Tony Vitello named ABCA National Coach of the Year
Tennessee baseball won the first national championship in program history on Monday and now skipper Tony Vitello is being recognized as the National Coach of the Year by the American Baseball Coaches Association. The announcement was made on Tuesday afternoon.
Vitello led the Vols to 60 wins this season – the most ever by a team from the Southeastern Conference. It’s also the first time a No. 1 overall seed won the College World Series since Miami accomplished the feat back in 1999.
Tennessee held off Texas A&M for the 6-5 win Monday night in Game 3 of the College World Series Finals. It was the first national championship in program history and the 24th team (all sports) national championship in Tennessee history. It was the first since women’s track & field did so back in 2009.
Tennessee’s 60 wins are the most of any team since Florida State in 2002 and the most of any national champion since Wichita State in 1989. Vitello has rewritten the Tennessee Baseball record books, leading the country the last four seasons in wins (211), win percentage (.773), NCAA Tournament wins (25) and home runs (566).
The Vols won everything they could this season, winning the SEC’s regular-season championship, the SEC Tournament championship, Knoxville Regional and Knoxville Super Regional. Tennessee became just the fourth SEC program ever to win the regular season title, conference tournament title and College World Series title in the same season, joining Vanderbilt (2019) and LSU (2009, 1993). The last team who won at least 60 games and the national championship was Wichita State back in 1989.
The Coach of the Year honor is the first for Vitello from the ABCA, but his fourth overall in the category over his seven-year run with the Volunteers. Back in 2021, Vitello earned recognition from Perfect Game and the National College Baseball Writers Association. In 2022, Perfect Game bestowed the same honor on the coach following a then-historic season in Knoxville.
Tennessee has just concluded its third trip to the College World Series in four seasons. Prior to Vitello’s arrival ahead of the 2018 campaign, Tennessee had made just four treks to Omaha in program history.
