The head coach of Tennessee baseball, Tony Vitello, has been named the America Baseball Coaches Association National Coach of the Year following the team’s historic 60-win season in 2024. This marked a milestone for the Volunteers, as they became the first SEC team to reach the 60-win mark and just the fourth conference team to win the SEC regular season title, SEC Tournament title, and NCAA Men’s College World Series in the same year.
Vitello’s leadership played a crucial role in this achievement, and he was recognized for his outstanding performance with this national award from the ABCA. This is his first national coach of the year accolade from this organization, but he has previously been recognized as one of the nation’s top college baseball coaches in other organizations.
Tennessee’s victory also broke a trend of No. 1 national seeds falling short in postseason play, as they became just the second No. 1 overall seed to win the MCWS since 1999. Under Vitello’s leadership, Tennessee has made three trips to Omaha in four seasons and won four combined SEC championships and three SEC eastern division titles with a winning percentage ranking No. 1 nationally.