Photo By Kate Luffman/Tennessee Athletics

Tennessee baseball coach Josh Elander joined SportsTalk991 with John Wilkerson and Charley Collier on Friday morning to recap the MLB Draft and discuss the back half of the summer for the Vols.

Elander discussed six Tennessee players being drafted earlier this month, beginning to build team chemistry and much more. Here’s everything Elander said.

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On how he’s doing after a busy offseason

“Hey John, it’s good to reconnect with you guys. Want to start by saying congrats to Mr. (Jayson) Swain. What a cool promotion for him to be able to do that.

“But as we look at baseball, it’s nice to be past the draft. We’ve been back on the road, all over the country, in Knoxville for a short period today before I hop back on a plane out to the West Coast, but it’s been an eventful two or three weeks since we last chatted.”

On what it was like to watch six Vols drafted off last year’s team

“Yeah, I think it’s something guys just grow up dreaming about, and to be able to come play at Tennessee and have success and get better, and then ultimately take the next step of becoming a major league player. And again, that’s one thing we harp on a lot with our guys, is getting drafted and getting to the big leagues are two completely different things. I think if guys have the right mindset and have the right habits that are built over time in college, it puts them in a position to have a ton of success at the next level.

“I just think of guys like Evan Blanco and Henry Ford who made such an impact in just their one year here, and then also Tegan Kuhns, a guy who bet on himself — turned down over a million dollars to come to Tennessee and gave Vol fans and all of us some amazing performances like against Alabama at home, and I don’t think anybody’s going to forget how he threw the ball versus Texas that night late in SEC play.

“So really excited for those guys — then even Garrett Wright, there’s another one, transfers in. Just a lot of different storylines. Congrats to all those guys. Guys coming from a mid-major to prove it, are coming from another power-four (conference) to prove it.

“But really excited for that group and wish those guys nothing but the best in their pro career. One of the best things about Knoxville is the guys love to come back. So we look forward to seeing those guys again this fall and then integrating with Ben Joyce or whoever it is, former Vols that will be in the building, working out, getting better.”

On if the coaching staff expected the MLB Draft to go as well as it did:

“I think our staff did a phenomenal job on the front end, leaning on our pro relationships, trying to figure out, ‘hey, who’s going to make it and who’s not?’ As we kind of worked through that, and then what Coach (Ross Kivett) and I did the week before is we went around the country and met with our guys. We weren’t able to get to all of them, but whether it be on Zoom or in person — when you go into the draft, you just want to feel like you’ve thrown your best punch and you know, these guys — whether it be roster (with) where it sits — (you want to) answer any questions, because a lot of these families have been committed to Tennessee for three or four-plus years now. So you get to the doorstep of choosing between the draft or coming to Tennessee, that’s a pretty good decision to make between those two. You really can’t go wrong. 

“We lost five players. We’re super excited for Jared Grindlinger — obviously Trent’s brother — and Trevor Condon, those guys got life-changing money. Just super excited. But even the other guys that we did lose, they did a good job. They stuck to their number and stuck to their guns, what they felt they were worth, and were able to get a ton of money. So really excited for those guys. 

“But also, too, I was really excited with this group, with the maturity and how the guys handled it. Just some of their love for Tennessee and belief in what we can be over, not only next year, but the years in the future, to say no to over seven figures to come play for the Tennessee Volunteers. So it’s a really, really talented group, and I’m really excited to see, because I think it’s a really good balance between the young guys that turned down some good money, that have incredible, just major league quality tools, and then also, again, the blend between some of the portal guys and the returners. It’s got a chance to be a really good group.”

On if he was surprised seven Tennessee signees who are top-100 prospects made it to campus:

“No, that’s not something we look at, but obviously it’s exciting I think when you look at it from a bird’s-eye view. But our staff and I think everybody on our team, whether it be administration, that’s been amazing throughout this whole process, or anybody in our building is, we’ve built good recruiting classes here for a long time. I think Tennessee is such a special place. Everybody in Knoxville that’s been here knows that, but our job now is to — and it’s been our specialty here for a long time — is getting those guys in and developing them, and making sure the number we’re worried about is where we’re at at the end of the year as a team. On paper, it’s a very, very talented, deep group.”

On how Tennessee’s coaching staff prepares its current players for summer ball

“I think it’s funny, I get texts throughout the summer like, ‘hope you guys are getting a good reset in the summer,’ and that’s not the case. We’re gone almost every single day. Our staff has done a phenomenal job. But just to give you guys kind of like an insight, as you go through the summer, when the year ends, the entire focus is on the current roster at the beginning. Obviously, who’s coming and who’s going with the portal, that’s operation one. Then the next task is you get to the draft, you figure out what you got, and obviously the whole time you’re staying in touch with not only the current roster, but also the incoming guys as you go, and your current players. So there’s a lot of minutes on the Verizon phone bill at the end of each day. 

