9. Tony Vitello Hired to Lead Vols Baseball
After yet another lackluster and mediocre season under Dave Serrano, it was time for a change for Tennessee baseball. And Serrano made it an easy decision for the Vols.
Serrano stepped down from the job rather than getting fired, and the Vols were back on the market for a head baseball coach. New Athletic Director John Currie (more on him in a moment) kept the search close to the vest, and after a fairly short search, Tennessee hired Tony Vitello, the assistant coach/recruiting coordinator at Arkansas.
Vitello has never been a head coach in college baseball before, but he has a reputation as an elite recruiter. At the time of this hire, Vol fans were on board with Currie’s decision and viewed Vitello as an up and comer. But as we’ll see in a minute, Vol fans learned not to trust Currie’s decision-making. Only time will tell if Vitello has success as the Vols’ baseball coach, however.
