Tony Vitello, Giants update: Tennessee players could transfer if coach leaves, would need to sit out 2026

If Tony Vitello leaves Tennessee to become the San Francisco Giants’ manager, Volunteers players would be able to enter the transfer portal. However, they would need to sit out the 2026 season if they do, according to D1Baseball’s Kendall Rogers.

Vitello’s name first came up in connection with the Giants’ job last month as they embarked on their search to replace Bob Melvin. The pursuit hit a new level on Saturday when The Athletic reported San Francisco was closing in on the Tennessee skipper as its next manager.

On3’s Pete Nakos reported a decision is expected in the next 24 to 72 hours. No deal has come together yet, but Vitello is emerging as the top target for the Giants. ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported his buyout at Tennessee is $3 million.

Volquest asked Vitello about whether he agreed to become the Giants’ manager and said he had not. In a text to The Athletic, Vitello said, “There is nothing to confirm.”

Vitello would not be the first college baseball coach to make it to the major leagues. Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy previously coached at Notre Dame and Arizona State before working for the San Diego Padres. Murphy also served as Craig Counsell’s bench coach before taking over as manager when Counsell left for the Chicago Cubs.

However, Vitello would make an unprecedented move from a sitting college baseball coach job straight into a major-league manager role without any big-league coaching experience. While Dick Howser went straight from Florida State in 1979 to the New York Yankees as manager in 1980, he was previously the Yankees’ bench coach and served as interim manager in 1978.

Late last month, The Athletic reported Vitello as one of the names linked to the Giants’ job. San Francisco parted ways with Melvin at the end of the season, meaning president of baseball operations Buster Posey would be looking for a new skipper.

In addition to the Giants’ job, Vitello was also linked to the Atlanta Braves’ opening. They opted not to bring Brian Snitker back after a rocky 2025 season.

Vitello took over at Tennessee in 2018, marking his first college head coaching job. He previously worked as an assistant at his alma mater, Missouri, as well as TCU and Arkansas before arriving on Rocky Top.

Since Tony Vitello’s hire, the Volunteers have become an SEC powerhouse. They won their first-ever College World Series in 2024 after making it to Omaha a year earlier. Vitello has a 341-131 overall record with the Vols, including a 125-85 mark in conference play to go with two conference regular season titles and a conference tournament crown.