SEC Baseball

Tennessee's Tony Vitello agrees to contract extension

June 19, 2019 at 4:53 p.m.

by The Associated Press

Tennessee NCAA college baseball coach Tony Vitello is shown before a game in Knoxville, Tenn., Tuesday, April 9, 2019. Tennessee's ability to respond to adversity helped the Volunteers end the Southeastern Conference's longest NCAA Tournament drought. (Calvin Mattheis/Knoxville News Sentinel via AP)

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee has extended the contract of baseball coach Tony Vitello through June 2024.

Athletic director Phillip Fulmer announced the deal Wednesday.

The first-time head coach just led Tennessee to its first NCAA Tournament berth and 40-win season since 2005. The Vols went 2-2 in the Chapel Hill Regional, finishing as runner-up to host North Carolina. The Vols also finished third in the Southeastern Conference with 14 wins and had their most wins (26) over nonconference teams since 2000.

Fulmer says impressive doesn't begin to describe what Vitello has done with the baseball program in just two seasons.

Tennessee started this season with its best start in program history with 15 consecutive wins. Through Vitello's first two seasons, Tennessee has won 16 games against ranked opponents.