CYCLONIC WATCH 
**March 17th, 2025** Tony Vitello declines lucrative employment offers in order to remain at Rocky Top
On Monday, June 24, 2024, following game three of the NCAA College World Series finals between Texas A&M and Tennessee at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Nebraska, head coach Tony Vitello of Tennessee raises a commemorative News Sentinel front page. / News Sentinel / Brianna Paciorka / USA
As the baseball manager for Tennessee, Tony Vitello has amassed a number of memorable soundbites throughout the years. Having spent seven seasons at Rocky Top, he just won four SEC crowns and helped the Vols capture their first-ever national championship.
In his journey to win his first national championship as Tennessee’s head coach, he has amassed a career record of 295–112 (.725). Due to Vitello’s incredibly rapid ascent to the top, several institutions are interested in hiring him as their next head coach.
In an attempt to repeat Vitello’s success in Aggieland, Texas A&M threw caution to the wind and brought him to College Station, as D1 Baseball’s Kendall Rogers revealed on X/Twitter.
Rogers declared, “It shot its shot,” but TV
“It shot its shot,” Rogers said, “but TV stayed put and loyal to a program that has given him the keys to the castle.”
Vitello and the Vols faced Texas A&M in the College World Series Finals. After losing game one, the Vols won two straight games to win the series, including a stress-inducing 6-5 win in game three.
Rogers added that it’s not surprising that Vitello, who has ties to A&M, took a stab at one of the best coaches in the country. He adds that any coach would probably want a program similar to his own at Tennessee.
Many coaches would be drawn to Knoxville by great money and a robust program, but Tony V. has created something unique here, and he isn’t ready to move on. In addition, he immortalized his future on Rocky Top with an exceptional “Vol or not” phrase while celebrating Tennessee’s national victory in Knoxville’s streets.
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