Hall of Famer, VFL Todd Helton assisting Tennessee search

Major League Baseball Hall of Fame member and former Vol Todd Helton is helping Tennessee athletics director Danny White in his search for the Vols next baseball coach Volquest confirmed a story first reported by the Knoxville News-Sentinel. 

Tennessee is in the market for a coach following Tony Vitello’s departure to be the manage of the San Francisco Giants. 

Helton is joining Danny White, Marshall Steward, Alicia Longworth, and Tyler Johnson on the search team. 

White confirmed on Wednesday that he was using the Parker Executive Search group as well as other people he trusts. 

“I’m using Parker Executive Search, who I’ve used for several coaching searches here,” White said. “They are already working on a plan on the logistics. I use them to to help set up interviews that they don’t pick who we interview. I do that. I’ve been assessing, I’m always assessing, the market for all of our sports. But I’ve been assessing knowing this was a possibility for a while. 

“I think in every search I try to lean on people I trust in this to know more about it than I do. And I’ll be looking for opportunities to do that here too.” 

White said his search for his next baseball coach doesn’t feature specific traits. 

“Nothing specific. The first data point for me will be hearing more directly from that leadership group of student athletes, what they’re experiencing right now,” White told the media on Wednesday. “A lot of times when you go into a coaching search, it’s because the team isn’t having the kind of success you want to have, so how do we make things better? But we’re obviously 18 months removed from a national championship and just lost our coach to the big leagues for the first time in the history of college baseball.

“So, we have a positive momentum and a good thing going, but I still want to hear their perspective and learn from that and then go into the process. But I don’t have anything in particular.”

During his Volunteer tenure, Helton was a three-time All-American and the 1995 National and Southeastern Conference Player of the Year. That same season, Helton pitched a gem in the first game of the College World Series, going the distance against Clemson where he allowed one run on four hits with nine strikeouts in the 3-1 victory.

Helton also played quarterback for the Vols during his time in Knoxville. The Tennessee legend now joins Frank Thomas (Auburn) as the only players from the Southeastern Conference elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.