KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee baseball skipper Tony Vitello added another honor to his already lengthy list when he was named the 2024 National Coach of the Year by Baseball America on Thursday.
Vitello, who was also named the ABCA National Coach of the Year in June, led the Volunteers to their first National Championship in program history, as well as a single-season record 60 victories. He also guided the team to SEC regular season and tournament titles as part of an historic 2024 campaign.
UT made more history as the first SEC team to reach the 60-win mark in a single season and just the fourth conference team to win the SEC regular season title, SEC Tournament title and the NCAA Men’s College World Series in the same year, cementing itself as one of the greatest teams the sport has ever seen.
The Vols were also able to end the long drought of No. 1 national seeds coming up short in the postseason, becoming just the second No. 1 overall seed to win the MCWS since the tournament switched to its current format in 1999 – joining Miami who did so in 1999.
This marks Vitello’s first national coach of the year honor from Baseball America but is the fifth time he’s been named the nation’s top college baseball coach in his seven-year career.
Tennessee’s head man was tabbed national coach of the year in 2021 by Perfect Game and the National College Baseball Writers Association. Perfect Game selected Vitello as its national coach of the year in 2022, as well.
Vitello was also chosen as the ABCA Southeast Region Coach of the Year earlier this year, his third time earning that honor in the last four seasons (2021, 2022, 2024).
Under Vitello’s leadership, Tennessee has made three trips to Omaha in the last four seasons, won four combined SEC championships and three SEC eastern division titles. During that four-year span, the Vols’ 211 victories and .773 winning percentage rank No. 1 nationally.
