“Loyalty is very important to me” - Tennessee baseball HC Tony Vitello drops bold statement as Texas job rumors swirl

Tony Vitello etched his name into Tennessee lore after leading the Vols to their maiden College World Series title on Monday. The coach also made a bold statement on whether he will continue at Tennessee amid rumors of taking up the job at Texas.

When asked about the possibility of joining the University of Texas next season, Vitello spoke about how Tennessee approached him initially and the support he has received from the Vols faithful.

"But Tennessee came calling, and I knew a little bit about it. I knew it had those ingredients. But I've been blown away by how friendly everybody is, how involved everybody is," Vitello said (per Rocky Top Insider).

"Loyalty is very important to me, probably because I’m Italian. But this community, the fans, school, have all been loyal. Look at those fans out there," Vitello added.

Over the past few days, rumors have linked Vitello to the vacant coaching job at Texas. The Longhorns fired David Pierce on Monday, after eight years of working together.

Pierce led the Longhorns to Big 12 championship games in 2018, 2021, and 2023.

However, this year, Texas finished with an underwhelming 36-24 record and lost both games at the Big 12 tournament. The Longhorns also failed to reach a super-regional for the first time since 2019, which led to Pierce's firing.

While Tony Vitello was rumored to be a top candidate to replace Pierce at Texas, his bold comments on Monday appeared to shut down any talk of leaving Tennessee.

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Tennessee HC Tony Vitello recaps successful CWS finals victory over Texas A&M

Tony Vitello led the Vols to their maiden CWS title (Credits: IMAGN)

Tony Vitello's Tennessee didn't get off to the best start in the CWS finals against Texas A&M. The Vols lost Game 1, but then bounced back strongly to win in Game 2, subsequently forcing a Game 3 and winning the decider.

While recalling the CWS finals, Vitello said that he found it difficult to embrace the moment, but had a special mention for the Vols fans.

“Very surreal,” Vitello said (per Rocky Top Insider). “Hard to center yourself, which is a good thing, being lost in the moment, I guess. Nothing too intelligent to say other than the first thing to say is I hope the fans that have turned this into an insane party, insane event, got the series that they wanted and that they deserved."

Vitello took charge of the Vols in 2017 and along with the recent CWS glory, he has led the team to two SEC regular season titles, two SEC Tournament titles, four Regional championships, and three Super Regional championships.