Watch: Short clip of 2024 CWS winning HC Tony Vitello's first-ever game for the Vols
Tony Vitello has made a sensational impact on the Tennessee Volunteers. Since taking over from Dave Serrano as their head coach in 2017, Vitello has turned the program's fortunes around, leading them to their maiden College World Series title in his seventh season after a narrow 6-5 win over the Texas A&M Aggies in the championship game yesterday.
Soon after the victory, a video of Vitello's very first game as the Volunteers' head coach has been making waves on social media. The video in particular shows the ceremonial first pitch of that game, thrown by Condredge Holloway, an ex-Volunteers quarterback termed as one of the program's most beloved athletes.
Vitello's first game as head coach saw the Volunteers face the Maryland Terrapins in the first of a three-game series, with just 1,312 fans attending the game at Lindsey Nelson Stadium, which has a capacity of 5,548.
The Terrapins won that game, blanking the Volunteers 4-0 thanks to two home runs from Nick Dunn and RBIs from Will Watson and Marty Costes. The Volunteers went 29-27 in Vitello's first season, finishing sixth in the SEC East. However, the team grew stronger in the following seasons, with the 2024 season being their strongest ever.
College World Series win highlights Volunteers' journey with Tony Vitello
In his second season, Tony Vitello led the Volunteers to the postseason for the first time since 2005. Since then, they have made the postseason regularly, only missing out in 2022.
This season, Tony Vitello's team won the SEC regular season and SEC Tournament titles, while also earning the top seed for the postseason for just the second time in its history. Last season in Omaha, they failed to win a single game after losing twice to eventual champions LSU Tigers.
This season was a completely different story. Prior to their second successive Omaha trip, they only lost once in the postseason, suffering defeat to the Evansville Purple Aces in Game 2 of the Knoxville Super Regional.
After losing Game 1 of the College World Series finals and trailing 1-0 after six innings in Game 2 against the Aggies, the Volunteers showed their resilience with a comeback 4-1 win in Game 2. Game 3 was neck-to-neck, with the Volunteers skirting the Aggies 6-5 to clinch the program's first-ever College World Series title.
They became the first top seed to win the NCAA Tournament since 1999, when the Miami Hurricanes achieved the feat. They also recorded 60 wins in the season, becoming the first team to do so in SEC history.
The growth of players like Christian Moore and Billy Amick in Tennessee further signifies the impact made by Tony Vitello on the program. Their victory in Omaha has established an undeniable fact: the Volunteers are a major force in NCAA baseball once again.