Q&A with Tony Vitello, Part 1: Previewing Tennessee baseball’s fall practice, competition across diamond

Fall practice is underway for Tennesseebaseball coming off its first ever national championship this past June. The Vols hit the field within the last week to begin work on defending their title.

It’s a new-look group of Volunteers after becoming the first SEC team to reach the 60-win mark in a single season and just the fourth conference team to win the SEC regular season title, SEC Tournament title and the NCAA Men’s College World Series in the same year. Hunter Ensley and Dean Curley are the only two returning starters amongst the position players, and all three starting rotation spots are up for grabs, in addition to several key bullpen roles.

GoVols247 chatted with Tony Vitello this week to get a sense on the state of his program heading into his eighth season on Rocky Top. In Part 1 of our two-part Q&A with Vitello, we discussed the importance of building team chemistry this fall, how Tennessee’s newcomers are adjusting to the program, the hunger of several returning players, key transfer additions and the fierce competition all across the diamond.

The interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.