Pro Baseball Hall of Famer Todd Helton is part of a five-person search committee to find Tennessee baseball’s next head coach, GoVols247 and KnoxNews both reported and a source confirmed RTI on Thursday afternoon.
Tennessee Director of Athletics Danny White is heading the five-person search that will also include Helton, deputy athletics director and chief marketing officer Alicia Longworth, associate athletics director of administration Tyler Johnson and chief competitive officer Marshall Steward, according to KNS.
Johnson has been the athletic administrator assigned to the Tennessee baseball team in recent seasons while Tony Vitello has been head coach.
Helton is the most decorated player in Vol baseball history after arriving at Tennessee as a two-sport star out of Knox Central High School.
Before his 17 seasons with the Colorado Rockies, Helton spent three seasons as a student athlete at Tennessee where he helped propel the Volunteers baseball program under head coach Rod Delmonico. Thanks to Helton’s dominance at the plate and on the mound, Tennessee made it to the College World Series in 1995 for just the second time in program history.
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Tennessee’s record book is full of Helton stats. Over the course of his three-year career, Helton hit .370 (7th in program history) with 65 doubles (2nd), 11 triples (4th), 38 home runs (5th) and 238 RBIs (1st). The left-handed batter also ranks first in career walks (147), second in extra-base hits (114), hits (280), total bases (481) and runs (199).
Helton previously held a largely ceremonious position with the Tennessee baseball program in Dave Serrano’s later years as head coach and in Vitello’s first two seasons as head coach. Vitello and Helton had a strong relationship with Helton shouting out Vitello in his Hall of Fame induction speech.
“I would also like to recognize the best college coach today, Tony Vitello, and the national champion Tennessee Volunteers,” Helton said in July 2024.
Tennessee is searching for its next head coach at an odd time in the year after Vitello left his perch atop the Volunteer program to become the new manager of the San Fransisco Giants. White told media in a Wednesday press conference that he would hold a national search. He also added that current associate head coach Josh Elander would be a head coaching candidate.
