Either Tennessee or Texas A&M will leave the 2024 College World Series with its first national championship. The losing side will walk away from Omaha with a bitter taste in its mouth.
Either way, there will be no bad blood between the two head coaches.
Tennessee’s Tony Vitello and Texas A&M’s Jim Schlossnagle have a longstanding relationship, with Schlossnagle taking on the role of elder statesman between the two.
Yet while Schlossnagle, 53, has been a head coach longer than Vitello has, it’s Vitello, 45, who has built a powerhouse. Tennessee was the No. 1 overall seed in 2022 and reached the College World Series in both 2021 and 2023 before returning to Omaha this year. But Vitello might not have been in position to get there without some help from Schlossnagle along the way. 
