Tennessee Vols baseball coach Josh Elander is making a long-needed change that should lead to better results for UT this season.

Elander, who is in his first season as the head coach at Tennessee, started the season coaching from third base — just as he previously did when Tony Vitello was the head coach.

The former TCU standout, however, decided this week to give up third base coaching duties.

“We just said, you know, ‘Hey, how can we communicate a little bit better as a staff,’” said Elander on Tuesday of the decision. “And I’ve always wanted to keep everything this year as similar as it was — just with the uniqueness of the change with (Tony Vitello) — for the players between the lines and how it ran. 

“But I just thought at this point, (pitching coach Josh Reynolds) and I are playing the game of, ‘Hey, if this, then that.’ And then I’m trying to communicate from the third base box… I love coaching third, but I think at this point for the team, it was the move and for our staff to be able to communicate on a higher level throughout the game.”

Josh Elander’s move to the dugout is a positive for Tennessee baseball

Elander may love coaching third, but he can be far more effective as the head coach while in the dugout for the entire game.

Outside of strategic in-game decisions — such as pitching changes, pinch hitting decisions, etc — the main thing a coach can do during a game is keep players loose, confident, and focused.

Coaching third base isn’t “easy”, and Elander is obviously good at it, but his presence in the dugout is more important than him making the send decisions.

Josh Elander is finding what works for him as a head coach

Elander is finding his identity as a head coach, and that takes time.

Back in Vitello’s debut season in 2018, there weren’t nearly as many eyes on Tennessee baseball. Vitello was able to find his way without anyone really noticing if the Vols won or lost a weekend series. There was no spotlight on bad decisions made early in Vitello’s tenure.

Elander deserves that same grace period as a coach. Baseball is already a sport where you have little control over results, which leads to some wacky outcomes at times. Elander shouldn’t be written off just because he’s still finding his footing as the leader of this program.

Tennessee Volunteers News

5-star Texas Longhorns commit drops strong quote about the Tennessee Vols’ offense under Josh Heupel

The Tennessee Vols’ offense has taken plenty of criticism during the Josh Heupel era.

Zach Ragan March 31, 2026