KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — Following the news that Tony Vitello would depart Rocky Top to become the manager of the San Francisco Giants, assistant coach Frank Anderson has been tapped to serve as the interim head coach for Tennessee baseball.
Tennessee Director of Athletics Danny White announced the appointment at a press conference on Wednesday. He said they will conduct a national search for a new head coach, adding that associate head coach Josh Elander is a candidate.
Anderson is a college baseball veteran with over four decades of coaching experience and two national titles as an assistant. He has served as an assistant coach at Tennessee since 2018 and is considered one of the top pitching coaches in the country.
While he has spent the majority of his career as an assistant, he served as the head coach at Oklahoma State for nine seasons from 2004 to 2012 and guided the Cowboys to six NCAA Regionals and an NCAA Super Regional appearance. In a four-year stint as pitching coach at the University of Texas, the Longhorns made three straight College World Series appearances and won the national title in 2002.
Under Anderson, Tennessee’s pitching staff has regularly been among the nation’s best. The Vols have finished in the top 20 nationally in ERA, WHIP and strikeout-to-walk ratio in each of the past seven seasons. He was named the 2022 Rawlings Pitching Coach of the Year after Tennessee finished No. 1 in the nation in ERA, strikeout-to-walk ratio, WHIP, and walks allowed per nine innings.
A total of 25 pitchers have been selected in the MLB Draft in his eight seasons at UT, including four first-round picks. Throughout his career, Anderson has coached over 100 pitchers who went on to be selected in the MLB Draft.
Liam Doyle became the highest-drafted pitcher in school history last year when he was selected fifth overall by the St. Louis Cardinals after being named SEC Pitcher of the Year, only the third Vol to win the award. The Chicago White Sox selected Tennessee ace Garrett Crochet 11th overall in 2020, where he went on to become the first player to go from the draft to the big leagues without playing in the minors since 2010.
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