WATCH Press Conference Here: Josh Elander
Vice Chancellor/Director of Athletics Danny White officially introduced Josh Elander as the 26th head coach in Tennessee baseball history on Monday, October 27.
Vice Chancellor/Director of Athletics Danny White
Opening Statement…
“Thank y’all for coming back together on short notice. Once again, this is our second press conference about our baseball program in less than a week. (I) want to acknowledge our whole team that’s behind whatever we call this wall. Y’all can’t see them. There’s not enough room in our studio here for everybody, but they’re here to support coach Elander. I’ll start off by thanking Tony Vitello once again on everything he built for this program. We have the dominant program in college baseball. When he came here eight years ago, as we all know, that wasn’t the case. (We are) opening up a new $109 million ballpark this season. It’s sold out already and Lindsey Nelson Stadium has been sold out for the last few years because of his hard work and everything that we’ve built and accomplished together. So, I am excited for Tony and his opportunity and congrats to him again.
“I also want to thank Frank Anderson for his work as our interim coach for his short stint. I had no idea how long that would be needed, but it was important for our team to have leadership and important for Josh to be able to focus on what I think would be the biggest interview of his life and one he certainly excelled at. I want to thank our committee – my staff, those that work most closely with our baseball program and will continue to in supporting our baseball staff and our student athletes. And also, Todd Helton was a great sounding board through the process. Tony kept me informed throughout this, his process with the Giants. So, I’ve been preparing for this since the Third Saturday in October when I thought it would be a little more real. I still didn’t know. Obviously, he hadn’t made a decision. With the unique timing in college baseball, we knew we needed to be prepared if he did make that decision, and so we were. We’ve been vetting the top candidates in the country. Narrowing that list pretty significantly when you consider our standard as a program, what we’ve accomplished, it would take a special person to come in here, and we had some really special leaders that have accomplished a lot in baseball, in college baseball as coaches. Before I started any interviews, I needed to meet with our student-athlete group. Y’all have heard me talk about that before. The first thing we did with the team, we did a quick Zoom to make it easier for them (because) they had already finished up at the building. I asked them to vote on a leadership group. We had a great, productive meeting. It helped me understand how they were seeing things from their perspective. (It was) very positive. I won’t get in the detail of that meeting, but it was all extremely positive, as you’d expect, when you are having the kind of success that we’re having. We have a really positive culture. Kids are having fun, and we’re winning at a really high level. We had a couple of options. We could have continued with an interim and had a ton of confidence in coach Anderson to do that for us and the staff to keep things in place, to do a search at a more traditional time in the spring. Or we could make a long-term, permanent hire to establish a foundation for the future for our baseball program. That’s ultimately the decision that we made. No matter who we hired, if it wasn’t in an interim capacity, it was a long-term decision with a five-year contract like we do for all of our head coaches. It’s not a secret, I’ll be introducing shortly our new head coach Josh Elander.
“A couple highlights that we should all know about because you all know Josh and you know our program, so I am going to pretend like I’m introducing somebody new to Vol Nation. I am going to be introducing the recruiting coordinator and hitting coach for the last eight years for the most successful program in college baseball. Under his leadership and tutelage, our program has had an NCAA-leading 695 home runs. We’ve led the country in runs and home runs in 2022 and 2024. We are the first and only SEC team to win 60 games in a season. We’ve been to five supers (super regionals) in the last five years, three trips to Omaha that we’re all familiar with and fond of over the last five years. Josh has coached 27 players that have been drafted that he’s worked directly with, six first rounders and obviously the 2024 national championship. I am extremely confident in his leadership and his ability to continue the success we’ve been having to continue to build on it, to continue our dominance as the best baseball program in the country. I couldn’t be more proud to introduce your new head coach, the head coach of our Tennessee Volunteers’ baseball program, Josh Elander.”
Tennessee Baseball Head Coach Josh Elander
Opening Statement…
“Good morning. I appreciate everybody being here today. It’s pretty cool to see all the familiar faces in this room. I just want to start by thanking all the players in this room. I hope you guys aren’t missing class right now to be here. And then, before we get into this, anything happen this week around here? Any changes or anything? But in all seriousness, I want to start by thanking our leadership and administration, Chancellor (Donde) Plowman, and Danny White, our Athletics Director, Alicia Longworth, Marshall Steward, Tyler Johnson, Randy Boyd. This is one of the best universities in college sports, and I truly believe we have the best people leading us into the next phase of Tennessee baseball. I’m grateful for how this process played out as well, to be able to go through the interview process, to have to compete, is the only thing I wanted to ask for, because I just wanted one more day with the guys in the building, so I’m so thankful it played out in that way.
