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Tennessee Baseball: Tony Vitello gets suspended, more

By Blake Wyman

Tennessee baseball coach Tony Vitello during the NCAA college baseball game against Alabama A&M in Knoxville, Tenn. on Tuesday, February 21, 2023.Ut Baseball Alabama A M
Tennessee baseball coach Tony Vitello during the NCAA college baseball game against Alabama A&M in Knoxville, Tenn. on Tuesday, February 21, 2023.Ut Baseball Alabama A M /
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Over this past weekend, head coach Tony Vitello was suspended for the three-game series against Dayton  

Tennessee athletics and Tennessee baseball didn’t get into many details on what caused the suspension, but according to Trey Wallace at OutKick, it’s believed that it was due to tampering with transfer shortstop Maui Ahuna.

Tennessee’s Maui Ahuna (2) heads the the dugout before the start of the NCAA baseball game against Alabama A&M in Knoxville, Tenn. on Tuesday, February 21, 2023.Ut Baseball Alabama A M
Tennessee’s Maui Ahuna (2) heads the the dugout before the start of the NCAA baseball game against Alabama A&M in Knoxville, Tenn. on Tuesday, February 21, 2023.Ut Baseball Alabama A M /

According to Yahoo Sports,

"Ahuna transferred to Tennessee from Kansas this past offseason but has yet to be cleared to play — which is something the team learned just earlier this month. Vitello said on Tuesday night that he didn’t have a specific update on when Ahuna would be eligible to return, but that he was handling the situation “like a dang champ.”"

Maui Ahuna remains ineligible to play, and now that Vitello is getting suspended, the situation continues to get even weirder.

Tennessee Athletics made the following statement on the suspension:

"“The University and Coach Vitello are working collaboratively with the NCAA to address a violation in the program. Coach Vitello will be suspended for this weekend’s series, with Josh Elander serving as acting head coach, and we will provide an update on Monday. Coach Vitello has acknowledged his mistake and accepted full responsibility. We appreciate his cooperation in the process and his dedication to doing the right by the student-athletes in the Tennessee baseball program. NCAA bylaws prohibit additional comments or details. The university will continue to emphasize to all the staff the imperative of leading with honesty and integrity.”"

It’s interesting to me and kind of insulting, that the NCAA is suspending Vitello but won’t even bother addressing the issue at Alabama with their basketball team.

More information on the suspension of Vitello will be coming out tomorrow and into next week. I will be looking for that information and will update all of you Volunteer fans as soon as possible.

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