“We would’ve killed to have that kid”: Tennessee HC Tony Vitello once heaped praise on now-Vols commit Liam Doyle
As the Tennessee Volunteers baseball program comes off its first national title win in school history, head coach Tony Vitello is now moving to the future. After all, defending the Vols' first baseball title is going to be a challenge of immense proportions.
However, Vitello and his coaching staff are up to the challenge, as Tennessee has hit both high school recruiting and the transfer portal hard. The school has picked up quite a few recruits over the last few days, all from players eager to bring more national championships to Knoxville.
When discussing Ole Miss transfer Liam Doyle, Vitello remarked, "We would have killed to have had that kid here. So, I don't know where that comes from, but that's my compliment to him."
Vitello Looks to Load UT Up for Another Title Run
Doyle is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to transfer portal additions in Knoxville. The former Ole Miss standout is heading to his third school in three years after pitching for Coastal Carolina as a freshman.
With the Rebels last season, Doyle went 3-4 with a 5.73 ERA in 16 games pitched. 11 of those games were starts, and the junior pitcher threw 55 innings, good enough for third on the team. He also had an impressive opponent batting average of .230.
Although the ERA isn't the prettiest average in the world, there's still a ton of talent coming on board with Doyle.
In addition to snagging Doyle from Ole Miss, Vitello and his staff also lured in a teammate of his in Andrew Fischer. The rising junior is also joining his third school in three years after spending a season at Duke (his freshman campaign) and last year with the Rebels.
Fischer finished third on the team in batting average with a .285 mark but led the squad in the other two Triple Crown categories. His 20 home runs and 57 RBIs will help replace a lot of star power for the Vols. The program led the nation in home runs, amassing over 180 round-trippers as a team.
He also showed an aptitude on the base paths, stealing 12 bases out of 15 attempts, which was good enough for second on the team. Fischer is an all-around solid player who should help deepen the depth of Tennessee's starting lineup next season.