Tennessee baseball assistant coach Ross Kivett launched a new segment, titled “Kiv’s Korner” on the Mike Keith Show this week to talk Vol baseball with different people involved in the program. Joining him on the first episode was no one other than first-year head coach Josh Elander.
Here’s everything Kivett and Ross said on the Mike Keith Show Thursday afternoon.
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Mike Keith: This is Ross Kivett. Assistant baseball coach, University of Tennessee. Infield and recruiting coordinator, right?
Ross Kivett: “Yeah. Only when we win. Or sign good players.”
Keith: “And he brings guests to talk UT baseball on the program with us, and you have a special guest. Would you like to introduce him.”
Kivett: “I do. This one’s gonna be like a (Bruce) Buffer intro. You ready? From Round Rock, Texas. He’s manned the third base box for almost 10 years as the recruiting coordinator and associate head coach, but now he has a new title as the head coach of your Tennessee Vols, Brittany’s husband and girl dad of three. My boss, that’s why we’re bringing him on first, Coach Josh Elander. Good?”
Keith: “That was very well done. … I mean, is this going to get uncomfortable for you in any way. That he’s yout boss, are you going to be toned down for this?”
Kivett: “Oh, in Cleveland, Ohio, we call this a kiss butt.”
Keith: “We’re glad you’re here, coach.”
Josh Elander: “Well, I appreciate it. I know I finally made it when I’m on coach Kiv’s show, so here we are.”
Keith: “What are your initial thoughts about Ross having his own show?”
Elander: “I’m good for whatever. Obviously, one of one personality, as we know, but I think he brings energy every day, so, again,I think the more people that get some eyes on him, get to know him, I think it’s better for everybody in the program.”
Keith: “And we’re talking baseball.”
Elander: “Always.”
Kivett: “So we’ve had this one uniform on Sundays for six years at the people like, and you’ve been getting a bad rap on my Twitter that you were the one that killed it.”
Elander: “Yeah, the creamsickles. So here’s the backstory on that. Obviously, when it comes to the cream. We love the Vol script. I think everybody does too, but we were talking with some of the captains over the break. We were in time out a little bit. One thing this year is we got to play a little bit better on Sundays than we did last year. But we actually got a new uniform from Nike last year that we wore only one time that’s updated material, more consistent with what the guys are wearing each day and really just better for player performance. So talk with the guys like, ‘hey, what do you guys want to do for this year?’ and the vote was ‘hey, let’s move to the newer, updated ones.’ So all for bringing the Vol script back in the future. I really am. I definitely miss those, but at the end of the day, I think it’s time for some change right there a little bit. We’ll get a little bit better on Sunday.”
Kivett: “My favorite part is that Coach has to wear that like, it was his decision. I mean, they probably run it by him, but it’s not your decision on that. You don’t have to throw anybody under the bus, but as your social media liaison I think it’s unfair some of the backlash you’re taking this.”
Elander: “Well I appreciate you having my back. That’s being a good team here right there. But at then end of the day, like, hey, it’s one thing that’s cool is like, we got Vol nation excited about what uniform we were on Sundays in January. So, again, I know everybody’s excited for the season, so are we. Hopefully the theme is we play better on Sunday instead of what jersey we were wearing.”
Keith: “Have you already started working on the Adidas outline for the uniform?”
Elander: “We have. So with the transition with Coach V, we kind of inherited some of that. So, again, I know we’re working with admin. I think we’re all really excited about kind of the retro options, and I’ve been in touch with Chris Burke and some of the former players. Chris actually sent me some photos of him playing with kind of a UT interlock and then some great pinstripe. So, again, we’ll work with them as we go, I’m really excited about what the capabilities and what we’ll be able to do there, but I think it’ll be very, very cool as we can kind of mix-and-match with those deals and also kind of give a nod to the past and the former players because they were the last ones who wore Adidas.”
Keith: “So, do you let the fellas have some say so even in the Adidas thought?”
Elander: “100%, yeah, cause we always talk about it. Game day belongs to the players, right? So, in the past, we’ve kind of let even the players, I know we wore black in the postseason like every game. That was player driven. We wanted them to be able to pick. And as we go towards the future, like, now we’re trying to integrate our marketing department too, just the one Tennessee deal, where, again, hey, everybody knows what we’re wearing each day, but also, two, we’ll have those internal conversations to make sure— a lot of times you’ll ask the pitcher, right? Because they’re going to set the pace of the game, what do they want to wear each day? That’s where the convos will start, but we’ll also integrate the marketing department too in the future.”
Kivett: “Can Kiv’s Lorner be one of the patches we wear?”
