Tony Vitello on the difficulty to win as a SEC team: 'It's literally insanity'

Four of the eight teams that reached the College World Series were from the SEC. After Tennessee defeated Texas A&M on Monday to secure its first ever national title, head coach Tony Vitello weighed in on the difficulty to rise to the top of the loaded conference.

“It’s literally insanity,” Vitello said. “We have nemeses we play against and all that, but honestly I’ve got more respect for the coaches in this league than you can ever imagine or print into words.

“Then, you add in the guys who have families and do this, I honestly can’t comprehend how you can juggle both of those things because that’s all I can do. Coach Heupel and Coach Barnes, their sports are the same. It was good to see them. You have to lean on other people to survive this thing because it is a monster and the traditions are so deep.”

Vitello conquered the monster this season. Tennessee finished the 2024 campaign with a program-high 60-13 overall record and 22-8 mark in conference play. The Volunteers won the SEC regular season title, conference tournament and national championship.

When Vitello took over the program in 2018, the Volunteers were not guaranteed to even go .500. Now, they are on the top of the college baseball world and one of the perennial powerhouses in NCAA Baseball.

Tony Vitello is grateful to be at Tennessee

Vitello couldn’t be more thankful for the trust Tennessee put in him along the journey.

“You did mention, our university,” Vitello said. “We’ve got all the resources in the world with where we’re at, but it’s a place where we kind of had to build a foundation to catch up with, again, some of these other storied programs.

“I don’t think you ever — I guess Coach Saban would argue — but you don’t ever get to a point where you can look down on everybody because the instant you do that, you’re probably going to take an upper cut from one if not multiple places.”

In other words, Vitello doesn’t plan to rest on his laurels. He certainly doesn’t lack motivation. Vitello receive a $140,000 bonus for winning the national title on Monday. After the game, Tennessee senior Zander Sechrist proposed another lucrative reward for his coach.

“I see Danny White back there,” Sechrist said, referencing the Tennessee athletic director in the back of the room while Tennessee held its postgame press conference, “so I’m going to put it out there: I hope there’s a lifetime contract coming soon for Coach Vitello.”