Tennessee baseball suffered devastating news Wednesday afternoon when Tony Vitello left Knoxville to become the newest manager of the San Fransisco Giants. Vitello inherited one of the SEC’s best jobs and leaves behind one of the nation’s best college baseball programs after spending eight years in Knoxville.
The Vols now move forward in search of their next head coach following Vitello’s departure. It’s an awkward time for Tennessee to make a hire in the midst of fall practice. Most hires happen in the summer after the season ends. Making a hire in the fall makes it a less attractive job, though Tennessee could still attract a number of solid coaching candidates.
But whether Vitello left for another job in June or October, Tennessee’s best choice to replace him is the same— associate head coach Josh Elander.
A 34-year old former All-Big 12 catcher at TCU, Elander has been on staff at Tennessee since Vitello arrived back in summer 2017. Elander has been beside Vitello every step of the way, serving as effectively the “offensive coordinator” for Tennessee teams that have often been the very best in the country.
Tennessee has had some of the best player development in the country in recent years, thanks in large part to Elander. Players like Trey Lipscomb, Jorel Ortega, Jordan Beck, Drew Gilbert, Kavares Tears, Dylan Dreiling and much more have made massive jumps and turned into All-SEC bats thanks to Elander’s guidance.
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Elander has also been Tennessee’s top recruiter, though fellow assistant Ross Kivett is stout too, helping the Vols bring in top five classes routinely in recent years.
The transfer portal is now open for 30 days if Tennessee players want to pursue other options with Vitello now coaching in the big leagues. Hiring Elander would help Tennessee’s chances of keeping its talented roster together for next season.
Naming Elander the full-time head coach would also give Tennessee the best chance to keep its staff intact. Some assistants or support staff could follow Vitello to San Fransisco. But Elander would be a strong pull to help them stay— especially veteran pitching coach Frank Anderson who has had a huge part in Tennessee baseball’s success the last eight years.
There’s no question that hiring Elander is the best plan of action to hit the ground running in the post Vitello era. However, that’s not the only reason he is the right choice for the job. Elander is one of the best young assistant coaches in the entire country. He’s been a candidate for a number of head coaching jobs in past years and will be a SEC head coach before long whether at Tennessee or elsewhere.
Josh Elander will not be Tony Vitello. No one can be Tony Vitello other than Tony Vitello. But his longtime assistant is undoubtedly Tennessee’s best option to have short term success and is an extremely strong option to have long term success too.