Elander: “Well, we need some shirts. I haven’t seen the logo yet, so I’m out of the loop, but I’m all for it.”
Kivett: “Big reveal is coming in. Yeah, we forgot to tell you that’s a big deal. You’re invited. It’s a shirt and tie.”
Keith: Maybe we’ll do that at the first pitch banquet. Should I go ahead and mention it? Here’s a plug. Limited number of tickets are available to the 2026 Tennessee baseball first pitch banquet presented by Uber Eats, who’s also your sponsor. The banquet is Saturday, Feb. 7th at 6 ET in the press room in Knoxville. Tickets to the event, and the online auction can be purchased at event.gives/Tennessee. That’s event.gives/Tennessee. Come meet your 2026 Tennessee baseball Vols and head coach Josh Elander.
When you hear that, does it still take you back just a little bit?”
Elander: “Yeah, 100%. It is still a little weird for me, but at the end of the day, like we joke and we have good banter with all the staff and players, but just a lot of confidence going into the year with the people that I have around me and then the players in the building.”
Kivett: “Yeah, I think that was probably the craziest October we’ve had here in nine years. How was juggling, you know, V leaves, he announces, he tells us he takes the job, and then, I’m sure you’ve been asked this probably a thousand times, but going into the interview and then after. So let’s go to the after part. Now you’re the head coach. What are like three or four things you want to get established?”
Elander: “It’s as simple as just saying it’s just united front of the building. Wanted everybody to— like, hey, the theme we’ve had, you’ve heard me say in media is, like, two feet on the ground, like being grateful for the opportunity to still be here, but also two, the cognisense of like, moving towards as we get closer to the season. Like, yeah, just because it’s a good story, we got to keep the group together. Like, no one’s going cut us any slack, like once we get going. But I think that the players handled it, and you were great, and really the whole staff. I mean, we were very good about communication on our staff and getting our staff done as quick as we could. And just, again, we lost some great people, but we added some amazing people as well with similar credentials. And again, just one of the players too, for their experience, we always talk about that in recruiting with families— if a kid says, yes to Tennessee, it’s our responsibility to make sure that they have the best experience possible here at Tennessee. Whether that’s in social life, on the field, and then also be prepared for life after baseball. So really just kind of leaned on you guys. Y’all were great through the process, and we’re just excited what’s to come.”
Keith: “You lost some significant folks on staff, and yet it just felt like everything just went right on. It just kept moving with the feeling that this is not Tony Vitello or Josh Elander or Ross Kivett. This is Tennessee baseball now.”
Elander: “100%. I mean, Tennessee baseball is much bigger than any one person or player. It’s very simple. And I think we have really a player driven culture, right. Where people take advantage of the freedom and how we communicate, and also, again, we give them some leeway to be pros and have some freedom in their day to day, and even offense, how we do things or pitching or whatever. So I think that’s the theme that has taken a long time. Kiv and I, we always joke, we’re the historians here now. We’ve been here the longest, but the guys have done a good job of keeping the day-to-day about as close to the same as it could be. This is a program that’s always about the players. That’s it. The number one thing we talk about in the building with everybody staff wise is player development and recruiting is the No. 1 most important thing for everybody. So we get the right players in the building, you know, we’ll give them the tools to be successful and to turn loose and want to do something.”
Kivett: “I had a question about getting the players in the building. For this new role. I feel like that’s important. That’s why we have the Kiv’s Korner. To make sure everyone sees us. When you’re putting together a class because you were the recruiting coordinator for nine years and now, you’re still very involved in it, but obviously, head coach responsibilities are different hats. Is there anything specific you look for when you’re putting classes together? The reason I ask is, I’m teaching MK how to be a recruiting coordinator.”
Elander: “We’ve worked hand in hand now for a long time together on it. I think if you go like big picture, like balance and strength in the middle of the field are No. 1, right? Whether it be shortstop, catcher, pitching, you got to have that in this league. And then No. 2 would be athleticism, right? The versatility of being able to play multiple positions, and then now with the condensed rosters that we’re going down to, you know, those two-way guys are like gold, right? Now I think sometimes the trap people get into in recruiting is, well, he’s pretty good at pitching and pretty good at outfield. But this is the SEC, like, can you do both? There’s a very, very small number of players in the country that we all know as we’re running around, but they’re out there, and you got to go find them. So again, our thing is we just want good players that work hard and act right. If they do those two things and they fit with our culture, like we’re very confident with what you can do with the infield or (Josh) Reyn(olds) can do with the pitchers, and then also the auxiliary stuff from Keegan (Knoll), who’s got a major league experience, or what administration provides from facilities to even nutrition, recovery. We have a really good system here, so it’s about getting the right people in, but you definitely got to be strong in the middle of the field in the SEC.”
