Josh Elander entered this offseason in a unique spot. The longtime assistant coach had already gone through his first season as a head coach while entering his first full offseason as head coach.
Sure, Elander had a few months as head coach before the season started, wrapping up fall practice and going through all of preseason practice in the big office. But this is Elander’s first crack at the transfer portal and building a team as the man in charge.
Just over a month after Tennessee’s season came to a disappointing early finish, Elander and his staff have clearly showing well. Eight players have publicly announced their commitments to Tennessee while Cal Baptist shortstop Chris Ramirez has also reportedly committed to the Vols.
But the biggest win for Tennessee in June has been its player retention with a number of top Vols announcing plans to return. Eighteen Tennessee players entered the transfer portal this offseason including starting shortstop Manny Marin and part time starter Jay Abernathy.
There are other young players the Vols would have liked to have back and develop into bigger contributors, but Tennessee has retained the top players on its roster ahead of next season.
Freshmen Cam Appenzeller and Trent Grindlinger would have been two of the most coveted names in the portal had they entered. Landon Mack’s return gives Tennessee a returning starting pitcher. Mack, Levi Clark and Blaine Brown all would have commanded major interest in the portal.
Blake Grimmer likely would have been a day two draft pick in the MLB Draft before getting ahead of things and announcing his return to Tennessee on Wednesday.
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It’s debatable whether the best way to build a college baseball team is through the portal or by retaining talent. The answer is likely somewhere in the middle, and that’s the path Tennessee is taking this offseason.
But the most important part of Tennessee’s retention is what it says about Elander following an underwhelming first season as head coach. When Tony Vitello left for San Francisco, former and current players raised their voices in support of Elander’s candidacy.
The 35-year old Elander’s ability to build relationships with players and recruits was arguably his greatest asset as an assistant, and was a major reason why Danny White hired him to replace Vitello.
If Tennessee’s top players flocked to the transfer portal following Elander’s first season it would have either done one of two things— seriously discredited Elander’s reputation as someone players’ loving playing for. Or proved that being a player’s coach has minimal meaning if the players are not confident in the future of the program.
Following Tennessee’s season-ending loss against VCU, Reese Chapman said he believed in the future of the program because of Elander.
Stone Lawless was sitting right beside Chapman during that press conference. Lawless is returning to Tennessee with his playing time in question as fellow catchers Grindlinger and Clark also return. The Vols’ ability to retain multi-year players who will compete for playing time speaks to Elander’s leadership and the culture the Tennessee program still has.
Time will tell how good Tennessee will be in 2027. This month’s MLB Draft will give us a better feel for who will and won’t be apart of the team while pitching injuries will remain a question until they’re not.
But Tennessee has the bones of a really strong roster and its retention bodes well not just for next season but for the program’s future under Elander.
