Vitello teams that played with attitude and edge laid foundation for Vols' national championship run

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Winning the national championship validated what already was increasingly obvious. Tennessee is the standard bearer in this era of college baseball.

The Volunteers' first national title in the sport was the culmination of a seven-year climb from SEC irrelevance to national dominance under Tony Vitello, whose team finished its latest College World Series run with a 6-5 win over Texas A&M in the third and deciding game of the finals Monday night.

“We had unfinished business, especially this being the third time we’ve been here in the last four years," pitcher Zander Sechrist said. “(In) ’21 we didn’t do well, ’22 you could arguably say that was the best college baseball team ever, ’23 we got to experience winning at least a game here. But the job wasn't finished, and '24 just felt a little different.”

Different is certainly one way to describe Tennessee's season.