Vitello’s best work to date has Vols in a suddenly familiar place

Saturday afternoon, Tennessee opens its third straight Super Regional, taking on Southern Miss in Hattiesburg, Miss., continuing the Vols’ quest to return to the College World Series. For those who aren’t college baseball fans, three straight Super Regionals would be the equivalent of being in three straight regional finals in college basketball. 

In other words, a step from the Final Four. Someone smart reminded me of that earlier this week. And he reminded me that winning a national title in college baseball might be the hardest title to achieve.

To put it in perspective, former Florida State coach Mike Martin won over 2000 games in his coaching career. His teams made 15 College World Series appearances over his 40-year career and never won a national title.

In other words, it’s hard. Really hard. 

This weekend, Tennessee is making its third straight appearance in a Super Regional. It would likely be four straight had Covid-19 not wiped out the 2020 season. Three straight trips to the final step before the CWS is no easy and no common feat. Most in the SEC haven’t achieved it. For Tony Vitello to do it three straight years within his first five full seasons as a head coach only makes it more impressive.

And this year’s Super Regional appearance is Vitello’s most impressive as a head coach because of where the 2023 team started.

The Vols opened the season ranked as high as second in some polls. Publicly, Vitello downplayed the rankings big-time. Privately, he was baffled by them, noting his team was such a work in progress, he wasn’t sure how far they could develop. Tennessee was returning great pitching depth and talent, but the total roster, not just the starting lineup, had completely flipped. 

Football comparison…imagine for a minute, a team ranked pre-season No. 2 in the country with an offense returning the starting quarterback but replacing the other 10 starters?

Okay, it’s possible and Nick Saban has done it. But the purposes of our example, it’s ludicrous that a team which returns only one starter on offense could be ranked pre-season No. 2 in the football polls.  

And that’s exactly where Tennessee was entering 2023. Lots of pitching, yes. Starters at the other eight spots? Not so much.

To turn over the entire team and be in this position is Vitello’s and his staff’s best work. He won’t win any Coach of the Year honors, but his work this year is even better than the last two years. 

Remember, the College World Series champions in 2021 and 2022, Mississippi State and Ole Miss respectively, didn’t even make the SEC tournament this year, much less a Regional or Super Regional. Tennessee competing in Hattiesburg this weekend is a friendly heads-up not to panic in March and April.

College baseball season is the furthest thing from a sprint. It’s most-definitely a marathon and it can be brutal. 

Finding the right combinations in the outfield was a lengthy process. They had to settle on a catcher. Transfers had to find their way in the clubhouse and on the roster while adjusting to the toughest conference in the country. The pitching rotation hasn’t ever been fully settled as much as it has been managed, massaged and prodded.   

In 2022, Tennessee won 50+ games with an ease almost never seen in the SEC. This season, development on the roster has been on-going and this team has grown throughout the year. It’s not been easy. It’s not been perfect, and it’s not always been fun. Tennessee looked like dumpster fire at times earlier in the year. But Vitello has been relentless and the result is his best work. Tennessee hasn’t just ‘out-talented’ teams. They haven’t out-bashed teams at the plate. These Vols have clawed, scrapped and fought every step of the way. 

Whether this Tennessee team wins at Southern Miss this weekend remains to be seen. They could win. They could get swept. That’s post-season college baseball, which is why this sport is so hard.

To be here this weekend and to see who’s not playing this weekend is a reminder of what an achievement is to be playing in a Super Regional. 

And for this team to be doing it is the biggest accomplishment of the Tony Vitello era. This team shows who he is as a baseball coach more than any other.

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