Tony Vitello has become the face of college baseball.
He just led Tennessee to the national championship. He was named national coach of the year. And he’s scheduled to be one of the television analysts for the MLB Draft coverage on July 14.
But Vitello had achieved prominence before he won a national championship. His 2022 Vols went 57-9 and were heralded as one of the greatest teams in the history of the sport even though it fell one game short of the College World Series.
He has accomplished this as a first-time head coach at a program that seemed anchored close to the bottom of the SEC. When you win that fast – and that often – at a school that has been losing, you’re sure to attract critics, and Vitello accumulated his share two years ago when his team won in spectacular, in-your-face fashion. He picked up more critics when he celebrated Tennessee’s national championship.
Hopefully, he will shrug off whatever criticism comes his way. Hopefully, he won’t change.
Just because you’re at the top of your sport, change isn’t required.
