Former Tennessee Baseball Player Named as Possible Reason for Tony Vitello Reports

This former Tennessee Volunteers baseball player has been named as a possible reason Vitello may end up in San Francisco.

Tennessee's Head Coach Tony Vitello disputes with the referee after Tennessee's Drew Gilbert (1) was ejected from the game during the first round of the NCAA Knoxville Super Regionals between Tennessee and Notre Dame at Lindsey Nelson Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn. on Friday, June 10, 2022. Kns Tennessee Notre Dame | Calvin Mattheis/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Tennessee Volunteers have a lot going on with everything surrounding their head baseball coach. Tony Vitello has been the lead guy in charge for the Tennessee Vols baseball team for multiple seasons, and he is one of the better coaches to ever step foot on Rocky Top to coach the baseball program. In fact, it is harder to name someone who is better than Vitello then it is to call Vitello the greatest Vols baseball coach of all time.

Vitello brought Tennessee baseball its first National Championship, and has been successful in almost every category since joining the staff. This has generated some buzz, as it has become notable that Tony Vitello is one of the candidates to take the manager position for one of the MLB's biggest franchises. That franchise being the San Francisco Giants.

It has become notable that one of the players for the Giants, and a former player for Vitello at Tennessee, could play more of a factor than you think. In a recent KNBR interview with Andrew Baggarly, Drew Gilbert's name was brought up. Not only was he brought up, but it raised the question, 'Does this even happen without Gilbert?'

Here is what was said by Baggarly.

"Everything we hear is that he does want this. And the Giants are going to have to make it worth his while to leave Tennessee... The ball is in his court, this is the guy they've offered the job to."@extrabaggs with the latest on the Tony Vitello to the Giants reports ⬇️

(via… pic.twitter.com/2Uq1CRv14v

— KNBR (@KNBR) October 20, 2025

Andrew Baggarly on Drew Gilbert Having an Impact on This

Sep 28, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants right fielder Drew Gilbert (61) watches as he gets flied out against the Colorado Rockies in the fifth inning at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Eakin Howard-Imagn Images | Eakin Howard-Imagn Images

"You know what, honestly, what I knew was Drew Gilbert. And I don't know that any of this happens without Drew Gilbert. I really don't. That's one of the questions I'd be interested to ask Buster if this does end up culminating in a press conference to introduce Tony Vitello as the next manager. How much Drew Gilbert did in the clubhouse and the dugout and everything. He brings the spirit and energy. How much of that makes you wake up and think that this is what that organization needs? Maybe that's what the clubhouse needs. I didn't really know a whole lot about Tony Vitello before that. And recording this feature that I wrote about Drew Gilbert in September, it just seemed like this guy is really changing the game in a huge way, and I heard that this was going to be a challenge with this many teams looking at manager changes. The supply and demand could be out of whack. Some teams might have to look at some candidates that are a little bit more off the grid. This is the kind of guy who fits the description of what this organization needs right now. That's kind of where that started. I would be really interested in Buster's mind."

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