SEC Baseball

Tennessee to keep Serrano for a sixth year

New Tennessee baseball head coach Dave Serrano smiles as he is introduced to the media during a news conference, Thursday, June 16, 2011 in Knoxville, Tenn. The former Cal State Fullerton head coach was an assistant at Tennessee from 1995-96. (AP Photo/Knoxville News Sentinel, Saul Young)

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee baseball coach Dave Serrano will have another year to try getting the Volunteers back up the Southeastern Conference standings.

Athletic director Dave Hart said Thursday that Serrano will return next season. Serrano's contract, which pays him $450,000 per year, was set to expire June 30. Hart said he planned to extend Serrano's contract by one year, likely at the same terms.

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"Very simply stated, I still believe in Dave Serrano," Hart said at a news conference. "I still think there is hope for us to turn the corner with our baseball program."

Hart said he decided earlier this week to bring Serrano back. Serrano said Thursday he was "very grateful" for the opportunity.

Serrano, who took UC Irvine and Cal State Fullerton to the College World Series earlier in his career, hasn't matched that success at Tennessee. Serrano is 130-138 in five seasons at Tennessee and 419-278-1 in 12 seasons overall.

Serrano said Thursday that "the winning is going to happen, I'm very confident about that."

Tennessee's season likely ended Tuesday with a loss to LSU in the first round of the Southeastern Conference tournament that dropped the Volunteers' record to 29-28. Tennessee is expected to miss the NCAA Tournament for an 11th straight year.

"This program needs to get there," Serrano said. "It's been a long time since this program's been there. For not only our fans, but for players, for the alumni, we need to do that."