Reese Chapman’s comments after UT’s season ended in Chapel Hill tells fans all they need to know about Josh Elander as Tennessee’s coach
Josh Elander’s first season as the head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers baseball team came to an end on Saturday in Chapel Hill. Tennessee went winless in the Chapel Hill Regional.
The Tennessee Vols’ 2026 season came to an end on Saturday in Chapel Hill.
Tennessee, which lost 7-3 to East Carolina in 14 innings on Friday, fell 5-4 to VCU on Saturday afternoon, eliminating the Vols from the Chapel Hill Regional.
The loss means that Tennessee finished with a 38-22 record in Josh Elander’s first season as the program’s head coach. It’s the first time since 2018, which was Tony Vitello’s first season as the Vols’ head coach, that Tennessee failed to win at least 40 games (that doesn’t count the COVID-shortened 2020 season).
Overall, it was a pretty solid first season for Elander. There were some growing pains, but the team got better as the season went along (and as Elander made adjustments — such as moving into the dugout after initially serving as the third base coach).
Reese Chapman leaves no doubt how he feels about Josh Elander
Senior outfielder Reese Chapman spoke to reporters after the loss to VCU and he made it clear that he thinks Elander is the right person to lead the program moving forward.
Chapman also told reporters that Elander made him a better person during his time on Rocky Top.
“This program means everything to me,” said Chapman. “I told Vol Nation I would give my all for Tennessee…. I wouldn’t change anything in my last four years.
“For my skipper, I’d do anything for him. He’s family for me and I feel like I’m family to him. He’s made me a better baseball player, but an ever better person.”
When you hear that kind of stuff from players, you know the program has the right coach. Sure, the season didn’t end the way Tennessee was hoping, but Elander clearly made a massive positive impact on players like Chapman. And that should give fans confidence that the UT baseball program is in the right hands moving forward.