Vitello Tabbed as National Coach of the Year by NCBWA

Coach of the Year / Credit: UT Athletics

Vitello Tabbed as National Coach of the Year by NCBWA

Coach of the Year / Credit: UT Athletics

PULLMAN, Wash. – Tennessee head baseball coach Tony Vitello has been named the 2021 National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Mike Martin National Coach of the Year, the organization announced on Friday.

Vitello becomes just the second head coach in program history to earn National Coach of the Year honors, joining legendary Vols’ skipper Rod Delmonico, who was named National Coach of the Year by Baseball America in 1995. Delmonico led Tennessee to three of its previous four trips to the College World Series (1995, 2001, 2005) and is the program’s career leader in wins with 699 during his time on Rocky Top.

Vitello was also named National Coach of the Year by Perfect Game on Friday, making him the first coach in program history to earn coach of the year honors from two separate organizations.

With an 11-6 win over Georgia on March 19, Vitello became the fastest head coach in program history to win 100 career games with the Vols, overtaking Delmonico’s mark of 163 games. Vitello needed just 153 contests to accomplish the feat.

Vitello has guided Tennessee to one of its best seasons in program history, leading the Big Orange to a 50-16 record and their first College World Series appearance since 2005. The Vols’ 50 wins are the most in a season since a program-record 54 victories in 1995.

Under Vitello’s guidance, UT won its first SEC Eastern division title since 1997 after posting a 20-10 record in league play and winning eight of its 10 conference series, including all five series on the road. Tennessee also made its first appearance in the SEC Tournament Championship Game since 1995.

The Vols will begin their run in Omaha on Sunday afternoon against Virginia following a perfect 5-0 record in the NCAA Regionals and Super Regionals. UT hosted its first regional since 2005 and its first-ever super regional.

The NCBWA Coach of the Year Award, introduced in 2008, is voted on by the NCBWA Board of Directors, and chosen from a list that includes all Division I conference coaches of the year and the coaches of the eight NCAA College World Series teams.

In 2020, the NCBWA board of directors voted unanimously to name the annual award after Mike Martin, the winningest head coach in NCAA Division I baseball history after he retired at Florida State in 2019 with a 2,029-736-4 mark over 40 seasons in leading the FSU program from 1980-2019.

To read the complete release from the NCBWA, click HERE.

-UT Athletics

Headlines

What's happening

Fanboy Expo July 11th-13th- Knoxville Convention Center

Fanboy Expo July 11th-13th- Knoxville Convention Center

Don’t miss Tennessee’s Largest Pop Culture Event, Fanboy Expo on July 11th-13th, 2025 at the Knoxville Convention Center. Come see why over 30,000 fans have attended our Summer events featuring Celebrity Guests, Comic Industry Pros, Cosplay, Vendors, Live Entertainment and much more!

Painting with a Purpose! (with McLain’s Painting Service)

Painting with a Purpose! (with McLain’s Painting Service)

Update: Congratulations to Childhelp Tennessee (Knoxville Services)! They have won a fresh coat of paint up $10,000 from Sherman Williams and McLain’s Painting! Thanks to all those who nominated their favorite Non-profits as yet again it was an extremely tough decision with many great candidates! Painting of the Childhelp Knoxville location will take place on July 19th by McLain’s Painting.