasons.
Most recently, Gillespie spent last season at Maryland, where he posted 14.7 points, 4.8 assists, 2.8 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game. He helped the Terrapins go 27-9 (14-6 B1G) and reach the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2016.
The 6-foot-1, 186-pounder finished co-third in the Big Ten in steals average and fifth in assists average. He shot 45.3 percent from the field on the season, including a blistering 40.7 percent beyond the arc, as well as 86.2 percent at the line.
Gillespie recorded double-digit points in 30 of Maryland’s 36 games. Twenty of his 22 showings with 14-plus points came against Power Five competition, including all 12 of his performances with at least 17 points and all six with 20-plus. His season high of 27 came Jan. 10 in a victory over UCLA.
Additionally, Gillespie had at least five assists in 17 appearances, with nine-plus in five, including a season-best 11 to go along with 17 points versus Syracuse in a Dec. 21, 2024, win over Syracuse in Brooklyn, N.Y. He made multiple 3-pointers in 27 contests, reaching four-plus on eight occasions, as well as multiple steals 24 times, with four in four contests.
In 2023-24 at Belmont, Gillespie was named a Second Team-All MVC selection, as well as a member of the MVC All-Defensive Team and MVC Most-Improved Team. He averaged 17.2 points, 4.2 assists, 3.8 rebounds and a league-best 2.2 steals per game. He also led the MVC with a 56.1 field-goal percentage and a 63.1 effective field-goal percentage, plus shot 38.7 percent from deep and 83.1 percent on free throws.
Gillespie, who placed fifth in the league in both points and assists per game, scored in double figures in 24 the 25 games played in, reaching 15-plus in 18 and 20-plus in seven. He had multiple steals 17 times, with a high of seven in a Nov. 14, 2023, victory over Berry.
The Volunteer State native’s play helped lead the Bruins to a 20-13 (12-8 MVC) record. The prior year, as a freshman, he aided the team to a 21-11 (14-6) campaign.
That year, Gillespie earned MVC All-Freshman Team and MVC All-Bench team plaudits. He averaged 9.6 points, 3.3 assists, 2.1 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game and amassed 16 double-digit scoring performances.
A prep star at Greeneville High School, Gillespie collected 2022 Tennessee 3A Mr. Basketball distinction. He became the first player from the northeast part of the state to win Mr. Basketball in its then-37-year history.
Gillespie totaled 2,129 points in high school, including logging 27.3 per game during a senior campaign in which he led his team to the 3A state title. He garnered state tournament MVP plaudits, as well as Tennessee Player of the Year accolades from 5StarPreps.com, Tri-Cities.com and WJHL-TV. The two-time TSWA All-State designee also helped Greeneville win the 2A state crown as a junior, as he put up 20.8 points per game.
Before Gillespie, the last Tennessee men’s basketball player from the city of Greeneville was Roe Campbell in 1923, over a century ago. Gillespie played AAU basketball for B. Maze Elite, a Knoxville-based program run by former Tennessee guard Bobby Maze (2008-10).
In addition to EvanMiya.com labeling Gillespie the second-best player in the transfer portal, 247Sports and On3 both slot him seventh.
To keep up with the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team on social media, follow @Vol_Hoops on Instagram and X/Twitter, as well as /tennesseebasketball on Facebook.
An investigation is underway after two people are killed after two motorcycles crash head-on in Cocke County.
The Tennessee Highway Patrol says Hubert and Norma Roberts were riding on a Harley Davidson trike on U.S. Highway 25-70 Saturday afternoon while Bobby and Shawnte Whitaker were riding on a motorcycle in the opposite direction.
The Roberts’ bike crossed over the center line and hit the other motorcycle head-on.
All four were thrown for their motorcycles.
Hubert Roberts was pronounced dead at the scene while Norma Roberts was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Bobby and Shawnte Whitaker were injured in the crash. They were flown to the University of Tennessee Medical Center with serious injuries.
A Knoxville man is convicted of sexually assaulting his roommate’s daughter.
