Tennessee
Tony Vitello is the fastest coach to reach the 300-win mark in Tennessee baseball history
Tony Vitello is the fastest coach in Tennessee baseball history to reach the 300-win mark.
The Vols coach recorded his 300th win Friday in Tennessee’s 5-1 victory against Samford. He reached the mark in 412 games, topping coach Rod Delmonico’s mark of 300 wins in 501 games. Vitello reached the 300-win mark less than two years after he reached the 200-win mark. He got win No. 200 against Gonzaga on March 4, 2023.
No. 2 Tennessee is 5-0 to start the season after Vitello entered the season with 295 wins.
Vitello is in his eighth season as the Vols coach, his first head coaching job. He was hired in June 2017 after serving as the Arkansas hitting coach.
The St. Louis native led Tennessee to its first national title in 2024. The Vols became the first team in SEC history to win 60 games when it topped Texas A&M in the three-game College World Series finals.
The Vols have three 50-win seasons under Vitello. They went 57-9 in the 2022 season after going 50-18 in the 2021 season.
Vitello was 29-27 in his first season in 2018. The Vols broke through in 2019 to go 40-21 and reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2005. They started the 2020 season 15-2 before the season was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
They have been to the College World Series in three of the four seasons since. Tennessee reached Omaha in 2021 for its first trip under Vitello. It went back in 2023, when it was 44-22 and won a game in the CWS for the first time since 2001.
UT was the No. 1 overall seed in the 2024 NCAA Tournament. It rolled through the Knoxville Regional in three games and beat Evansville in a three-game Knoxville Super Regional to go back to Omaha. The Vols went 3-0 in the first portion of the CWS before facing Texas A&M in the finals. They lost the first game before winning the second two in the best-of-three finals to win the national title.
Tennessee also won the SEC regular-season title and the SEC Tournament title in 2024, sweeping the crowns for the second time in three seasons. It achieved the feat in 2022.
The Vols have the most wins in the country in the past five seasons with 226. They have the a national-leading .779 winning percentage in that five-year span.
Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on X @ByMikeWilson or Bluesky @bymikewilson.bsky.social. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.
Tennessee
Deputies perform ‘life-saving measures’ after 5-year-old falls into swimming pool in Tennessee
FAYETTEVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – A Tennessee sheriff’s office is asking the community to pray for a family whose 5-year-old was hospitalized after falling into a swimming pool.
The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office said deputies and family members were “administering life-saving measures” Thursday afternoon after pulling the child out of the water.
The child was then transferred to a hospital, where they are still being treated.
“The child was subsequently transported to the hospital, where they are currently receiving medical care‚” said a Facebook post from the sheriff’s office. “Out of respect for the family’s privacy, no further details will be released at this time.”
Copyright 2025 WSMV. All rights reserved.
Sam Purcell felt good about the game plan for Mississippi State women’s basketball’s matchup with Tennessee.
But the Bulldogs gave up 26 points in the first quarter and trailed by seven points. It was a deficit they never recovered from in a 90-80 loss to the Lady Vols at Humphrey Coliseum on Jan. 8.
“You look at that that first quarter, I thought it was crucial. We had a great scout, a great game plan, but we didn’t talk on ball screens,” Purcell said. “Their largest quarter was that first quarter, and we’re going to watch back and go, dang it, we need to be more vocal. And you got to give them credit – top to bottom, they’re probably as good as anybody in the country with athleticism. So you can’t let those athletic kids turn the corner for wide open layups, and we did.”
Kharyssa Richardson and Madison Francis led the Bulldogs with 22 points each, but MSU didn’t have enough defense to pull off the upset.
Had Mississippi State been able to slow down Tennessee’s drivers in the first quarter, it may have been a different result. But once the Bulldogs started slowing that down, the Lady Vols were “phenomenal hitting some big-time shots,” Purcell said.
Tennessee only had the edge in points in the paint, 42-40, but it also went 10-for-27 on 3-pointers, which was an area Mississippi State couldn’t match. The Bulldogs shot 2-for-13 from deep.
MSU also couldn’t stop Tennessee freshman point guard Mia Pauldo, who scored a game-high 26 points on 8-for-12 shooting. The Bulldogs sent her to the foul line time and time again, and she went 8-for-9 on free throws.
“I thought (Pauldo) was poised, she was clutch,” Purcell said. “Obviously, that’s what you need in games like this that are gonna come down the to the wire. You need players to step up, and I thought she was the X factor for them.”
The Tennessee Volunteers have been one of the main teams when it comes to producing talent and sending talent to the NFL, which is something that has often been discovered as a standard for the football program. This is something that has been going on for quite some time and isn’t anything new to the news cycle, as the Vols have been able to produce plenty of talented prospects.
Tennessee is the home of many stars, including some of the best defensive players in SEC history. Guys like Eric Berry have found their way through the Tennessee program and onto the NFL, where they would have legendary careers. However, the defensive side of the football is the only side that has produced plenty of talent, as Tennessee has produced a lot of offensive talent as well. With the likes of Peyton Manning and company, the Vols have shown a great track record in getting talent drafted.
The Vols have produced someone who could be considered as one of the best players to play the Tide end position, as the Knoxville, Tennessee program is the home to Dallas Cowboys legend, Jason Witten. Witten is someone who made the most of his career and has been viewed as a top player at the Tide in position, and someone who is often referred to as a legend for the Cowboys, along with being a legend in the game of football as a whole.
Jason Witten Accepts TE Coach Position For Oklahoma
Witten is now taking a new gig, which has him in a huge role inside the Southeastern Conference. The Vols legend is now the tight end coach for the Oklahoma Sooners. The Sooners have had some success out of their tight ends in the past, but the sky is the limit with a guy like Witten coaching up the players. Witten has the opportunity to do really well, as coaching tight ends won’t be an issue, and you have to imagine that he will be able to recruit very well, considering he has a huge name around him, as this is something that we have seen from positional coaches as well as head coaches who have done great work in the league. You have to imagine that the Vols will now have stiff competition for his son, Cooper, who is a five-star recruit for the upcoming 2027 class at the linebacker position.
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