Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello has won the Perfect Game National Coach of the Year Award for a second consecutive season.
After winning the award last year, Vitello improved the team and himself this season, leading Tennessee’s ballclub as the Vols finished with a record of 57-9 on the year. In addition, Vitello led the Vols to the SEC regular-season title, the SEC Tournament title, and a three-game sweep of opposing teams in the Knoxville Regional.
Perfect Game/@RawlingsSports Coach of the Year: Tony Vitello, @Vol_Baseball pic.twitter.com/9gFF23yTQs
— Perfect Game USA (@PerfectGameUSA) June 15, 2022
Tennessee Baseball: The College Baseball World Might Not Like Tennessee, But Knoxville Loves the Vols
Vitello’s Vols wrote a new definition for the word “dominant” during the regular season this year. Tennessee was a matchup nightmare for teams as the Vols only lost one series during the regular season all year (Kentucky). Tennessee rattled off 12 straight wins to start SEC competition, which included sweeps over South Carolina, No. 1 Ole Miss on the road, No. 3/No. 9 Vanderbilt on the road, and Missouri.
With a record of 191-77 in his five years in Knoxville, Vitello has resurrected a Tennessee Baseball program that was once struggling to stay above water. Vitello has inspired the Tennessee fanbase into being passionate, die-hard baseball fans while giving the youth of the game endless reasons to want to watch the Volunteers.
See Also from RTI: Paul Finebaum Rips Tennessee, Tony Vitello on TV Show
Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello was named the SEC Coach of the Year on May 23 after leading Tennessee to its best record in program history. Vitello’s SEC Coach of the Year award was the first in his career.
After losing a considerable amount of talent from Tennessee’s 2021 College World Series team, Vitello reloaded Tennessee’s firepower into a dangerous weapon this season. The Vols’ SEC record of 25-5 marks the second-best SEC record of all time, trailing only 2013 Vanderbilt by one win.
Since losing to Notre Dame in the NCAA Super Regional round, Tony Vitello and the Vols will not be heading up to Omaha this year, despite being the No. 1 team in the nation. Tennessee’s disappointing loss has opened the door for some to criticize Vitello, but at the end of the day, his accomplishments at Tennessee this season have been nothing short of remarkable. In reality, the same can be said about his entire tenure in Knoxville.
After winning the Perfect Game National Coach of the Year in 2021, Tennessee HC Tony Vitello has once again been named the recipient of the award in 2022 as well.