“And then once you fast forward past that, just to give you guys kind of an insight, I’ve been, I think, to Cary, North Carolina over at the USA complex three times now. I’ve been up to the Cape (Cod League). I got to see Tyler Myatt and Levi Clark, and was able to have dinner with Blaine Brown with a huge assist. We went to some random taco shack in the middle of the woods and it was unbelievable. So that was a good win by him. But he’s throwing the ball great. Myatt’s hitting homers. Levi, I think he’s a really cool story, what he was able to do last year. He struggled a little bit, we stuck with him and he ends up putting up phenomenal numbers in SEC play, and I think there’s another really good year on deck for him. 

“And then you roll right into the 2028. So we are on the eve of being able to be in contact with those guys. So our entire staff has been running around. You know, we were in Georgia last week. I just got back from Cary. I’m hopping on a flight to go to the West Coast here in a few hours. So again, it’s a sprint and a marathon combined, I think, when it comes to that. But, you know, our staff really loves recruiting. It’s really important to me and I learned that from Tony (Vitello). And it’ll always be like that around here, is you better love recruiting. And we do here at Tennessee.

“So, you know, we’re running around a bunch, balancing, you know, hey, the next guys and our current guys. But again, too, whether it be a cool late night talk with, ‘hey, this is how I’m feeling in the box,’ with one of our current players or, you know, (Austin) Knight is in the building, and getting to chat with some of our freshmen or some of our pitchers getting acclimated with those guys. 

“It’s a little bit of — it’s a lot of long hours, but it’s a lot of fun. And our staff has done a really good job of balancing everything this summer.”

On surviving the MLB Draft with the transfer class

“Yeah, that was a shock, to be honest. I think when you look at some of the talent, I mean, if you start with Jake McCoy, I mean, with a guy with SEC experience that’s up to 99 MPH from the left side, with the wipeout breaking ball. Or Ricky Ojeda is a guy that’s, you could argue is one of the most polished relievers and has a chance to start and has gotten a ton of outs on the west coast. A former Team USA guy. And again, if you just look down that list, it’s Major League quality tools across the board.

There’s athleticism. There’s some two-way guys, lefties, righties, and then some dynamic defenders. So I think what’s really, really cool is you get these kids on a visit in the portal, and sometimes it’s short because a lot of times they’ll chain their visits where they’ll come in from another SEC school and you get them for 24 hours and they fly to another one. That’s really kind of how it goes. But it was just really cool to see that guys would walk in through the center field gate and just the reaction of seeing the investment that administration has made for us with the new Lindsey Nelson Stadium and getting to go and show them the Rocky Top Club and then just everything on campus. And, again, we have a really, really special place. And I think that’s the reason why not only kids know they can get better here, know they can win here, but I think they’re going to have a great time in Knoxville. And it’s a pretty special combo. And I think that’s the reason we were able to get everybody here.”

On where the work starts of turning so many new pieces into a team

“Another really good question. I think that’s going to be a huge focus for us this fall. I think it’s just getting a team together as much as possible, even outside of baseball because they’re going to spend a ton of time together between the lines and competing. And I love the element of internal competition we have on this team. I think our fall, it’s going to be as competitive as it’s ever been here in Knoxville. So I think, again, some guys will lean into it. Some guys will shy away from that at the beginning. But I think it’s good for those guys to kind of go through that at the same time. But that’s been a big focus is make sure we have a consistent fall with not only getting better between the lines, but also two, getting the pitchers together, getting the hitters together. And then also two little things like pitchers and (Austin) Knight because with Kiv(itt) and I, a lot of these guys with the individual relationships with these players and their families, they’ve either played for us or we recruited them for four or five years. So there’s a pretty good baseline, but getting those guys together, getting them in competitive environments, and then also stuff off the field that’ll be one of our main focuses this fall to hopefully springboard us into, again, is a really, really strong spring.”

On the simple things that are key to team building

“I think so. And I want to give credit to my guy, Wyatt Hanoian. He’s transferred in from the United States Air Force Academy. And one of my former teammates is a coach there and really just kind of talked about how elite his makeup was. And he’s done a good job of being a connector, whether it be these young freshmen that are on campus or again, setting up where those guys are, hey, they got four guys, all baseball dudes living together. And so again, they’re together off the field, on the field. But I’m excited to integrate when we get everybody back because I know Myatt and Levi are still up in the Cape with Blaine. And then some guys are hitting the reset button. And then some of the guys are starting to get back in town. I know Trent (Grindlinger) and Stone (Lawless) and Blake (Burke), those guys are coming back through. But I think that’s so, so important. Again, you got to make sure that I think especially in our league, as tough as it is, anybody can win on any day.”

“I think those relationships and that team element is still paramount where, when it’s a Sunday game and it’s 1-1. And it’s 3-3 in the seventh inning is you look to the guy next to you and you want to link up and win for that guy next to you. So I think that’s really, really important. We’ll put some focus there as you go. But I think it’s good looking back to, we have a lot of history here now with the ‘22 team, what they were able to accomplish. And then, ‘23 team, we’ve had so many different seasons here where there’s a lot of different ways to get to end result. I think that gives us a Rolodex where our staff and then what Chuck (Jeroloman) and everybody bring from their previous stops of navigating the gauntlet of the SEC, but making sure we keep the big picture in mind or putting our guys in a position to have success in the postseason.”