Tennessee players detail what it's like playing for Tony Vitello

Tony Vitello is a player’s coach. The Tennessee Volunteers took a chance to reaffirm this belief before kicking off the College World Series.

“I don’t know who listens to this or whatever, but, I mean, I played for him long enough to even be here, five years now, if that says anything about how much I love playing for this guy. Can’t put it into words,” graduate student Camden Sewell said.

Earning his flowers

In his sixth season at the helm of the Tennessee program, Vitello has earned the praise. Before this season, the 44-year-old head coach led Tennessee to three NCAA Regionals (2019, 2021, 2022), back-to-back NCAA Super Regionals (2021 and 2022) and a College World Series (2021), the program’s first since 2005.

Now, Vitello is cementing his place in Tennessee lore. The Volunteers are 43-20 this season with a 16-14 conference record. The team was dominant on enemy turf in the Clemson Regional, going 3-0 with a 23-8 run differential.

The Volunteers followed up the convincing regional run with two bounce-back wins over Southern Miss to advance to the College World Series. Sewell isn’t the only player who gives Vitello credit for Tennessee’s postseason run.

“He has your back on and off the field. He is going to do everything he can for you baseball-wise and just life-wise. He has helped me more than I could ever describe. So, it’s definitely awesome,” Tennessee outfielder Jared Dickey said.

Tony Vitello boasts supporting evidence

Vitello’s emphasis on player-coach relationships has proven successful. Tennessee has had 27 players drafted since 2018 when Vitello took over as head coach, the Volunteers’ 27 picks rank third-most amongst SEC teams in that span.

Tennessee isn’t the only place Vitello has produced top-tier talent. During his time at Missouri, Vitello coached Gold Glove Award winner and four-time All-Star Ian Kinsler, along with five-time All-Star and three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer.

Sewell believes Tennessee is the place to be for aspiring recruits, and Vitello is the one to lead them.

“If you are a younger athlete, if you want someone who loves to compete with you, loves to push you, loves everything, this is the guy you want to play for,” Sewell said.

Watch Vitello lead Tennessee as it takes on LSU at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday in the College World Series. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.