Keith: “Perception from the outside, one of the areas where Tennessee baseball has improved over the last four years or so. We’ve recruited better catchers. You agree?”
Elander: “I think so. I mean, again, I think it’s just such a tough position. It’s so so tough. Like, I think of it it’s almost like a quarterback in a weird way. It’s like, you’re not gonna win without a good quarterback and not gonna win without a good catcher. They’re going to touch the ball more than anybody else throughout the course of the game. I think people forget how much it goes into the position just on the defensive side, right? There’s so many aspects of controlling the running game, taking care of the pitchers, umpire relationships, controlling the pace of the game, and, oh by the way, you got to try to go hit Chase Dolander or Landon Mack in between that, right? So, again, we have just great kids. I mean, I think you just start with Stone and Garrett and Levi, and Trent, we have so many people that are capable of doing it, but what’s been cool with those guys has been the culture of— because there’s only one guy that catches, right? So there’s internal competition every day, but also to the point where it’s really cool where the upperclassmen are helping bring the underclassmen along. So that’s a position that we all spend a lot of time with, but that’s cool when you kind of be built from within there and look at Connor Pavolony or the story of Cal Stark, and again, all these guys that have gotten better defensively and held their own offensively. But for us, like three things I tell them, catch it, keep it in front, control the running game. We do those three things, anything else is a bonus, but as the program continues to evolve we want guys that can swing the bat too.”
Keith: “Is it hard still to recruit catchers to play college ball because so many of the top prospects are gonna go ahead and go to pro ball?”
Kivett: “Yeah, I think that, and it’s kind of a little bit less room for error. Like a quarterback, you’re only gonna bring one, maybe two in each class. So you want to make sure that you get the right one. It’s a little bit more thorough of a process where if we go get an outfielder or an infielder, you know you’re gonna bring more than one of those in. Well, definitely with pitchers, so that’s probably your easiest thing is, Mike, when you come recruiting with me and you see a guy throwing 97 miles per hour, let’s sign that guy, you know? With catchers, one, the body, right? Can they take the wear and tear since they’ve been doing it since high school? And then two, it’s are they going to be able to handle the pace of this league? That’s why you don’t see many freshman catchers, right? I can’t even really, Pav? But he split some time. I can’t even think of really one.”
Elander: “Yeah, Pav was one that, I mean, really kind of took over the job down the stretch, but it’s like, I know with learning from Coach Vitello and Frank, it was always, you kind of go back and forth, let the guys compete, keep them fresh, you want to be at your best in June because you can get worn out. I remember my last year as a player, I think I caught almost every single game, and you’re a little worn out down the stretch, right? So I think with the grind of the SEC and going through all of that, it’s like now it’s cool a lot of our guys, like Levi’s a perfect example, more than capable of being the No. 1 catcher. Also capable of being the starting first baseman.”
Kivett: “Which I’m fighting for obviously.”
Keith: “Well, because you would think a catcher would be an outstanding first baseman skill wise.”
Kivett: “Well, footwork wise, Levi’s pretty advanced in that too, and we do shout outs here. So shout out to Levi. I think his athleticism speaks about what you said, strong in the middle, but can also play other positions.”
*New segment
Keith: “Did you guys play against one another in pro ball?”
Kivett: “We were the same age. He was a grade ahead of me. They held me back for obvious reasons. I wasn’t good at math, that’s why he handles the bucks. I just go see the players. Honestly, we just missed each other in college. I was at Kansas State, you were at TCU, but you were in the Mountain West your last year. Did you go to Omaha that year?”
Elander: “No, we did not. We went the year before in 2010. We lost in 2012 in the Super Regional to UCLA, had a really good team. David Berg, kind of an (arm) slot like we’ll see from Brady Frederick here. Adam Plutko was a big leaguer, clipped us right there. But no, it’s funny. We know so many over the years, like, obviously knew of Ross and what he accomplished, and he’ll joke about it, but he’s a great player, right? Big 12 Player of the Year. All that, had success in pro ball. And then, you know, when I was with the Braves, he was with the Tigers, and ironically, those are right next to each other. Used to be Orlando at Disney, where we were at with the Braves, which was a great setup. Now they’re no longer there. And then Lakeland for the Tigers. And then we’d always play, and I do remember always playing the Tigers. He probably has some memories, too. But you know, we would get to face like Anibal Sanchez or Joe Nathan, ironically, who lives here in town. I remember he came back and threw in some of the backfield games. So there was some good kind of competition over there. But no, we never got to go head to head.”
