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Cobbservations 012: Tony Vitello believes Vols have NCAA regional potential

Tennessee baseball coach Tony Vitello walks across the field at Lindsey Nelson Stadium during a recent scrimmage on Tennessee's campus.
Tennessee baseball coach Tony Vitello walks across the field at Lindsey Nelson Stadium during a recent scrimmage on Tennessee's campus. Tennessee baseball coach Tony Vitello walks across the field at Lindsey Nelson Stadium during a recent scrimmage on Tennessee's campus.

By David Cobb 3 min read

KNOXVILLE – Around Tennessee, even the most mundane of spring football practices trump midweek college baseball in terms of media attention. But Tennessee’s Tuesday-Wednesday sweep of UT-Martin produced a couple of highlights worth revisiting.

The first was Brodie Leftridge’s acrobatic grab in center field that landed him the No. 6 spot on SportsCenter’s top 10 plays on Tuesday night.

The second came in Tuesday’s postgame interview with first-year head coach Tony Vitello, who may have given Tennessee fans a reason to tune in to what many regarded as a throwaway year for a program facing a steep rebuild.

Tennessee has not qualified for an NCAA regional since 2005, but Vitello casually mentioned the possibility of the Volunteers ending that drought. Not in 2021 or 2020. But this year, with with a team that has just two seniors and youth throughout the pitching rotation and batting order. The Vols are 21-14 (5-7 SEC) and are ranked 61st in the RPI at the moment.