Tennessee head baseball coach Dave Serrano will return for a sixth year in Knoxville, UT athletics director Dave Hart confirmed to the media on Thursday morning.
Serrano, whose contract expires this summer, will be brought back on a one-year contract extension on similar, if not identical, contract terms as the previous five season.
“I still believe in Dave Serrano,” Hart said. “I still believe he can turn the program around.”
Hart emphasized that neither he, nor Serrano, are pleased with the on-field results thus far through five years in Knoxville under Serrano.
But Hart also mentioned the academic improvement, the fact that the 2016 team didn’t give up on him, injuries, Serrano’s willingness to make adjustments and the varying nature of rebuilding projects as reasons for his decision to retain him.
Serrano was widely considered a home-run get for the Vols in 2011 when UT hired him after he previously had been one of just a dozen coaches in NCAA history that had taken two programs to the College World Series (UC Irvine and Cal Fullerton).
The Vols have struggled mightily, however, especially in SEC play under Serrano, putting together a 48-99 conference record and zero SEC Tournament wins in three attempts in Hoover.
“No, we haven’t won enough to satisfy me for sure, but the winning is going to happen,” Serrano said shortly after Hart’s statements. “I’m very confident in that…Nobody wants this program to be successful – for all the right reasons, not for me – than me.
“I’m very confident that we’re close.”
