What position did Tony Vitello play in college? Taking a look at Tennessee HC's playing career

Tony Vitello has enjoyed a stellar coaching career. In seven seasons with the Tennessee Volunteers, he's made the team a legitimate championship contender year after year. His humble beginnings in college baseball trace back to his playing days with the Missouri Tigers in 2001 and 2002.

Although he joined Mizzou in 2000 after a year at Division II Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama, he took to the field for the Tigers in his sophomore season as an infielder, batting .500 in 21 games along with an OBP of .625 and one RBI.

Tony Vitello played for the Missouri Tigers.

Then-Missouri coach Tim Jamieson acknowledged in an interview with the Columbia (Missouri Daily Tribune) that he didn't think of Vitello as a starter when he recruited him.

"I didn't look at Tony as a guy who would come in and start. I looked at him more as a program guy that was going to be a great addition."

Vitello ended his last season as a player by driving in three runs and recording 13 hits, including five doubles, with a .217 average and an OBP of .351. He was a three-time letter winner.

Tim Jamieson gave Tony Vitello his first job in a coaching setup

Tim Jamieson made an inexperienced Tony Vitello a volunteer graduate assistant coach in 2003.

"It was a decision I had to make, which obviously served me well: Do I hire this inexperienced former player that has tremendous upside, loyal and hardworking but green?" Jamieson said.

"Or do I hire a little bit more experienced pitching coach who's not familiar with the program? ... I felt the best decision was to stick with a guy who'd been in the program. And, of course, again, the characteristics were there.

Tony Vitello made his first job at the Missouri Tigers count.

Since then, Vitello has not looked back. He became MU's pitching coach soon after, with the Tigers making the postseason in seven of his eight seasons.

He also served the TCU Horned Frogs and Arkansas Razorbacks as an assistant coach before the Tennessee Volunteers hired him as their head coach in 2017.

He has won two Southeastern Conference regular season titles and two SEC Tournaments with the Vols. In addition, he also took them to the NCAA regionals five times and the super regionals five times.

This season is among Vitello's finest yet, with the Vols winning the SEC regular-season and tournament double, along with being the top national seed. He will hope to end the season by winning the College World Series, the only title that has eluded Tennessee baseball.