Knox County District Attorney Charme Allen says Cody Bales was living with a 13-year-old girl and her mother at an apartment in early 2018 when he sexually assaulted the child and left the home without his belongings.
The victim did not disclose the rape until years later when she told a friend what happened, and Bales was arrested following an investigation by the Knoxville Police Department.
Investigators say Bales had also committed and been convicted of a separate statutory rape that involved a different minor and is currently serving a six-year sentence in that case.
Bales was convicted of four counts of rape and two counts of statutory rape, and he was sentenced to 22 years in prison without the possibility of parole. Additionally, he will be placed on the Tennessee Sex Offender Registry.
Opponents of President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk rallied in East Tennessee and across the U.S. to protest the administration’s actions on government downsizing, the economy, human rights and other issues.
More than 1,200 “Hands Off!” demonstrations were planned by more than 150 groups, including civil rights organizations, labor unions, LBGTQ+ advocates, veterans and elections activists. Among the protest sites included downtown Knoxville and in Blount County.
Demonstrators in Knoxville came together to protest the Trump administration’s moves to fire thousands of federal workers, close Social Security Administration field offices, effectively shutter entire agencies, deport immigrants, scale back protections for transgender people and cut federal funding for health programs.
Musk, a Trump adviser who owns Tesla, SpaceX and the social media platform X, has played a key role in government downsizing as the head of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency. He says he is saving taxpayers billions of dollars.
The White House said in a statement that “President Trump’s position is clear: he will always protect Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid for eligible beneficiaries”.
The Knox County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a fatal accident in North Knoxville.
Police were called to the accident involving a motorcycle and a car Friday night in the 7300 block of Green Estates Way off of East Beaver Creek and remained on the scene for several hours.
No word if any charges will be filed.
Our thoughts and prayers to those impacted by this death.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – No. 1/1 Tennessee dropped both games of a doubleheader against Texas A&M on Saturday at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
It was a day to forget for the Volunteers (28-4, 9-3 SEC), as the Aggies (16-15, 3-9 SEC) launched an offensive barrage, combining for 26 runs while hitting 11 homers over the two games, just one day after being no-hit in a 10-0 loss to open the series.
For Tennessee, Saturday’s losses snapped a program-record streak of 12 consecutive SEC series wins. The Vols’ last series loss prior to this weekend came on the road at Alabama in the first conference series of last season.
Game 1: Texas A&M 9, Tennessee 3
Texas A&M pulled ahead in the middle innings and continued to add to its lead with a three-run eighth inning to essentially put the game away and win the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader, 9-3.
Starting with a run in the fourth to tie the game at two, the Aggies scored in five consecutive innings and finished with four home runs for the game.
Marcus Phillips was stuck with his first loss of the year after giving up four runs on five hits in 4.2 innings.
Chris Newstrom got the start in left field and was the lone Vol to have multiple hits in the game, finishing 2-for-3 with a run scored.
Leadoff man Terrence Kiel II and catcher Bear Harrison both had three-hit performances for Texas A&M while Jace LaViolette and Caden Sorrell had two RBIs apiece.
Game 2: Texas A&M 17, Tennessee 6 (8 Inn.)
Texas A&M carried its momentum over from game one with a three-run top of the first in game two of Saturday’s twin bill. Bear Harrison hit the first of seven Aggies’ home runs for the game as they clinched the series with a 17-6 victory in eight innings.
After falling behind 4-0, Tennessee looked to gain some momentum with two runs in the bottom of the third to cut its deficit in half, however, Texas A&M squashed that immediately with a six-run top of the fourth, followed by four more runs in the fifth to build a commanding 14-2 lead.
Wyatt Henseler led the way for the Aggies with three hits and five RBIs, including a pair of long balls. Second baseman Ben Royo also homered twice for A&M.
Four Vols finished with multiple hits in the game in Dean Curley, Dalton Bargo, Chris Newstrom and Cannon Peebles. Newstrom was a bright spot for the Big Orange throughout the doubleheader, finishing with a pair of multi-hit games and four total hits for the day.
