When former Tennessee baseball head coach Tony Vitello departed for the big leagues, current and former players alike knew who should replace him.
The raucous reaction from the Vols assembled in the team meeting room as Director of Athletics Danny White introduced Josh Elander as the new head coach summed things up perfectly. Since that day in late October, the longtime Tennessee assistant hasn’t felt the need to change much now that he holds the keys. Aside from bringing in some new staff members, keeping the same pillars of the program around is the focus.
“Obviously, we’re very happy with how things have gone over the years over here,” Elander said in a virtual press conference on Feb. 5. “We always want to continue to get a little bit better in every facet. So, we’re not trying to go in here and try to redo this thing. We’re confident with the people and the players we have on the roster. Just making sure we’re over-communicating with the players if there is a change, but for the most part, just kind of sticking with what has worked for us over the years.”
Elander possesses a strong idea of what he must do to make things work, helping lead Tennessee to six NCAA Tournament berths during his eight-year tenure with the Vols. On top of helping engineer Tennessee’s 2024 national championship roster, the 34-year-old’s time spent under the tutelage of Vitello goes a long way in building an understanding of what it takes to have success.
When the gates of Lindsey Nelson Stadium unlock for opening weekend, Elander’s approach to how he’ll manage his lineup and rotation will echo that of his big-league predecessor. With a slough of new arms to sort through on the mound in particular, it’s going to take some experimenting before the Austin, Texas, native settles on a set group of guys.
“Regardless of how we go opening weekend, just looking at it over the years, the rotation is never the same the first weekend as is the middle or then obviously the end of the year as well,” Elander said. “So, that competition will continue throughout the entire year, but confident we’ll be able to match them up. We’ll see what’s best for the team next weekend.”
Tennessee will begin its 2026 campaign with a weekend set against Nicholls State and will have to deal with some chilly Knoxville weather. This period before conference play acts as an unofficial spring training for many teams around college baseball, a developmental period where a group looks to mesh while improving as a unit.
For a team like the Vols with plenty of fresh faces on the field and in the dugout, these next couple of weeks against a majority of inferior opponents still serve as a crucial period.
“We’re excited. I know our guys are ready to play,” Elander said. “There’s so much competition and versatility on the roster, I think really Opening Day will be the first lineup, and there’ll be changes from there. But I think at this point, we all maybe have those thoughts where we want a little bit more practice time, but I know our players are getting to the point where they want to play a different uniform across the way.”
