Over the years, as the University of Tennessee has evolved into both an SEC and national baseball powerhouse, coach Tony Vitello and his team have often rubbed opponents and critics the wrong way. They’ve done it with their brashness and hubris, their overall confidence, and more than likely, with all their winning.
But a Vols fan posted a sarcastic “Most Classless Guy in Baseball” reference while highlighting how good a guy Vitello can be.
Volunteers Fans Defend Beloved Tony Vitello From Haters
There is no debating Vitello’s accomplishments in the University of Tennessee baseball dugout.
The St. Louis native, now in his eighth year at the helm, has guided the Volunteers to national prominence. Going into Tuesday night’s game against Indiana State, the team has gone a combined 332-123 under Vitello, after going 212-228 in the eight years prior to his arrival in June 2017.
Tennessee made the NCAA Tournament five times in Vitello’s first seven seasons, only missing out in his first year and in the shortened 2020 COVID season.
The last four seasons have been special. A total of 211 wins. Four trips to the Super Regionals. Three appearances in Omaha at the College World Series. And last year’s magical 60-13 campaign culminated in the school’s first national championship.
Last year’s squad became just the fourth ever to win the SEC regular season crown, the SEC Tournament, and the College World Series. Vitello’s squads pitch well, play good defense, and tear the cover off the ball, with a bevy of draft picks like hurlers Garret Crochet and Chase Dollander to show for it. And they’ll let you know it as well.
It had been building for years, but as Tennessee got better and better, the team’s bravado made more and more on-field appearances, although to be fair, that is no different from the new national norm in the sport where bat tossing is nearly as ubiquitous now as chewing seeds and adjusting crotches.
But even so, Vitello’s squads just rubbed opponents the wrong way. This was especially true in 2022, when the team stormed out to a 56-7 record and had problems chirping or being confrontational along the way. Their antics bothered the rest of the SEC, and the Volunteers became the most hated team in college baseball that year.
So much so that it felt like there would be a parade in Omaha before the College World Series even began because of Tennessee’s absence. Notre Dame went into Knoxville and stunned the heavily favored Vols in three games. In game 1, star outfielder Drew Gilbert and pitching coach Frank Anderson were ejected.
Vitello absorbs the majority of the vitriol because he is the head coach. And because he can be emotional as well. He was tossed on Sunday against Auburn in a series the Volunteers lost, 2-1. After getting ejected for arguing a check swing call, Vitello worked his way around the diamond to make sure each ump was able to hear his dissent.
Tony Vitello has been tossed and gives every single umpire a piece of his mind
pic.twitter.com/24Bi4XAoOv— More Important Issues (@More_Issues) May 4, 2025
But Vitello is also absolutely adored by the Volunteers faithful. In the video above posted on X by @More_Issues, as Vitello is going around the diamond after getting tossed, you can hear him serenaded by chants of “Tony” by Tennessee fans. He is passionate about his team and the program, and fans will always support a coach that does that.
That’s why another Tennessee fan, @PattVol94, sarcastically posted on X:
Let me introduce you to the most self-centered, trashy, classless guy in college baseball. pic.twitter.com/9O4wnGzJvE
— PattRiley🍊 (@PattVol94) May 5, 2025
As part of that post, the Volunteers fan also posted a video of Vitello talking about what he did for Northern Kentucky team manager Ryan Mavriplis.
Northern Kentucky made its first NCAA appearance last spring, and went to the Knoxville Regional, where the Norse were bested by the host Vols in the first game. Following Tennessee’s regional win, Vitello sent two regional banners to Mavriplis,
Vitello said, “it was a magical run for those guys, making absolutely the most of their resources. No one was more heartbroken than him. We just wanted to make sure he had a good keepsake,” Vitello said. “I know it won’t be his last, but I know it was his first. Hopefully, it is a good keepsake.”
Northern Kentucky director of baseball operations Bob Runyan posted a picture of Mavriplis holding one of the banners. Should Vitello get a Nobel Peace Prize for it? Probably not, but it was a classy gesture, nonetheless.
Two truths can be true. A coach can be fiery and emotional and unbearable at times. But they also do some pretty remarkable things behind the scenes that often go unnoticed.
Meanwhile, Vitello’s Vols are once again on their way to the postseason. Despite a rough stretch that has seen the team drop 4-of-5 SEC series and go from 27-2 to 37-11, Tennessee is still tied for fifth in the SEC and ranked 15th nationally.
KEEP READING: 7 Best College Baseball Teams That Didn’t Win the College World Series
After tomorrow’s game against the Sycamores, the team hosts in-state rival Vanderbilt in a big three-game set at Lindsey Nelson Stadium in Knoxville.
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