Tennessee baseball introduced Josh Elander as the program’s 26th head coach on Monday morning. The press conference came 48 hours after Director of Athletics Danny White hired Elander as the program’s new head coach and five days after Tony Vitello left to become the new San Fransisco Giants manager.
Elander played for Vitello at TCU, worked with him at Arkansas and was on his staff at Tennessee from day one including the last three years as associate head coach.
Vitello offered his support for his former assistant coach Monday evening, endorsing the hire of Elander in a statement to Rocky Top Insider.
“I am incredibly happy for Josh and his entire family but I’m even more happy for the players,” Vitello told RTI. “They will be led with character and integrity. He has been and will be the epitome of a coach that players will give their all for.”
More From RTI: Three Takeaways From Josh Elander’s Introductory Press Conference
Elander got emotional during his introductory press conference, thanking Vitello for the opportunity he gave him at Tennessee nine years ago. It was Elander’s first full-time assistant coaching role and was a major step for the former TCU catcher at the time.
“Tony V, a lot of ways I could go with this,” Elander said. “We made a lot of great memories. A lot of wins, a lot of running around on the road, a lot of dreaming to make this place something great. And I really believe our staff did that together. I’m so excited for you, man. I can’t wait to see you win a World Series. But thank you for taking a chance on me and showing me what it means to leave your soul in the game. I hope our players always feel that way as well.
