Shortly after the news broke that Tennessee baseball coach Tony Vitello was leaving Knoxville to become the new manager of the San Fransisco Giants former Vol players flocked to social media to offer Vitello their congratulations while also backing Josh Elander’s head coaching candidacy.
Elander has spent the last eight years on Tennessee’s staff including the last three as the Vols’ associate head coach. Director of Athletics Danny White called Elander a candidate for the job during his Wednesday press conference.
RTI spoke with 10 former Tennessee players who explained why they are so adamant that Elander is the right choice to take the reigns of the Vol baseball program.
“E(lander) is the glue over there, man,” former utility man Jared Dickey said. “He does almost everything and it’s so behind the scenes because he just doesn’t get enough credit.”
“It’s a no brainer for me,” former starting pitcher Liam Doyle said. “He was Tony’s right hand man through all these great years and baseball wise you will not find anyone better to represent this program.”
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What Makes Elander A Stout Recruiter
Perhaps Elander’s greatest strength is his recruiting prowess. The Vols have become a force on the recruiting trail in the last half decade. Vitello certainly played a major role in that but so did Elander.
“He was on the road all the time from what I can remember during my time there,” former pitcher Drew Beam said. “I mean, if we weren’t practicing, then he was in Atlanta or down in Jupiter. He was always flying to places, was putting in the hours. I think that’s what makes him great, is just the want to get after it.”
Elander has the reputation as one of the best recruiters in the sport. His work ethic is a major reason for his success as it is for any stout recruiter. But former Tennessee players also touched on his ability to quickly build relationships as to why he is so effective.
“He is the reason people come to Tennessee,” Dickey said. “Because of the way he can talk. Obviously Tony is a great recruiter. He was one of the biggest reasons people got there. But Coach Elander can talk and he can just explain so well what they try to do at Tennessee and what they’re looking for in players. The great thing about him if he goes after great people too.”
“He creates relationships from the get-go, from the time he starts talking to you,” former catcher Cal Stark said. “It’s a lot more than just baseball when it comes to him and how he treats you. How he treats you as a person. It’s a lot more than just you’re a player. … He cares about you on a deep level and he cares about your family, cares about your school, cares about your girlfriend, cares about your wife. Whatever you have, he’s just an awesome awesome human being and honestly, you can’t beat that on top of the type of coach that he is.”
Tennessee has signed top five classes frequently in the last few years including Perfect Game’s No. 1 recruiting class in both the 2024 and 2025 cycle. The Vols again have highly rated classes lined up in the 2026 and 2027 recruiting cycle.
“Josh is an extremely good recruiter and has a very good relationship with all those kids,” former outfielder Griffin Merritt said. “The respect for him is through the roof for the players.”
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What Makes Elander A Good Hitting Coach
Elander has run Tennessee’s offense since arriving at Tennessee. The Vols’ offense has consistently excelled, shattering program home run records while consistently producing one of the best offenses in the nation.
“Everyone talks about Tennessee and they think of offense,” former pitcher Camden Sewell said. “Count a lot of credit of that to Elander.”
“I think his resume speaks for itself,” former outfielder Kavares Tears said. “He’s been the backbone behind the Vol offense that seemingly puts up record breaking stats every year. He’s done an outstanding job at preparing my former teammates and I for the professional level, not only just by hitting but baserunning and understanding the game itself.”
Vitello’s top assistant was a standout hitter in his playing career at TCU before the Atlanta Braves selected him in the sixth round of the 2012 MLB Draft. Tennessee players pointed to that playing success as something that made Elander a strong hitting coach.
“Just the fact that he’s been there and he’s done it,” Dickey said. “He played at the highest level just like us. He completely understands what we’re going through every day. And he knows how to talk to us.”
“If I had something about hitting that I had a question about, I’m going to Josh,” Merritt said. “My hitting coach. Not that V(itello) couldn’t handle it but V will be the first person to tell you he wasn’t a good hitter. Josh was a good hitter. If I’m going to go get advice about hey, how do I hit this 100 mph fastball that’s moving three feet? I’m probably going to ask Josh.”
Tennessee’s development has been one of the key reasons to its success over the years. There’s no shortage of players who have made drastic jumps in production from one season to the next including Jorel Ortega, Trey Lipscomb, Dickey, Blake Burke, Christian Moore, Tears and Dylan Dreiling.
That development is a team effort with the nutrition, strength staff and entire program. But anyone around the program will tell you Elander is a large part of that.
“They got stronger and more athletic with Q(uentin Eberhardt),” Merritt said. “But Josh played the biggest part in those hitters turning it around. That was his job. He was the hitting coach. Now V had his hand in everything too. He was the head coach. He was the mafia boss. He had his hand in everything. But Josh ran the hitters.”
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Why They Believe Elander Is Ready
Elander is just 34-years old. He was young as an assistant coach when Vitello brought him from Arkansas to Tennessee in 2017 and he would be a young head coach now. But Tennessee’s former players believe he’s ready.
“I think that’s about as ready as you can get,” Stark said. “He’s been through the bad seasons when they first got here. He’s been through the good seasons in ’22 and ’23 and ’24 and ’25. He knows what it looks like. He knows what it takes.”
“Elander has now been apart of a national championship team. You name it, he has done it,” Sewell said. “He knows the platform and the foundation is laid. He knows what it takes to win and he knows what works in this league. I don’t think it’s really that tough of a decision, in my mind. I will go to war for Elander, it’s just as simple as that.”
Elander has been a candidate for other power level jobs in the past. It’s unclear which jobs offered him the chance to be a head coach, but there’s a belief from former players that Elander has turned down opportunities to stay at Tennessee.
Even those outside the program think that Elander will be a power four head coach at some point sooner rather than later. Former Tennessee players hope it’s in Knoxville and believe that he can keep the Vols’ program competing at a high level.
“There’s zero reason to put anyone else in place,” former pitcher Will Heflin saifd “Elander being promoted to head coach is the only option. He’s the guy. Losing Tony stinks. But Elander will continue the direction the program has been headed and move it forward.”
“Elander is one of the best coaches I have ever played for,” former pitcher Marcus Phillips said. “The guy loves his players and would do anything for them and he knows how to win games. In my opinion there isn’t anyone else who should fill that position besides him.”