Hunter Ensley also drove in three runs with a home run into the porches in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Tegan Kuhns suffered his first loss of the year after allowing four runs on four hits and three walks in just 2.2 innings. Fellow freshman Brayden Krenzel also had a rough outing, surrendering five runs in just one inning of relief.
Junior lefthander Myles Patton earned the win for the Aggies after striking out seven batters over six innings of work.
Up Next
Tennessee will look to regroup against Alabama State on Tuesday night at Lindsey Nelson Stadium before heading to Oxford for a big series at Ole Miss next weekend.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – No. 7 Tennessee split its Saturday doubleheader but secured a series victory over No. 17 Mississippi State, dominating in Game 3 at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium.
Mississippi State (31-10, 7-5 SEC) took Game 1 of the twin bill with a strong 12-4 performance, forcing a rubber match in the series finale. Tennessee (32-8, 7-5 SEC) bounced back in the second game, delivering an impressive all-around effort to claim their 18th run-rule victory of the season in an 8-0 win over the Bulldogs.
McKenna Gibson, Taylor Pannell, and Saviya Morgan all posted three hits across the two games. Gibson added a walk, four RBIs, and hit two home runs, bringing her season total to nine. Morgan contributed with two runs scored, while Pannell hit her 13th home run of the season and crossed the plate three times. Gabby Leach also shined in the second game, going 2-for-2 with two runs, two RBIs, and a walk-off home run.
Karlyn Pickens continued to prove why she is one of the most valuable players in the country as she fired a one-hit five-inning complete-game shutout in the series finale. The right-hander walked one and notched four strikeouts en route to her 15th victory of the season.
For the weekend, Pickens tossed two complete-game shutouts, allowing just five hits and one walk with 10 strikeouts across 10 innings of work.
Game 1: #7 Tennessee 4, #17 Mississippi State 12 (6 innings) Mississippi State took control early, scoring eight runs in the first inning, fueled by back-to-back home runs. The Bulldogs added to their lead with a bloop RBI single followed by a two-run single. A groundout and a bases-loaded walk scored two more before a sac fly drove in MSU’s final run of the opening frame.
Tennessee got a run back off an RBI single from Sophia Nugent, cutting Mississippi State’s lead to 8-1.
The Bulldogs extended their lead in the third with a two-run double, pushing the score to 10-1. McKenna Gibson’s two-run homer in the bottom of the third pulled Tennessee closer at 10-4, but Mississippi State answered with back-to-back solo homers in the sixth, extending their lead to 12-4.
Erin Nuwer (5-2) started for Tennessee, giving up four runs on three hits and a walk in just four batters faced. Sage Mardjetko followed out of the bullpen, surrendering four runs in 0.1 innings. Peyton Tanner pitched 5.2 innings, allowing four runs on five hits with three walks and three strikeouts.
Game 2: #7 Tennessee 8, #17 Mississippi State 0 (5 innings) Tennessee came out swinging in Game 2, scoring early in the second inning. After Gabby Leach was hit by a pitch, Saviya Morgan singled up the middle of the infield, followed by a center-field single from Kinsey Fiedler, which brought Leach home for the game’s first run.
Taylor Pannell then launched a three-run homer to left, extending the Lady Vols’ advantage to 4-0. McKenna Gibson added to the lead with her third home run in as many games, making it 5-0.
The Lady Vols kept the pressure on in the third. Laura Mealer led off with a double, and after a walk and a stolen base by Ella Dodge put two runners in scoring position, Leach laid down a bunt single to drive in Mealer. A fielding error on the play allowed Dodge to come around and score for a 7-0 lead.
Leach sealed the game in the fifth inning with a walk-off solo home run, earning Tennessee its 18th run-rule victory of the season.
DUE UP Tennessee will travel to Austin, Texas, for a three-game series against the No. 1 Longhorns. The series begins Friday at 9 p.m. ET on ESPNU, followed by Game 2 on Saturday at 6 p.m. on ESPN. The finale is scheduled for Sunday at 1 p.m. on SECN+.
