Billy Amick had a long couple weeks of fielding phone calls, talking to coaches and being recruited out of the transfer portal.

The Clemson standout found comfort and exactly what he wanted in Tennessee baseball and coach Tony Vitello.

“He is going to let me be me,” Amick said. “That is really important to me and a lot of players. Nobody wants to be put in a cookie cutter of, 'This is how you have to play ball and this is how your game should be.' Being your own player is very important for anybody.”

Amick committed to Tennessee on Thursday, giving the Vols another elite bat and another key addition in a major transfer haul in building a College World Series-caliber roster.

Amick was one of the most coveted players in the transfer portal. He was a first-team All-ACC selection as a sophomore. He hit a team-best .413 and slugged .772 in 46 games. He hit 13 homers and had 63 RBIs. He also visited Florida and North Carolina and considered South Carolina and Texas A&M.

He visited Knoxville from June 29-30 at which point he felt Tennessee "was definitely the spot to be for me."

“The past few years, it has been insane how good they have been," Amick said of Tennessee. "They are arguably the best program the past couple years."

Amick is the fifth transfer to commit to Tennessee this offseason. Tennessee landed Jacksonville State's AJ Causey and Wichita State's Nate Snead as pitchers. Wofford slugger Ryan Galanie and North Carolina State catcher Cannon Peebles are the hitters committed.

Amick said he entered the portal looking for a place that would value him "the way I wanted to be" valued from an intangible standpoint. He coveted an opportunity to play third and to be with a coaching staff that he felt comfortable with and enjoyed playing for.

Amick was a breakout star as a sophomore at Clemson. He played a small role as a freshman, hitting .105 in 19 at-bats. He was not in the picture for the starting lineup entering the season, but made his first impression count. He hit a walk-off grand slam against Georgia State on March 11. It was his first career home, and he rolled into a prominent role. He settled in as a middle-of-the-order bat and helped Clemson earn a No. 4 national seed in the NCAA Tournament.

"From being the third- or fourth-string first baseman to having a weird way to get in the game with a guy getting hurt and a guy missing a sign, I got in there," Amick said. "It doesn’t matter how I did but I played my ball and played the baseball I like to play. I had fun and swung the bat. That is what I did, and it kept working. They couldn’t take me out.”

The Batesburg, South Carolina, native can play multiple positions, including first base and third base. Tennessee returns Blake Burke at first base. Galanie, a potentially high MLB Draft pick, can play either in the outfield or on the corner infield positions. Third baseman Zane Denton could return to Tennessee or turn professional.

Tennessee impressed Amick with its track record of having infielders drafted. UT had three infielders drafted in both the 2021 and 2022 MLB Drafts. It had two picked in 2019.

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Vols hitting coach Josh Elander visited Amick in the Cape Cod League in mid-June, which opened Amick to gaining a deeper knowledge of the Tennessee staff and their backgrounds. He was already impressed after playing against the Vols in the Clemson Regional.

"I know the way they play and how they go about things," Amick said. "Something that stuck out to me was how they go about the game and how they play. It definitely attracted me.”

Amick's time with the coaching staff sealed his decision, which was finalized after mulling over his options following his visits and his focus turned toward what can be achieved in Knoxville with the frenetic stretch behind him.

“As a team, it would be to win a national championship and bring that to Knoxville," Amick said. "I would love to be part of that.”

Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on Twitter @ByMikeWilson. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Billy Amick commits to Tennessee baseball as Clemson transfer