By Rhiannon Potkey
After an unprecedented run of success under former head coach Tony Vitello, the University of Tennessee baseball program hit a few stumbling blocks to begin the Josh Elander era.
The Vols had a quick exit from the NCAA Tournament, going 0-2 for the first time in program history and getting eliminated in the regional round for the first time since 2019. Tennessee opened the tournament last Friday in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, with a 7-3 loss to East Carolina in 14 innings. The Vols saw their season end the following day, losing 5-4 to Virginia Commonwealth.
Tennessee was 1 for 17 with runners in scoring position in the two games of the regional.
“Just weren’t able to execute,” Elander says. “When you get a chance to blow the game open early or put pressure on the guys, we just didn’t do it the last two days, so that’ll be something that we look at.”
Tennessee recovered from a bad start in SEC play to reach the NCAA Tournament for the seventh straight season. The Vols finished 38-22 overall, failing to reach 40 wins in a full season for the first time since 2018. They were 28-10 at home in the newly renovated and expanded Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
Elander’s team to shape
Elander, who was promoted to head coach following Vitello’s departure to manage the San Francisco Giants, plans to spend the next few weeks reevaluating the season to see where the Vols can make improvements.
“I think just walking right off the field, I think the main thing is to get back with the staff … we’ve been very fortunate to win a lot of regionals in a row, and it’s now come to an end,” Elander says. “So I think we need to look at everything holistically and just try to get better. That needs to be a theme, and so we’ll have those conversations, but nothing specific.”
Given the circumstances, there were always going to be comparisons between Elander and Vitello in terms of how the season went. Vitello has endured a bumpy inaugural stretch of his own managing in the big leagues. On the same day the Vols were eliminated, the Giants lost their fifth straight game and 10th straight game against a division opponent.
Elander will have his first full offseason to try to make the program his own. Although he helped Vitello recruit the current roster, Elander’s promotion didn’t come until late in the fall and everything was already set in place.
Senior Reese Chapman says he remains confident Elander is the right person for the job and will be able to reach the high standards Vitello set before his sudden departure.
“I mean, he wants to win just as bad as we want to win,” Chapman says. “I have full faith in this program. It’s going to be right back at the top. So I mean, that’s all Vol Nation needs to hear is that we have this guy in our corner.”
Roster turnover a reality
The offseason presents even more uncertainty than usual given all the changes within the program. The transfer portal will alter the roster even more, with players coming and going over the next few weeks and months.
Pitchers Tegan Kuhns and Brandon Arvidson are likely to depart for the Major League Baseball draft, along with position players Manny Marin, Henry Ford, and Blake Grimmer.
Kuhns was the unquestioned ace of the staff, finishing 5-5 with a 3.56 ERA, 106 strikeouts and only 16 walks. The sophomore was the only UT player to earn all-SEC honors as a second-team selection beyond the SEC all-freshman selections of Trent Grindlinger and Cam Appenzeller.
“I really believe in the additions to the staff that we have, and then also our players,” Elander says. “We had some youth, or whatever it may be, but I’m really proud of how they stayed in it throughout the course of the year. Because it was not smooth sailing, and our league is unforgiving, and sometimes you get punched. It’s hard to get back up, but because of the makeup of guys like this right next to me, we were able to do that and fire our way into the postseason.”
Chapman finished his UT career having helped the Vols reach the College World Series twice, including the first national championship in program history in 2024. Although this year’s team wasn’t predicted to go as far, Chapman still wasn’t ready for it to end so abruptly.
“You let the emotions go,” Chapman says. “I think we’re all manly enough to let it fly. It’s all right to cry in front of your brothers. But I think it’s just some of the guys like me that won’t be here next year, just saying goodbye to the younger guys, but also telling them it’s their program now and just to go be the dude, learn from our mistakes and don’t make them again.”