Less than a week after head coach Jim Schlossnagle left Texas A&M for rival Texas, the Aggies have their new head baseball coach. Texas A&M hired Schlossnagle assistant Michael Earley as its newest head coach.
But according to D1Baseball’s Kendall Rogers, Texas A&M first had its eyes set on the head coach that beat them in the National Championship. According to Rogers, a Texas A&M alum and the leading college baseball insider, the Aggies spared no expense to try and get the 45-year old head coach to College Station.
“A&M made a very furious run ($$) for Tony Vitello,” Rogers tweeted. “It shot its shot, but TV stayed put and loyal to a program that has given him the keys to the castle.”
It’s the second time that Vitello has turned down the Texas A&M job. The Aggies pursued Vitello following the 2021 season when Tennessee returned to the College World Series for the first time in 16 seasons. Texas A&M ended up making a different splash hire, landing TCU’s Jim Schlossnagle who thrived in his three years in College Station before trading his Aggie maroon for Longhorn burnt orange.
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Tennessee has definitely handed Vitello the keys to the castle as the seventh-year head coach is the most popular man in Knoxville.
Vitello completely rejuvenated a program that wandered in the wilderness for 13 seasons prior to his arrival. After a solid first two seasons rebuilding the program and the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season, Tennessee has turned in its best four-year run in program history.
In the last four seasons, Tennessee has won the SEC Regular-Season Championship and SEC Tournament twice while making it to the College World Series and winning its first ever National Championship in 2024. The Vols boasted a historic offense and a pitching staff that kept improving and finished sixth nationally in team-ERA.
Tennessee has to replace a plethora of key pieces from its National Championship team but there’s few signs that Vitello’s program is slowing down anytime soon.
