A temporary notion has been made.
Tennessee baseball will be rolling with pitching coach Frank Anderson as interim head coach.
“The terminology I used with Frank is ‘I need a shepherd right now,'” athletic director Danny White said. “I need a day-to-day leader and his responsible was ‘Not that long ago, I was one of the most fiery baseball coaches in the country. And you’re asking me to be a shepherd.’ I said ‘Coach, that’s exactly what I’m asking you to do.’
“I’m asking Josh Elander to be a candidate and we are going to conduct a national search and expect a ton of interest because of what Tony and the staff and our fan base and everyone has built here.”
Anderson, 66, was brought on to the Vols’ baseball staff when Tony Vitello took the job in 2017. Now, he’ll take over as the successor who brought him aboard.
During his time with Tennessee, Anderson has consistently produced a top-ranking pitching staff. He is responsible for the development of four first-round picks with the Vols — and 10 overall — including Liam Doyle, Marcus Phillips, Chase Dollander and Garrett Crochet.
He is also responsible for the SEC Pitcher of the Year honorees, Doyle and Dollander. Meanwhile, Crochet is a candidate to win the AL Cy Young Award in professional baseball.
Anderson has developed 25 pitchers into becoming MLB Draft picks during his eight seasons with Tennessee.
The stats speak loudly, too. Anderson has consistently developed one of the top out-getting staffs in college baseball. Tennessee finished second in the nation in strikeouts-per-nine and 14th in ERA — which was considered a down year. The previous season, Anderson guided Tennessee to an ERA that was sixth in the country at 3.89, and ranked in the top five nationally in strikeout-to-walk ratio, walks allowed per nine innings and WHIP.
His best season at the helm came with ace Dollander and the 2022 Vols, which saw five pitchers earn All-America honors. For his doings, Anderson earned the 2022 Rawlings Pitching Coach of the Year, leading a staff that finished No. 1 nationally in ERA, strikeout-to-walk ratio, WHIP and walks allowed per nine innings.
Anderson’s pitching staff set single-season program records with a 2.51 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, .199 opponent batting average, 699 strikeouts, 10.5 strikeouts-per-nine is and 2.90 walks-per-nine.
The well-traveled Grant, Nebraska, native assumes his second career role as head coach. Anderson’s prior experience came as the headman for Oklahoma State, an eight-year run that saw the Cowboys reach the NCAA Tournament six times. When it qualified for the dance in 2006, Oklahoma State earned the No. 1 national seed. He led his group to the Super Regionals in 2007.
As an assistant, Anderson spent time with Texas Tech, Texas and Houston prior to his time with Tennessee. His role with the Longhorns featured a national title during the 2002 season, plus an additional pair of trips to the Men’s College World Series. He combined to tally eight more postseason appearances with the Red Raiders and Cougars.
His interim title, White says, is due to prior experience.
“Combination of factors, Frank’s as a head coach,” White said.
It is also a title that could last “four days,” White says. There is no timeline on the coaching process, other than working “as fast as I can,” he iterated.
