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What Tennessee recruits are saying about the Josh Elander hire

On3 imageby: Eric Cain3 hours ago_Cainer
Josh Elander. Credit: Calvin Mattheis/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK
Josh Elander. Credit: Calvin Mattheis/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

Tennessee baseball is going to keep on rolling. At least, that’s the thought process of Danny White, who made the call to promote Josh Elander from associate head coach to head coach of the program Saturday morning.

Former players recruits alike have taken to social media all day to voice their happiness and excitement for the job staying in house. Elander, of course, was on staff under Vitello for all eight seasons and played a massive role in the culture, winning the 2024 national championship.

With Signing Day a little over two weeks away from the Class of 2026 – and Tennessee’s 2027 class already loaded from top to bottom – here’s a snapshot of the social media reaction from Tennessee recruits on Saturday.

The Vols currently sport the No. 4 recruiting class in the 2027 cycle with 10 top 100 prospects (18 overall) and the No. 2 recruiting class for 2027 with nine top 100 recruits (12 overall).

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 (9th).  

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.   

Elander has coached 27 draft picks while at Tennessee as the primary hitting and catching instructor. Six of the 27 were first rounders, a list that includes Drew Gilbert (2022), Jordan Beck (2022), Christian Moore (2024), Blake Burke (2024), Gavin Kilen (2025) and Andrew Fischer (2025).

Under Elander’s leadership, Tennessee hammered 131 home runs in 2025 – marking the fourth consecutive season the program has hit 100 or more home runs.

Elander, 34, is a native of Round Rock, Texas where he attended and played baseball at TCU from 2010-2012. The catcher was a sixth round pick by the Atlanta Braves in 2012 and played parts of five seasons in Danville, Lynchburg, Rome and Kane County – reaching as high as Advanced A.

The standout named the Atlanta Braves Minor League Player of the Year in 2013 and was honored with the Atlanta Braves Hank Aaron Award in 2013 as well.