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FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS – JUNE 08: Head Coach Tony Vitello of the Tennessee Volunteers during a game against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Baum-Walker Stadium at George Cole Field during the NCAA Baseball Super Regional – Fayetteville on June 08, 2025 in

SANF RANCISCO – The San Francisco Giants are finalizing a deal with a Tennessee college baseball coach to become the team’s next manager, following last month’s firing of Bob Melvin, according to a report from ESPN.

Tony Vitello – head baseball coach at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville – will be the first manager in Major League Baseball without any professional baseball experience, the outlet reports. 

Vitello led Tennessee to a national championship in 2024, defeating Texas A&M in the Men’s College World Series. The college team finished the season with a 60-13 record – the first Southeastern Conference team to achieve 60 wins in a single season. 

Under Vitello’s leadership, the team had three Men’s College World Series appearances, five NCAA super regional appearances, and six NCAA regional appearances.

Prior to serving as head coach at Tennessee, Vitello coached at the University of Missouri, Texas Christian University and the University of Arkansas. 

The 47-year-old attended the University of Missouri, playing as an infielder for the Missouri Tigers.

Vitello has an overall head coaching record of 341-131.

Melvin out as San Francisco Giants manager Melvin’s firing

The backstory:

The Giants fired Melvin in September after the club missed the playoffs for the fourth straight season. 

The team’s President of Baseball Operations, Buster Posey, said last month that he admired Melvin, but the team had to move into a different direction. 

The Giants finished the 2025 season 81-81, with just one more victory than in Melvin’s first year. The team hasn’t reached the postseason since winning the NL West with a franchise-record 107 victories over the rival Dodgers by one game in 2021 under then-manager Gabe Kapler.

“After meeting with ownership, I met with Bob today to inform him of my decision,” Posey said, in part, in a statement. “On behalf of the organization, I want to express my appreciation to Bob for his dedication, professionalism and class. I wish him all the best. After careful evaluation, we determined that making a change in leadership was in the best interest of the team.”

The Source: ESPN report, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, San Francisco Giants and previous KTVU reporting.

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