SAN FRANCISCO − Tony Vitello saw Josh Elander grow from volunteer assistant coach to full-time assistant coach to associate head coach.
Elander taking the next step to become a head coach made total sense for the former Tennessee baseball coach.
“I think he was ready to begin with,” Vitello said on Oct. 30. “But a lot of times when we first got to Tennessee, some people had made comments about experience. The guy is so invested in whatever he is doing, that provides the experience.”
Elander was named the Vols coach on Oct. 25, three days after Vitello chose to become the manager of the San Francisco Giants.
Elander was one of Vitello’s immediate hires in June 2017 to join his first Tennessee staff. He spent the past eight seasons as the hitting coach and recruiting coordinator. He elevated to the associate head coach position in 2022.
“One of the reasons we were able to do what we did while we were all there was not just his recruiting and not just his coaching but his people skills in general,” Vitello said.
Elander spent the 2016 season as a student assistant coach at TCU while he finished his degree following his professional playing career. He moved to Arkansas to be the volunteer assistant coach under Dave Van Horn and Vitello for the 2017 season. The native Texan then got his first full-time job with Vitello at UT.
He blossomed into one of the nation’s elite assistant coaches.
Tennessee has hit at least 100 homers in four straight seasons. It hit 184 when it won the College World Series, the second-most in a season in NCAA history behind 1997 LSU which hit 188.
“Even as a player, he was learning how to coach — particularly with the position he played as a catcher but also just being in a cage and figuring things out, figuring people out and he has carried that approach into his career at Tennessee,” Vitello said.
The Vols had major success with the pair on staff, including three trips to the College World Series and the 2024 national championship. They reached a fifth straight super regional in 2025 before Vitello’s exit to become the first college coach to jump straight into an MLB manager role with no prior professional experience.
That opened the door for Elander to get a long-deserved head coaching position as the program Vitello rebuilt carries on.
“Now, it is time to write this part of my story and at the same time is it going to be enjoy a story that I think is going to be very well-written at Tennessee,” Vitello said.
Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on X @ByMikeWilson. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.