WATCH: The moment Tennessee Baseball players learned Josh Elander would be their next HC

Earlier today, Tennessee Athletics Director Danny White announced Josh Elander would be the new Head Coach of Tennessee baseball. The news comes on the heels of Tony Vitello’s departure to the San Francisco Giants earlier in the week.

Now, a few hours later, the Tennessee Baseball social media account has revealed the moment when White told the current Tennessee players the news on Elander. You can watch the moment below.

The hunt continues… pic.twitter.com/Nk9zAgzaZ9

— Tennessee Baseball (@Vol_Baseball) October 25, 2025

“I would like to have a players only meeting,” White said as he stepped into a Tennessee Baseball meeting on Saturday afternoon. “I would ask the coaches to step out. Leadership council, I appreciate you all. I thought y’all did a really good job. Why did you come to Tennessee? You came here because you want to win. It was about the culture. The coaching staff bringing players together like family. You all talked about a brotherhood. Y’all talked about authenticity. I asked, what is the culture?I heard freedom like a million times. You talked about the standard you hold each other to. You talked about the hard work, the effort, and controlling the controllables. Those are some of the notes I heard from that group. I used that when assessing the interviews that were conducted—the vetting that was done. I feel like we got the best of the best in terms of who is out there nationally, and I think we have made a decision. I told y’all I would move as fast as I could, and I could not give you a definitive time frame. But, I wanted to eliminate this uncertainty as quick as I could, and we have been able to do that, and I am ready to introduce your new head coach to you today. It is a proud day in the history of Tennessee Baseball.”

Elander has spent all eight seasons on Rocky Top as part of Vitello’s staff and was promoted to associate head coach in 2022. Elander has also served as recruiting coordinator during his time at Tennessee, leading in the role where the Vols have never finished outside the top-10 and have ranked lower than sixth in just one cycle – Vitello’s first cycle in 2018 (9^th).  

“Pretty crazy huh? Man, I am so excited. I appreciate you guys bearing with me,” Elander said. “I know I was a little emotional the last few days. It was just about protecting what we built as a group. A lot of time goes into this. Watched you guys when you were babies. Told your parents, made them promises we would make you better people — we would make you better players. That is not going to change. I am just so excited to keep this show going. We’ve got winners in this room. We’ve got different pieces, good people. Let’s go win a hell of a lot of ballgames. That is where I am at right now. I am so excited more than anything just to have the opportunity to wear the Power T at least for one more day and get between the lines with you guys and go compete. That is what I love to do. You guys know. That is why I am in coaching. I love my girls. I love you guys. I love competing between those lines. It has always been a standard of this program. It always will be. Let’s just get better together. Thankful, grateful for another day. I am just so excited because I get to do it with you guys. That is what was so important to me. It’s just to continue this thing together. I love you guys. I am so excited for the future. Hopefully, this is a good little jolt. Maybe a little cold weather, warm you up a little bit, right? We are going to have some of the best facilities in college baseball, some of the best support across the country. I am just so excited to lead you guys. But again this isn’t going to be some big, crazy change, right? I think it is an incredible opportunity to put our own little stamp on this deal together and I think those decisions need to be made together as a group. From the bottom of my heart, I love you guys. I am thankful for all of you. I am so excited for the future and I can’t wait to lead you guys this spring. Love y’all.”

The top-assistant has played a major role in sixth NCAA Tournament appearances, which included three trips to the College World Series and five-straight Super Regional appearances. Obviously, Tennessee won the national championship in 2024 – the first ever in program history. Elander has also been a part of four Southeastern Conference championships during his time with the program.