The Tennessee baseball program is one of the most fiery and passionate in the country—and it all starts with head coach Tony Vitello. Vitello is a true players’ coach, connecting with his athletes on a level that goes far beyond just baseball.
This past season, he had one of the best Friday night starters in the country in Liam Doyle, who is projected to be a top-10 MLB Draft pick. Doyle went viral during the NCAA Tournament for pitching on short rest and making it clear to Vitello that he was heading to the bullpen—not to sit around, but to contribute.
Vitello and his team have long embraced the role of college baseball’s villains. That reputation comes not from scandal, but from their unapologetic passion and consistent winning—posting 40- to 50-win seasons on a regular basis. After Tennessee was eliminated by Arkansas, one fan took things too far.
“An Arkansas fan jumped on top of the Tennessee dugout as soon as the game ended, got all the way against the netting and screamed at Tony Vitello. He had to be told to get off the dugout and then told off by security,” Knoxville News Sentinel’s Mike Wilson reported.
Vitello recently appeared on Sports Talk on 99.1 and revealed that one SEC program is allegedly making under-the-table offers to players—including members of his own roster.
“There's one school in our league that likes to make undercover offers to guys, and our two or three guys that were on the end of that have stayed strong,” Vitello said.
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Vitello has always emphasized doing things the right way and stood firm on Tennessee’s culture of accountability and competition.
“If somebody comes in and says, they want to start on the mound, I have the word compete above my desk. I'm all for that, but we're not going to guarantee anything to anybody,” Vitello stated.
It’s clear that Vitello won’t promise players anything they haven’t earned—a rare stance in today’s college sports landscape. And he’s certainly not interested in playing dirty, even if another SEC school is.