Kivett: “But yeah, we crossed, obviously, when he went with V to Arkansas after your TCU stint. That’s when I started to kind of hear about it, because they started hitting all those homers. And Arkansas was obviously talented and had good players prior, but they really took the next step offensively when Josh and Tony got there. And as you can see, they started getting players in 2019, 2020 — no offense to 2018, that was a gritty group, but you see the offensive numbers continue to climb. So I knew a lot about him, but never crossed paths.”
Keith: “What has changed in professional baseball about the perception of college baseball?”
Elander: “I just think the resources are so much better in college baseball. I mean, just to go from back when we played like even just meals, I remember we would get a Chick-fil-A sandwich, maybe one after a Tuesday game, and it was like the biggest win of the week, because we had something to eat after the game. Now nutrition wise, we have everything. The facilities are amazing. And also, I think, like the staffs, all of college baseball has invested, not only in resources for players, but also like people in the building. I mean, we used to have three coaches, that was it, right? And then maybe an ops guy, if you were lucky. But you know, we have a great staff with a very diverse background of skill sets, whether it be from the pro side, or Major League Baseball, or college. And then I think maybe Rob Manfred has said it, that’s why they’ve cut down some of those minor league teams. It seems like the draft may cut down a little bit more in the future too, where it’s proven guys are going to college and not only having success on the development side, but they’re not only getting to the big leagues quicker, like Garrett Crochet or Ben Joyce, or (Christian Moore) is another one, but they’re sticking there, having success. So it’s best versus best all the time. But I think the competition, kind of that holistic deal, where college baseball is big time baseball.”
Keith: “The game is much better.”
Kivett: “It’s growing. I kind of want to piggyback on MK’s question. Yes, you’re seeing more college players get there quickly, but no one really gets there as fast as Tennessee players, and you might have just touched it. But why do you think that is, because I get asked that all the time — mostly on Twitter. No one stops me in the grocery like you. What is one of the things in your development that allow a Garrett (Crochet) to not play in the minor leagues? Or Christian Moore to go in a month? Or Jordan Beck in less than a year, etc?”
Elander: “Well, I think it’s a player-driven culture, and we always talk about in the building, V would say it, we will continue to say this, ‘create your own future.’ So we also don’t want robots. We want our guys to have freedom to play baseball. So the way we define that is, if A happens, you do this. If B happens, you do that, but you have to let it play out in real time, right? You can’t be guessing. There can be an anticipatory element to that, or whatever, but we want guys to understand the game holistically, right? So hey, when things are going bad or going good, why is that happening? So hitters, for example, like coaching third, you’ll really never see me yelling any kind of coaching tip throughout the game because we haven’t done our job with those guys in the cages if we’re having to coach them through that. But I think on the pitching side too, it’s like with routines and how we let those guys handle their business. One thing I love with Frank (Anderson) and now with Reyn (Josh Reynolds), is there’s no cookie cutter, like, this is my system, this is what you must do. It’s okay, here’s the thing we use in recruiting — you’ve heard me say it a million times — here’s the buffet that we’re able to provide and it’s for player development, whether it be nutrition, your routine on game day, how you recover, what you do in the cages when things are going good, how do you like to take BP, things like that. We talk about it and have open communication, and then everybody spins and hey, maybe take one thing here or less. And it’s not, hey, you can just kind of pick whatever you want and guys are just guessing, trying to figure out what works will help. Our job is to help guide them the right way, but it lets them have ownership of their day, their routines and I think eventually, when guys get to pro ball —we went through — there’s some amazing coaches, but it’s ultra competitive, right? And at times, it’s always like, there’s nobody coming to save you. You got to find your way through the mud, and you’re going to go through the mud at some point as a player. So I think the way we communicate, the culture, the resources, letting those guys have the freedom to create their own future has been the key.”
Kivett: “I would argue his most important hire, and some people have murmured as well, was the promotion of your recruiting coordinator (Kivett). But another one is probably your strength coach coming from the major leagues and then a short stint at Long Beach State, but how about Keegan (Knoll)?”
Elander: “So our second best-hire was Keegan Knoll.”
Kivett: “Thank you.”
