The start of the 2026 college baseball season is still several months away, but fireworks are already flying in the SEC. According to Pete Thamel and Jeff Passan, Tennessee Volunteers head coach Tony Vitello is leaving Knoxville for the big leagues. On Wednesday, Thamel and Passan reported that Vitello is close to finalizing a deal with the San Francisco Giants.
Vitello's move from Tennessee to the Giants is a historic one, as Vitello will become the first ever coach to make the jump directly from the college ranks to Major League Baseball without any previous professional experience. The move is sending shockwaves across social media, and this season's matchups between the Vols and Tigers are going to look a lot different without Vitello at the helm of the Tennessee program.