Tennessee's baseball season ended Tuesday afternoon with a College World Series loss to Texas, but the significant storylines for the Volunteers continue.
The most notable topic to follow is Tony Vitello's immediate future. The fourth-year Tennessee coach is a hot commodity after a 50-18 season and has been asked about the vacancy at LSU, but multiple media outlets have reported a jaw-dropping raise in Knoxville is on the way.
Vitello worked for $550,000 this season, which placed him seventh among the eight College World Series coaches, according to salaries compiled by USA Today. Vanderbilt's Tim Corbin, who led the Commodores to the 2014 and 2019 national championships, makes at least $1.2 million, and there have been reports Vitello could be nearing that kind of neighborhood.
A jump in pay would be accompanied by notable enhancements to the aging Lindsey Nelson Stadium, which may wind up housing this season's Vols one final time.
"I mentioned to them in the locker room that we need to do something else to get together as a group rather than just kind of slamming the door shut on this thing," Vitello said on a Zoom call after the loss to the Longhorns, "whether it's honoring the fans or the team or just getting together for a meal and being together one more time."
The Lafayette (Louisiana) Daily Advertiser reported Wednesday afternoon that Arizona's Jay Johnson, East Carolina's Cliff Godwin and Notre Dame's Link Jarrett are the three finalists for the LSU opening.
Tennessee had overall losing records under Todd Raleigh (108-113 from 2008-11) and Dave Serrano (157-163 from 2012-17), but Vitello quickly reversed the fortunes, taking the Vols to the 2019 NCAA tournament to end a drought that began in 2006. The Vols were 15-2 with a win over No. 1 Texas Tech when last season was halted due to the coronavirus outbreak, while this year's 50-win team was the Southeastern Conference Eastern Division champion and won its first five NCAA tournament games.
Vitello's four-year mark is 134-68, with this season providing one memorable moment after another.
"It was a pleasure cruise," Vitello said of the whopping 68-game slate. "As much as you get angry at certain things or you've got to go to COVID testing and stuff like that, it was a good time. It was a really good time to be around those guys, and they created something. You get handed the baton, and you run with it.
"That's one thing, and kudos to all those people that have done that, but these kids literally invented things, and they did it in a really fun fashion."
Topping Tennessee's season of fun was Evan Russell's grand slam against Vanderbilt in April, Max Ferguson's three-run walk-off homer against Arkansas in May, and Drew Gilbert's grand slam earlier this month that topped Wright State 9-8 in the opening NCAA tournament game for the Vols.
"That grand slam that Drew hit was the craziest thing I've ever been a part of," Vols designated hitter Pete Derkay said. "I was kind of sitting there in the dugout next to (pitcher) Redmond (Walsh), and we were both thinking the same thing: If we got to Drew, we had a really good shot, but nobody said a word to each other. We were kind of just sitting there watching, and it happened and that was the craziest thing I've ever seen.
"From then on, all our guys were just feeding off of each other and just so focused on how can we get to the next thing and if somebody doesn't get it done, the next guy is going to do it."
Barnes vs. Texas
Tennessee basketball coach Rick Barnes will face his former program when the Vols travel to Texas in the Big 12/SEC Challenge on Jan. 29, 2022.
The 10-game schedule was revealed Wednesday, with the Tennessee-Texas showdown one of the marquee matchups along with Kentucky at Kansas, Baylor at Alabama and Oklahoma at Auburn. Barnes guided the Longhorns for 17 seasons, reaching 16 NCAA tournaments and advancing to the 2003 Final Four.
Shaka Smart replaced Barnes and took Texas to just three NCAA tournaments in six seasons, with the Longhorns failing to win a single NCAA tourney game.
The Longhorns are now headed by Chris Beard, who took Texas Tech to the 2019 championship game against Virginia. Texas has enjoyed a productive few weeks via the transfer portal and is expected to have a preseason top-five national ranking.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524. Follow him on Twitter @DavidSPaschall.