Tennessee baseball's Tony Vitello named National Coach of the Year

Tony Vitello was hired to lead the University of Tennessee's baseball program in 2017, taking over a struggling program looking to compete in a conference dominated by in-state rival Vanderbilt. 

All of that has changed in his seven years at Tennessee. Vitello has won nearly 300 games as the Vols' head coach, including a program-best 60 wins in 2024. 

Not only did Tennessee win 60 games, but they also won the regular-season SEC Championship, SEC Tournament, and the men's College World Series. This is the first time an SEC team has won 60 games in a season and the fourth time in conference history that a team has swept the SEC and NCAA Championships. 

Vitello's Vols put together a magical season, ending in Omaha for the third time in the past four years. Tennessee dominated postseason play, from the SEC Tournament to the men's College World Series, on its way to winning the CWS Finals. 

There's no doubt that Tennessee had the best team in the country this past season, but that wouldn't have been possible without the best coach in the country leading them. 

That's why  Baseball America named Vitello the National Coach of the Year on Thursday. After winning the College World Series, Vitello was also named the ABCA Coach of the Year in June. 

This isn't Vitello's first national award as a head coach. Perfect Game also recognized him as the Coach of the Year in 2021 and 2022. 

This year's award isn't Vitello's first, and it likely won't be his last. The Vols are not rebuilding but reloading after losing many veteran players to graduation and the MLB Draft. 

After returning from Omaha, Vitello and the Vols went to work in the transfer portal and added several new arms for the pitching staff and elite bats to put in the lineup. If Vitello can return to Omaha and recreate the magic in 2025, he will earn more awards next summer.