Welcome Back to Volunteer Baseball
We are 24 hours away from opening day for the Tennessee Volunteers’ 2026 campaign, and while the last few seasons have been nothing short of exciting, there are a lot of changes to unpack before this season’s first pitch.
The offseason was headlined by the departure of beloved former head coach, Tony Vitello. Tony took over as head skipper in 2018 after spending the first 15 years of his coaching career honing his craft in assistant positions across multiple programs. Not only did Vitello bring excitement back to the fanbase, but he also struck the right chords in the clubhouse, leading the Vols to an astonishing 341-131 record over his 8 seasons. During that time the program hosted multiple Regionals and Super Regionals, brought home 2 regular season SEC Championships, 2 SEC Tournament Championships, and the crown of all crowns, an NCAA Championship in 2024. This off-season Coach Vitello accepted an offer to take a swing at the big leagues after accepting an offer to be the next Head Coach for the San Francisco Giants.
Where does that leave Vol nation? Look no further than clubhouse favorite and fan favorite, Josh Elander.
Coach Elander is no stranger to the fanbase here in Knoxville. Elander first arrived on campus in 2018 when he came over from Arkansas with Vitello. After 8 seasons of dominating on the recruiting trail and eventually being named the Vol’s Associate Head Coach in 2022, he accepted the promotion, from Athletic Director Danny White, to be the 26th Head Coach for the University of Tennessee’s baseball program.
Danny Ocean needs a supporting crew, though, right?
A few in house promotions took place in order to fill some holes, mainly headlined by Josh Reynolds replacing longtime pitching coach Frank Anderson, taking over a similar role, and Ross Kivett remaining on the staff the as an Assistant Coach and now Recruiting Coordinator for the diamond Vols. The big splash, however, for Coach Elander was getting Chuck Jeroloman to join him in Knoxville as the squad’s next Associate Head Coach. Coach Jeroloman spent the past six seasons in a similar role in Gainesville where he was a part of a coaching staff that led Florida to the College World Series twice.
Some other key notes for the coaching/supporting staff include the losses of Quentin Eberhardt and Beth Schwartz, and the additions of Keegan Knoll and Sarah Nguyen to fill those respective roles.
Next, the roster changes.
Coach Elander is inheriting a roster that lost MAJOR production to the MLB Draft. The 2025 roster featured nine draft picks headlined by top 5 pick, LHP Liam Doyle. He also lost graduate Alberto Osuna along with 25 transfers. Yes, 25. Most of the roster rebuilding was aided by the signing of the #2 class the country, per Perfect Game USA, headlined by two IL natives, LHP Cam Appenzeller and SS Ethan Moore. The coaching staff also went to work this off-season locking down 10 signees through the transfer portal, most notably former Virginia Cavalier, LHP Evan Blanco, and Rice Owl, OF/LHP Blaine Brown. The pitching staff was impacted the most with the loss of over 20 arms to the draft and portal, but we will see how Coach Elander and Coach Reynolds navigate the roster changes to produce yet another elite pitching staff this year for the Vols.
Now the wait is over, and the new era is here for Coach Elander and Co. and the rest of Vol Nation. Follow along with me at Fanrun Sports as Knoxville’s most beloved baseball program enters it’s next chapter.
New era, same passion.
As always, Go Vols.
Tyler Hartless