Following Tennessee baseball’s first national championship win, head coach Tony Vitello was named the America Baseball Coaches Association National Coach of the Year. In the 2024 season, Vitello led the Volunteers to a program record of 60 victories and secured both the SEC regular season and tournament titles. This historic season made UT the first SEC team to reach 60 wins in a single season and only the fourth conference team to win the SEC regular season title, SEC Tournament title, and the NCAA Men’s College World Series in the same year.
The Vols ended the drought of No. 1 national seeds falling short in the postseason by becoming just the second overall seed to win the MCWS since the tournament’s format change in 1999, Miami being the first in 1999. This award marks Vitello’s first national coach of the year honor from the ABCA but is his fourth recognition as the top college baseball coach in his seven-year career.
Vitello received national coach of the year awards from Perfect Game and the National College Baseball Writers Association in 2021 and 2022, respectively. He was also named ABCA Southeast Region Coach of the Year for the third time in 2024, having previously been recognized in 2021 and 2022.
Under Vitello’s leadership, Tennessee has made three trips to Omaha in the last four seasons, winning a total of four SEC championships and three SEC eastern division titles. In the same four-year span, the Vols’ 211 victories and .773 winning percentage rank No. 1 nationally.