University of Tennessee Athletics
Keegan Knoll Named New Director of Sports Performance for Tennessee Baseball
November 17, 2025 | Baseball
 KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee baseball head coach Josh Elander announced the addition of Keegan Knoll to his staff on Monday. Knoll will take over as the program's Director of Sports Performance after spending the past eight seasons working in professional baseball.
Knoll brings a wealth of pro ball experience with him to Knoxville, including two and a half seasons as a head strength and conditioning coach in Major League Baseball with the Chicago Cubs (2022-24).
In his most recent stop, Knoll spent the 2025 season as the assistant strength and conditioning coach for the Milwaukee Brewers, where he was heavily involved in the day-to-day implementation of the organization's player performance strategies.
Knoll led the design and oversight of individualized rehabilitation programs for injured Brewers' players, collaborating closely with physical therapists to enhance return-to-play efficiency and performance outcomes. He also built and implemented data-driven systems that integrate player performance, health and workload metrics into daily decision-making processes.
The majority of Knoll's professional baseball experience came with the Cubs' organization, where he spent seven years on staff, starting off as a minor league strength and conditioning coach for the club's minor league affiliates (2018-20) before being promoted to the assistant strength and conditioning coach for the big-league team in 2020, and ultimately, climbing the ladder to head strength and conditioning coach in 2022.
While in Chicago, Knoll worked closely with former Tennessee Director of Sports Performance Quentin Eberhardt during the 2022 MLB season. Following Eberhardt's departure to return to UT, Knoll took over as the head strength and conditioning coach of the organization in June of 2022 and served in that role through September of 2024.
Along with his day-to-day duties with the Cubs, Knoll also enhanced return-to-play processes through collaboration with medical staff and objective monitoring tools such as Catapult and Vald systems, and delivered clear, data-driven reports and visualizations to strengthen communication between the strength staff, coaches and front office leadership.
Prior to breaking into the professional baseball ranks, Knoll spent parts of five years as an assistant strength and conditioning coach at Long Beach State University (2013-17), working primarily with the baseball program. Knoll also gained experience working in collegiate athletics with the University of Illinois – Chicago, where he was an intern under the head strength and conditioning coaches for the baseball and men's basketball teams.
Knoll earned his Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology from the University of Illinois, where he began is career in sports performance as an undergraduate strength coach for the basketball programs. He also holds a graduate certificate for Data Analytics and Sports Performance and is currently pursuing a Master's of Sports Science from Victoria University. Knoll is a registered strength and conditioning coach as well as a certified strength and conditioning specialist and a certified performance and sport scientist by the National Strength and Conditioning Organization (NSCA).
Knoll brings a wealth of pro ball experience with him to Knoxville, including two and a half seasons as a head strength and conditioning coach in Major League Baseball with the Chicago Cubs (2022-24).
In his most recent stop, Knoll spent the 2025 season as the assistant strength and conditioning coach for the Milwaukee Brewers, where he was heavily involved in the day-to-day implementation of the organization's player performance strategies.
Knoll led the design and oversight of individualized rehabilitation programs for injured Brewers' players, collaborating closely with physical therapists to enhance return-to-play efficiency and performance outcomes. He also built and implemented data-driven systems that integrate player performance, health and workload metrics into daily decision-making processes.
The majority of Knoll's professional baseball experience came with the Cubs' organization, where he spent seven years on staff, starting off as a minor league strength and conditioning coach for the club's minor league affiliates (2018-20) before being promoted to the assistant strength and conditioning coach for the big-league team in 2020, and ultimately, climbing the ladder to head strength and conditioning coach in 2022.
While in Chicago, Knoll worked closely with former Tennessee Director of Sports Performance Quentin Eberhardt during the 2022 MLB season. Following Eberhardt's departure to return to UT, Knoll took over as the head strength and conditioning coach of the organization in June of 2022 and served in that role through September of 2024.
Along with his day-to-day duties with the Cubs, Knoll also enhanced return-to-play processes through collaboration with medical staff and objective monitoring tools such as Catapult and Vald systems, and delivered clear, data-driven reports and visualizations to strengthen communication between the strength staff, coaches and front office leadership.
Prior to breaking into the professional baseball ranks, Knoll spent parts of five years as an assistant strength and conditioning coach at Long Beach State University (2013-17), working primarily with the baseball program. Knoll also gained experience working in collegiate athletics with the University of Illinois – Chicago, where he was an intern under the head strength and conditioning coaches for the baseball and men's basketball teams.
Knoll earned his Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology from the University of Illinois, where he began is career in sports performance as an undergraduate strength coach for the basketball programs. He also holds a graduate certificate for Data Analytics and Sports Performance and is currently pursuing a Master's of Sports Science from Victoria University. Knoll is a registered strength and conditioning coach as well as a certified strength and conditioning specialist and a certified performance and sport scientist by the National Strength and Conditioning Organization (NSCA).
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