Tennessee baseball introduced Josh Elander as the program’s 26th head coach Monday morning in a press conference at the Neyland-Thompson Sports Complex. The Vols announced the hiring of Elander on Saturday morning after a 72 hour coaching search ended with Tennessee keeping things in-house.
Here’s three takeaways from Elander’s first press conference as Tennessee’s head coach.
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Much Of The Program Will Remain The Same
Elander inherits a highly successful program that he’s been a large part of over the last eight seasons. So it comes as no surprise that much of the program will remain the same.
The 34-year old head coach reiterated the three expectations of the program that he noted are “nothing new” for the players. They included recruiting and developing at a high level, preparing like professionals and to compete like champions pushing “the line between aggressive and reckless.”
The challenge for Elander will be finding a way to balance his new program managing responsibilities with the things that made him an elite assistant coach.
Elander told the media that he will continue to serve as third base coach and that he wants to be “in the cage, grinding with the guys on the hitting side.”
Elander To Lean On Recruiting Intensity
Tennessee’s new head coach told a story about his first days as a Vol baseball assistant coach. After Tony Vitello hired him, Elander was on the road for days recruiting before ever showing up in Knoxville. He finally made it to Knoxville before hosting a recruit and found a packet waiting for him. Something in it stood out, a Pat Summitt quote that he’s had on the wall of his office ever since.
“That quote is, ‘here’s how I’m going to beat you. I’m going to outwork you. That’s it.’ That’s all there is to it,” Elander said.
That mindset is a large reason why Tennessee baseball has been as successful as it’s been the last eight years. It’s also why Danny White entrusted Elander to take over and lead the program.
Elander talked multiple times about recruiting during his introductory press conference. He talked about being on the road recruiting with Vitello, about recruiting nation-wide and even had a direct message to Tennessee’s commits. Always be ‘cruiting is a college sports tenant. He leaned on it in his introductory press conference.
Elander Will Look Inside Program To Fill Staff Opening
One clear message in Elander’s introductory press conference is that he’s going to lead Tennessee through the remainder of fall practice before turning to a number of more long term questions he has to answer for the program. He also noted that he was going to lean on the administration for help in some of those decisions.
Perhaps the most pressing question is about who fills his assistant coaching vacancy on the staff. Elander didn’t have any definite answers but heavily implied that it will be an inside hire.
“My focus is to take care of the people in the building first, not worry about anything externally,” Elander said. “I think we have some of the best people in what they do at their positions, so they need to be taken care of the right way, and that’s my main and sole focus with all the roots we have. I’m just excited because we want stability for these guys in the building.”
If Elander wants to replace himself with an offensive hire, former Tennessee shortstop Director of Player Development Ricky Martinez is a top candidate. He could also opt for Josh Reynolds if he wants to elevate a second pitching coach to the full-time role.
