The University of Tennessee is in the market for a new baseball coach after Tony Vitello accepted an offer Wednesday to become manager of the San Francisco Giants.

Vitello will make history by becoming the first Major League Baseball manager to jump straight from college without any background in professional baseball.

In his eight seasons with the Volunteers, the 47-year-old Vitello guided the program to unprecedented heights, most notably the 2024 national championship. Tennessee had missed out on the NCAA tournament for 12 consecutive seasons when he was hired in the summer of 2017 and missed out again in 2018, but the Vols are currently the only program to reach the super regional round each of the past five seasons.

The Vols advanced to the College World Series in 2021, 2023 and 2024, topping Texas A&M in the best-of-three final to win the 2024 crown.

“In my mind this is not a sad day,” Tennessee athletic director Danny White said Wednesday afternoon in a news conference. “It’s a proud day. This is something that has never been accomplished before, so I think it’s a testament obviously to Tony Vitello, everybody who has ever played for him and coached for him, and our fans who have supported the program.

“We’ve had an unprecedented run of success the last four or five years, and what he has built is absolutely phenomenal. I was looking at the numbers when Tony Vitello first got here, and our budget was $3.5 million. It’s $14 million today. We have the top budget in college baseball, and we’re building a $109 million stadium.”

White named Tennessee pitching coach Frank Anderson as the interim coach and said that Vols hitting coach Josh Elander would be a candidate to replace Vitello. Both have been with Vitello from the start in Knoxville.

Elander, who has been successful as the hitting coach and recruiting coordinator, is the overwhelming favorite among former players and the fans.

“I’ve got nothing but love and respect for Coach V,” former Vols and Cleveland High School pitcher Camden Sewell posted on social media. “It’s more than deserved. Thank you for everything. Now there’s only one thing to do — Josh Elander.”

Former Vols first baseman Blake Burke also weighed in with, “Josh Elander is the guy 100,000%.”

White was asked Wednesday why he made the decision to name Anderson as the interim.

“Frank has been a head coach, but probably more important is that as quickly as I would like to move, I would like Josh to be able to focus on his candidacy,” White said. “He is kind of in the middle of all of this, too. Up until this morning, the entire staff didn’t know the decision Tony was going to make, so he’s been focused on recruiting and coaching his players.

“We have an incoming class and there is a lot going on, so I did not want to throw this on him now while also maybe treating an interview as an afterthought.”

A couple of outside candidates who could get a look are Dan Fitzgerald, who went 43-17 this past season at Kansas, and Mark Wasikowski, who went 42-16 this past season at Oregon.

Several weeks after winning the national championship, Vitello agreed to a raise to $3 million annually and to a contract extension through June 2029. At San Francisco, he will be replacing 63-year-old Bob Melvin, who went 80-82 and 81-81 in his two seasons with the Giants while making $4 million a year.

Vitello guided the Vols to a 341-131 record (72.2%), and his last showcase event with his team was a fall scrimmage at AT&T Field on Oct. 4. The scrimmage drew a crowd of 4,029.

The Athletic was the first to report San Francisco’s interest in Vitello days before Tennessee’s trip to Chattanooga, and that same outlet reported this past Saturday that the interest from the Giants had intensified.

“I’m incredibly honored and grateful for this opportunity,” Vitello said in a statement released Wednesday. “I’m excited to lead this group of players and represent the San Francisco Giants. I can’t wait to get started and work to establish a culture that makes Giants faithful proud.”

Tennessee held scrimmages Monday and Tuesday at Lindsey Nelson Stadium with Vitello overseeing them, but Wednesday was a voluntary workout with Vitello nowhere in sight.

Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com.