Following Tony Vitello’s legacy, how hard can it be?

After Tennessee Baseball lost its national championship-winning head coach when he became the manager of the San Francisco Giants in October, the Vols had to find someone to turn to. That someone emerged in the form of associate head coach Josh Elander. 

Elander had been right next to Vitello when they both arrived in 2018, working with him beforehand at Arkansas. Now, Elander is moving into a legacy of his own.

The veteran coach can boast a decorated playing history, the Austin, Texas, native spending his college career at TCU, serving as a power hitter and a catcher. In his time with the Horned Frogs, he played in the Men’s College World Series and competed for the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team. Vitello coached Elander while the pair were at TCU. 

After college, Elander was drafted in the sixth round of the 2012 MLB Draft by the Atlanta Braves. During his time in the minor leagues, Elander proved to be a big force. He earned both the Atlanta Braves Hank Aaron Award and Minor League Player of the Year accolade in 2013.

In 2016, he returned to TCU as a student assistant, finishing his bachelor’s degree in communications. During that season, he helped lead the Horned Frogs to Omaha once again as a coach.

Elander moved on to coach at Arkansas in 2017 as a volunteer assistant before arriving at Tennessee in 2018. A few years later, he earned a promotion to associate head coach and recruiting coordinator before ultimately assuming his current position.

During his time with the Vols, he’s had the opportunity to develop numerous prospects that cemented themselves into school history and became MLB Draft picks. Elander’s recruiting abilities helped build one of the strongest offensive teams in the country, culminating in the program’s first national title in 2024. During that campaign, the Vols became the first SEC team to win 60 games in a season.