Tennessee Volunteers' Tony Vitello Becomes Highest Paid Coach in College Baseball

Tennessee Volunteers' Tony Vitello Becomes Highest Paid Coach in College Baseball.

Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello holds up the trophy after game three of the NCAA College World Series finals between Tennessee and Texas A&M at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Neb., on Monday, June 24, 2024. / Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

Tennessee Volunteers' Tony Vitello Becomes Highest Paid Coach in College Baseball.

The Tennessee Volunteers' baseball program is fresh off of a national title-winning season under head coach Tony Vitello, and that was good enough to earn him a massive extension. It was announced on Friday that the head ball coach earned a three-year extension and is now the highest-paid coach in college baseball, per Vols247.

Prior to the extension, Vitello was the fifth-highest paid coach in baseball. Vitello has signed a contract extension and raise that will pay him $3 million annually through June 30, 2029. His previous deal was slated to pay him $1.5 annually and run through June 2026. The new deal also includes a $250,000 signing bonus.

Since taking the reins as the Volunteers' head coach in 2017, Vitello has established a new standard of excellence within Vols baseball. In his seven-year tenure, Vitello has guided the Vols to three College World Series appearances in the last four years, Tennessee had made just four trips to Omaha in program history prior to Vitello's hiring. The Vols' recent victory in the College World Series Championship marks the first time a No. 1 overall seed has claimed the national title since the Miami Hurricanes in 1999.

Vitello led the Vols to a 60-win milestone this past season, the most wins by any SEC team in a single season. Additionally, Tennessee became just the fourth team in SEC history to win the SEC regular season title, the SEC Tournament title and the College World Series title in the same season, the first to accomplish this feat since Vanderbilt in 2019.

Vitello has been recognized as one of the top coaches in the country by the ABCA three times before being named this year's Coach of the Year. He was also named Perfect Game's National Coach of the Year in 2022. 

Other Tennessee News:

• Tony Vitello Turnaround Nothing Short of Brilliant for Tennessee Baseball
• Jaylen Williams Cuts Recruitment to Four Schools
• Tennessee Vols Football Could Make Playoff According to CFB Data Model

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