Elander: “But Keegan’s background, he did coach in college baseball at Long Beach State, and then got in the professional ranks, worked his way up very quickly. Worked with (Quentin Eberhardt), kind of right alongside him with the Cubs for Q’s short stint in Chicago, before he ended up coming back, and then pivoted to the Brewers. And everybody knows what an amazing year the Brewers had last year on both sides of the baseball, but a very, very unique skill set where he was doing the strength and the day to day, but like the tracking and the force play data. All the stuff that the players at a younger age are being exposed to that they want in their development. I know like with Landon Mack, he’s done a great job where we’re using this tracking system, and we’re adjusting his workouts based on his output each day, and it’s objective data that you can track, and we can make better decisions off that. So him adding that just on a pitching staff has been huge. But again, he wanted to be in college baseball. That was more important. Like, I don’t want people that are, ‘hey, what’s next?’ Like, I want people to (say), ‘this is Tennessee. This is a special place.’ Like, want to be here. Why are you worried about the next thing? So at the same time, like, you know, his fiancee, they wanted kind of more of a home base. Knoxville is an amazing place to live, as we all know, and to get him on board, it just kind of rejuvenated, I think everything. Because it’s his first time back in college baseball. He’s got his own weight room. He’s got full control. And again, I trust him. It’s very easy to say, ‘hey, man,’ — we’re on a recruiting visit — ‘hey, this is how we’ve gotten a player from A to B. Okay, this guy has been around a million big leaguers every day, seen the grind of the season.’ And also what he brings to the table, whether it be recovery or adjusting lifts, because that’s the biggest challenge, is we tell players all the time, it’s easy to be good one day, it’s easy to be good the second day. But how do you do over the course of a long time? The consistency over the intensity is a theme in our building, and I think just the way he goes about his business mirrors that, and in a way that will make everybody in the building better.”
Kivett: “With going through your first year, parts of a fall as a head coach. What are you most excited about with this group and the different segments of the schedule?”
Elander: “Yeah, well, the schedule is, a lot of it, even for the next couple years, it was inherited. V had a good system, I think, like getting guys to play at home on midweeks. I think we talk about development, it’s easy to talk about recruiting, but like, how are we doing it? So to give recruits, or just fans, how do we get after it Tuesdays versus the weekend, and every game counts the same, right? But when we back the games up, we have full control of our cages. We take BP a little bit earlier. The guys can get in the weight room. And again, our facility, everything you ever need for player development is right there in the building. So our Tuesdays, I know you’re always doing early work with the infielders, I’ll pull some of the catchers in there that maybe aren’t starting on gameday. It’s a development day.”
Kivett: “And you have a $100 million stadium we got to fill now.”
Elander: “That is because of Drew Gilbert, and Jordan Beck, and Andre Lipcius, and Tony V, and Vol Nation, making it a place where it’s tough to play. So I’m really excited, because it’s gonna be loud in there, but the schedule, too, like we talk all the time, there’s really no point to look at the SEC schedule. And that may sound insane, but it’s tough no matter how you play, no matter where you go on the road, who you play at home. That’s why I don’t really waste any energy on looking at preseason rankings or strength of schedule. Like, anybody can win on any day in this league. Baseball is a different sport, and we’re in the business of winning series, so that’s what we’re gonna set out to do. At the end of the day, like, if you start looking too far ahead, or, hey, it’s like a batting average, I’m 3-for-10. All I have to do is go two for the next 10, I’m in a good spot. That’s when you get clipped real quick. So our job will be — luckily, we have the best recruiting coordinator in the SEC, to make sure we’re on track.”
Kivett: “My last one is a tough one because I’m a journalist. It’s Kiv’s Korner. First year as head coach. Obviously, you don’t want to come in and change anything too much, but there’s going to be an identity. What would you like a Josh Elander team to look like? What is the identity of this team?”
Elander: “Well, I think I kind of go (with) maybe an unconventional answer. I don’t look at this as a Josh Elander team. I will never look at our team that way. I think this is the Tennessee Volunteers of the 2026 season. So whether Tony was the head coach or I was a head coach, to me, it’s about the players. That’s it, and the people in the building. A lot of the stuff — I was with Tony in the dugout for 12 years. A lot of the things that he believed in with 100% conviction, I do as well. So I’m not interested in, I got to put my stamp on this, or we need to wear this certain uniform because I say so. It’s how do we put our guys collectively, as our staff, in all seriousness, in a position to have success? And then let them play ball. So for us, it’s, let’s prepare as good as we can, and also just make sure we’re getting better throughout the year, right? Because I’m excited to see how our guys handle playing an outside opponent, because we haven’t done it yet. And then how do we handle adversity? Because I think we can collectively agree, like at times, we did not do that at a high enough level last year, and it’s inevitable in the SEC. So that’s why we pay you (Kivett) the big bucks. We’ll make sure we handle that a little bit better, because I’m just excited for the challenges and my gratitude, I think, is a word in the building, but also like motivation too. Like, hey, this is Tennessee baseball. Let’s go.”
