Josh Elander Named as New Tennessee Baseball Head Coach

Tennessee baseball names Josh Elander as the new Tennessee baseball head coach

Tennessee baseball assistant coach Josh Elander during the NCAA baseball game between Tennessee and Alabama in Knoxville, Tenn. on Sunday, April 17, 2022. Kns Us Base Alabama | Saul Young/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Tennessee Vols have named their head baseball coach finally only a few days of candidacy. The Vols will be turning the reigns over to long time assistant coach, and Tony Vitello's right hand man Josh Elander.

Elander was the center of the race for many, and it was a quick race despite the Vols meeting with Coastal Carolina's head baseball coach Kevin Schnall

He wasn't named as the interim head baseball coach. In fact, he was named as a candidate, while Frank Anderson was named as the interim head coach. This is something that was discussed at the press conference held by Danny White.

Danny White's Original Comments

University of Tennessee's Athletic Director Danny White holds a press conference after baseball coach Tony Vitello is hired by the San Francisco Giants on Oct. 22, 2025. | Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

"Yeah, a combination of factors. Frank's obviously been a head coach, but probably more importantly, as quickly as I'd like to move, I'd like Josh to build focus on his candidacy. And he's kind of in the middle of all this, too. Up until this morning, the entire staff didn't know the decision that Tony was going to make. So, he's been focused on recruiting and coaching our players. We have an incoming class. There's a lot going on. And I didn't want to throw this on them now, while also maybe treating an interview as an afterthought. I want to be able to focus on the interview process."

Danny White wasn't looking for anything specific in his coaching search either, as this is something that was brought up in the press conference.

"Nothing specific. The first data point for me will be hearing more directly from that leadership group of student athletes, what they're experiencing right now. A lot of times, when you go into a coaching search, it's because the team isn't having the kind of success you want to have, so how do we make things better? But we're obviously 18 months removed from a national championship and just lost our coach to the big leagues for the first time in the history of college baseball. So, we have a positive momentum and a good thing going, but I still want to hear their perspective and learn from that, and then go into the process. But, I don't have anything in particular."

The Vols will begin their next season in February, and the Tennessee baseball players can still enter the portal, but with the Vols staying in house, this gives Tennessee the best chance to keep their guys.

---