Texas A&M HC Jim Schlossnagle gives thoughts on Tennessee's Tony Vitello ahead of College World Series finals
The Tennessee Vols will take on the Texas A&M Aggies in the College World Series finals starting on Saturday. Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello actually spent three seasons (2011 to 2013) working under Texas A&M head coach Jim Schlossnagle when the two coaches were at TCU (Schlossnagle was TCU's head coach from 2004 to 2021). […]
The Tennessee Vols will take on the Texas A&M Aggies in the College World Series finals starting on Saturday.
Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello actually spent three seasons (2011 to 2013) working under Texas A&M head coach Jim Schlossnagle when the two coaches were at TCU (Schlossnagle was TCU's head coach from 2004 to 2021).
On Friday, while speaking with reporters, Schlossnagle was asked about Vitello and why he hired the former Missouri infielder over a decade ago.
"He was with me in ’11, ’12, and ’13. He was well known as just the hardest working, laser-focused recruiting guy in the country," said Schlossnagle. "He did an awesome job for us at TCU. Most of the players on that ’14 [team]— we went on a run in ’14, ’15, ’16, ’17 coming to Omaha, a lot of the core players on that ’14 team were recruited by Tony.
"He comes from a great family. His Dad is the greatest dude ever. Great high school coach. I remember used to always welcome Coach Vitello, the father, on our bus as we traveled through the course of the year. It was great having him on the bus and having him around. I love great high school coaches. And Tony, you could see his energy, his passion. Obviously, a super intense guy. And he came from a great family. I know he thinks a lot of Coach (Tim) Jamieson at Missouri. He got to work for Dave Van Horn. So he was fully prepared to go run his own program, and he’s done a great job, obviously."
Schlossnagle hasn't just been impressed with Vitello's on-field results, but he's also been impressed with the environment that's been created at Lindsey Nelson Stadium over the last several years.
"When you go there (Knoxville) and experience a three-game series there, it’s not just the baseball stuff, it’s everything else that he’s done a good job with," said Schlossnagle. "That's what I think the best coaches do. It’s the game environment. It’s the promoting your program and everything that Ron Frazier and Skip Bertman got going back in the day, I think the best coaches do all of that. And Tony’s done a great job of that."
Tennessee and Texas A&M will face off in Game One of the College World Series finals on Saturday night at 7:30 PM ET.
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