History of coaches going from college to pros has mixed results

AP photo by Rebecca S. Gratz / Tennessee baseball coach Tony Vitello hoists the NCAA Division I championship trophy after the Volunteers beat Texas A&M in the deciding Game 3 of the best-of-three finals at the College World Series on June 24, 2024, in Omaha, Neb. Vitello has accepted the job as manager of Major League Baseball's San Francisco Giants, the team announced Wednesday, ending his eight-season tenure at Tennessee. AP photo by Rebecca S. Gratz / Tennessee baseball coach Tony Vitello hoists the NCAA Division I championship trophy after the Volunteers beat Texas A&M in the deciding Game 3 of the best-of-three finals at the College World Series on June 24, 2024, in Omaha, Neb. Vitello has accepted the job as manager of Major League Baseball's San Francisco Giants, the team announced Wednesday, ending his eight-season tenure at Tennessee.

By JOSH DUBOW / The Associated Press October 25, 2025 7 min read

SAN FRANCISCO — Tony Vitello’s ascension from college baseball coach to MLB manager — with no steps in between — is a journey that is unprecedented in the modern major leagues.

After leading the Tennessee Volunteers to their first College World Series title in 2024, Vitello will try to have similar success in the majors after being hired to take over the San Francisco Giants.

While several managers in the majors previously served as college coaches, including seven-time World Series champion Casey Stengel and current Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy, none made the jump directly in the modern history of baseball without any experience playing or coaching in the pros.

The college to professional path for a head coach has been taken several times in other major sports leagues, with various levels of success and failures in the NBA, NFL and NHL over the years.

Here’s a look at some of the noteworthy coaches who did it.