KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee Vice Chancellor/Director of Athletics John Currie will introduce Tony Vitello (pronounced: VIE-tell-oh) as the Volunteers' head baseball coach during a press conference Friday. Details on time and location are forthcoming.
A native of St. Louis, Missouri, Vitello arrives on Rocky Top following four seasons as assistant coach/recruiting coordinator at Arkansas. His rise to the head coaching ranks also includes stops at Missouri (his alma mater) and TCU. He has earned a reputation as one of the elite recruiters on the college baseball landscape, having assembled eight top-15 signing classes—including America’s top-rated crop of talent in 2014.
In November 2016, D1Baseball.com ranked Vitello No. 2, and tops in the SEC, on its list of the top 30 recruiting coordinators in America.
During a Division I coaching career spanning just 14 years, Vitello has signed and developed six first-round MLB Draft picks and a dozen players who advanced to the big leagues. That list includes Andrew Benintendi, Brandon Finnegan, Kyle Gibson, All-Star Aaron Crow, Gold Glove Award winner and four-time All-Star Ian Kinsler and four-time All-Star and two-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer.