Tony Vitello opens up on Tennessee's impact on state of college baseball

Tennessee head baseball coach Tony Vitello secured his first career College World Series win versus Stanford on Monday. But he couldn’t get the job done on Tuesday, eliminated from the postseason by the LSU Tigers in a 5-0 loss in Omaha.

Despite their season coming to an end, the Volunteers had a successful year, playing with energy and passion throughout the postseason and playing a part in one of the most exciting NCAA Baseball Tournaments to date. One reporter called the energy of Tennessee’s team contagious, and asked Vitello after a game about the impact his squad has had on the growth and landscape of college baseball.

“I appreciate you saying that more than you know, that means a lot,” Vitello started. “I think last year’s team, kind of what I was going on a tangent about or ready to go on a tangent, they got people talking about the sport. I mean big leaguers, all kinds of people. And again, part of it was they didn’t like me, or our players, or anything like that or we did some foolish things, or we did some great things. But it got people talking.”

Excluding the shortened COVID 2020 season, Vitello has led the Vols to four straight 40-plus win seasons and definitely did it in his own unique way. His team has drawn attention in the process, serving as one of the many pieces that have played a part in the growth of college baseball over the past few years.

“And we’re not the only ones, I think these indoor facilities that these kids train at they’re putting in more work. Media whether it be social media or now all these games are covered, all those things are elevating the play and the amount of passion these kids pour into this thing,” Vitello said. “I’m prejudiced, but I think our sport more than any other collegiate sport has more momentum and is on a greater incline than any other and this thing here’s become an absolute party in Omaha. They do a good job of hosting it.”

The College World Series has seemed extra lively and competitive this year, which Vitello acknowledged, as seemingly every team has a handful of MLB Draft prospects. From LSU’s duo of Dylan Crews and Paul Skenes to Florida‘s with Wyatt Langford and Hurston Waldrep, this year’s field was loaded with talent.

“But the trajectory is not going to slow down. And this thing had a lot of star power, maybe more star power than any other one at this, you guys would know better than I. So why can’t next year have even more star power having said that, hopefully, Florida’s not here, that big ole first baseman though is probably a good guy to have around here,” Vitello joked. “We got a couple too though.”

Tennessee’s trip to Omaha may not have ended the way they imagined, but their role in growing the game of college baseball unmeasurable and undeniable.