Burke joined 12 other members inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame on Saturday night, including the Tennessee Titans legend Chris Johnsonwho built a reputation as one of the best running backs in NFL history during his time with the franchise.

Chris Burke was one of the greatest people in Volunteer history

Burke was one of the most decorated players in Volunteer baseball history. He became the first player in program history to hit for the cycle. From his Tennessee biography: “A first-round MLB Draft pick after leading the Volunteers to the 2021 College World Series, Burkey played six seasons in the major leagues with the Houston Astros, Arizona Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres. He was inducted into the Tennessee Baseball Hall of Fame in 2013.

He finished his three-year career as the program’s all-time leader in hits (314), runs scored (224), singles (199), doubles (72), triples (17) and total bases (498).

In 2001, Burke was a National Player of the Year finalist after leading the Vols to the College World Series and a 48-20 overall record (18-12 in the SEC). Burke also earned first-team All-American honors from every major publication in the country. He batted .435 at the plate, which led the SEC in that category, as well as several others: slugging percentage (.815), on-base percentage (.537), hits (118), runs scored (105), stolen bases (49), and total bases (221).

In the College World Series that year, Burke batted .389 at the plate, with an inside-the-park home run and six steals. He also became the first Volunteer ever to hit for the cycle when he went 4-for-5 with three RBI against Vanderbilt (11/5/2001).

As a sophomore in 2000, he showed the consistency that would eventually make him one of the nation’s best hitters. Burke had at least one hit in 52 of his 63 games, and collected four hits five times. An impressive fielder as well, he finished the year not only with a nine-game streak, but also with a 19-game error-free streak.

As a freshman, he did not disappoint, earning Freshman All-American honors after batting .372 with 87 hits and 25 doubles. Burke again showed tremendous promise and potential as a fielder, with only four errors in 268 chances (.993 fielding percentage).

Burke was a highly regarded prospect out of St. Xavier (Louisville, Kentucky) out of high school. He was runner-up for Mr. Baseball in the state of Kentucky in 1998 after hitting .500 with nine home runs, 55 RBIs and 49 stolen bases.