Tony Vitello reveals a major key to Tennessee's ascension after winning College World Series
Tennessee has come a long way from the hiring of Tony Vitello in 2017 to their first national title in baseball in 2024. A major part of that shift in the program has been due to the people that they’ve brought in and the approach that they have for the Volunteers.
Vitello discussed the gritty nature of his teams following the Vols’ 6-5 victory over Texas A&M to win the College World Series on Monday. He said it was what they had to adopt to start competing with the other top names in the SEC.
“I think we’ve tried to build a support staff that kind of has that image,” said Vitello.
“I mean, when we first came to Knoxville, you were looking at, came from Arkansas, arguably the best fans in the league and best stadium, huge crowds, winning tradition. Florida has got in-state players. Vandy has their niche going on. Mississippi State’s facility is incredible. Coach Bianco turned that thing into a monster. LSU’s tradition as good as if not better than everybody’s,” Vitello noted. “So how were we going to compete? That was our answer when we had that long conversation.”
In order to do that, Vitello had to start by being selective and intentional with his hires within the program. Those were people who’d spend as much as time as he would, if not more, with his players, which is why he had to be specific with his selections.
“We had to start filling in the people we wanted to hire. And, fortunately, there were some good baseball people that left the program but we had a clean slate. So the people that we brought in, we wanted them to be self-made people,” explained Vitello. “The administration was very frustrated with me. We got hired, I think, in July. We did not hire a strength coach until late October, I believe. It was just taking our time, making sure we got the right guy who fit those things.”
“If you look at the NCAA rules, no one is going to spend more time around your players than your strength coach. Academic coordinator and trainer are probably second and third,” Vitello continued. “We’ve sprinkled in guys that have played in our program.”
Those hires and, from there, the roster additions have been what has turned around Tennessee.
In 2017, the Volunteers finished 27-25, another finish right around or under .500, in their final season under Dave Serrano. The school hired Vitello that offseason and, in the seven years since, they are 295-112 (.724). Since 2021, their record sits at 211-62 (.773), two of those seasons being ones that set new program records for wins, with four conference titles and three appearances in Omaha, including last night’s title win over the Aggies.
Tennessee has found something that makes them elite on the diamond under Vitello. It’s also an aspect that they can sustain within themselves to potentially keep this run going well into their future from here.
“We kind of had a theme going there that we needed to find a way to make this thing work. That freight train got going. It never really slowed down until it really got out of control, to be honest with you,” said Vitello
“That was our niche. We got to play with some attitude, we gotta play with some grit. We’re going to have to get some guys that maybe don’t want to say yes to a school with a better winning record than us. And guys like that, some others with some attitude, have done a lot for this program.”