Josh Elander would be a 'really, really good hire' for South Carolina, Volquest's Eric Cain says

As South Carolina heads into its third baseball coaching search in the last 12 years, getting the hire right is becoming more important than ever.

The pressure will certainly be on athletics director Ray Tanner and the administration to find the right guy for the job. And they should have their chance to go after some of the top coaches in the country that have been able to consistently win. But what if they went for a coach that doesn’t have head coaching experience, but he’s been an integral part of one of the most successful programs for the last couple of years?

While Tony Vitello is the face of Tennessee baseball, associate head coach Josh Elander has been with him every step of the way and played a huge role in getting the Vols to where they’re at.

“He has his hands on pretty much every jar with this Tennessee baseball team,” Volquest’s Eric Cain told GamecockCentral. “Hitters, he recruited a lot of them. He’s a really good recruiter. He works with pitchers because he’s a catcher. Hitters, base runners, he calls pitches sometimes, I mean, he does it all. So I think that he’s done a really good job of just connecting with them. And I think his past experience has translated nicely into coaching. And it’s worked out well for him.”

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Elander has been on staff at Tennessee since the time Vitello came aboard ahead of the 2018 season. In that time, he’s been able to turn the offense into one of the best in the country. In 2024, the Vols led the SEC in a lot of major categories, including hits, home runs, average and slugging.

But it’s not just what he’s been able to do with a loaded lineup in his time in Knoxville. As a former catcher, Elander also works with the catchers and pitchers. It’s almost like a yin and yang effort between him and pitching coach Frank Anderson.

“He and Frank Anderson work together instructing these pitchers and how they want to control the run game and how they want to pitch certain spots,” Cain said. “He works with catchers and pitchers, running the offense as the third base coach, and really, he helps with the infielders, as well. I think the only thing that he really doesn’t do an awful lot is help with the outfielders. So again, he kind of touches every single part of this Tennessee program.”

And that’s not all. In addition to his host of on-field duties, Elander also serves as Tennessee’s recruiting coordinator. Since his arrival, Elander has helped Tennessee sign six top-15 recruiting classes according to Perfect Game.

“He does a really, really good job with his evaluations. I mean, he has his hand in pretty much everything in terms of evaluating, making initial contacts, when these guys come on campus showing them around connecting with them, showing them kind of what a day in the life of Tennessee athlete would be. He kind of directs all that traffic, but I just think it’s something he takes pride in,” Cain said.

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“And obviously, Tennessee’s done really well, both in the high school ranks and keeping guys out of the draft, I think has been huge. And then obviously, in the transfer portal last couple years, and I think they they enjoy that, this staff and Elander likes that. Of course, you get them on campus, and you got to develop them. And he does a good job in that regard, too.”

With everything Elander has done, it does beg the question: why hasn’t another team taken a chance on him? Well, for one, he’s only 33 years old. But also, he’s a part of a good situation with a team fighting to get back to Omaha this year.

However, it might be hard to turn down a chance to become a head coach at an SEC program like South Carolina if the opportunity presented itself.

“I think it’d be viewed as a really, really good hire just because everybody in the country is trying to duplicate what Tennessee is doing year in and year out here of late. And you’re getting a guy that was a key piece of the puzzle,” Cain said.

“Again though, if it’s a team like South Carolina, you will have some out there that say, ‘Well, hey, this guy’s never been a head coach. Why is this such a big gamble?’ Sometimes, if you want to hire this guy to a program like South Carolina, I think there’ll be some people like that. But overall, you can only do what’s in front of you. Elander’s done a really good job with the platform he’s got here at Tennessee. Whoever gets him when that happens, I think the fanbase will be really pumped, just because again, you see what Tennessee has been doing the last couple of years and he’s been a huge part of it.”

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