“It’s an honor and a privilege to stand here as the new head coach of Tennessee baseball. The last few days have been a whirlwind, but the last two, gratitude specifically, is the main word. I’m so thankful for all the people that have made it possible, a lot of them are standing in this room and are right in front of me right here. I do want to thank some former players, I could literally go 35 minutes on this, but Chris Burke has been above and beyond the past few days, one of the best human beings I’ve ever been around. Blake Burke, Drew Beam, Jordan Beck, Connor Pavolony, Ricky Martinez, you know what I could go on and on, Christian Moore, Drew Gilbert. You guys are family to me, and you’re the only reason I’m standing right here, and this program will always belong to you. Please come back, I can’t wait to see you guys, and just love you guys from the bottom of my heart.
“To my current players, to that moment last week going in the room when I was finally announced as being the head coach, I can’t really even put it into words. It’s something that I’ll never forget for the rest of my life. I can’t wait to go to battle with you guys this spring, but I’m so impressed with the professionalism and how you guys handled the challenges of last week. To our future players, I appreciate you sticking with us the last week. I know change can be hard, but this is an incredible opportunity. We have one of the best staffs in college baseball, and some of the best people that do what they do. I can’t wait for them to be able to coach you, and I can’t wait to go to battle with you guys very soon.
“To our current staff, Frank the Tank (Frank Anderson), father figure, we all love you. Undefeated as interim coach in the SEC, it’s a good start. Ross (Kivett), my right hand man, Q (Quentin Eberhardt), family, always have been. I have known you since I was a kid. Ricky (Martinez), Ren (Josh Reynolds), Stove (Zach Stovall), Woody (Jeff Wood), Meghan (Anderson), (Adam) Low, you are the people that make this place great, and you make our players better every day. I can’t wait to continue working with all of you.
“To my previous coaches, I’m going to start with Jim Schlossnagle, my collegiate head coach (at TCU). I’ve learned so much from you: discipline, habits and standards, what it takes to win, just to be selfless, to have incredible energy and seek excellence in everything that you do. I’ve always learned that from you, and I can’t wait to share that with our players, as well. To Dave Van Horn, for the invitation to the SEC, to learn how to be a phenomenal head coach, but to also be an amazing family man, that is something that’ll be a big part of the rest of my life as a coach, because I love these three little monsters right here in front of us [referencing his three daughters in the room]. To Randy Mazey, Bill Mosiello, Todd Whittingb and Pat Loter, who is no longer with us, to learn the X’s and O’s from from you guys, I can’t wait to share the knowledge and the things that basically I had so much fun learning and getting better (at). The fundamentals and mastering those details with our players, that will always be a part of any program we’re associated with moving forward. And to Tony Vitello, a lot of ways I could go with this. We made a lot of great memories. A lot of wins, a lot of running around on the road, a lot of dreaming to make this place something great, and I really believe our staff did that together. I’m so excited for you, and I can’t wait to see you win a World Series. Thank you for taking a chance on me and showing me what it means to leave your soul in the game. I hope our players always feel that way as well.
“To my parents, Robert and Chris, who are holding it down in Texas today, I love you. I’m so grateful for all the time at the baseball field, for all your firm and fair parenting and for an incredible example of what it means to have a loving marriage. To my brothers and sisters, Chase, Shannon and Lauren, I hope Texas is treating you well. Sorry for all the times we had to go to baseball fields in the summer. But, I can’t wait for y’all to see the new Lindsey Nelson Stadium this spring. To my wife Brittany, the best teammate I’ve ever had in my whole life, we always talked about making sacrifices with our children to show them that they could be part of something bigger than themselves. I know I’ve missed some stuff along the way. I can’t wait for our kids to experience the magic of Rocky Top. I love you guys.
“Changing gears a little bit, we’re here to keep this thing going. I know coach (Ross) Kivett is our Twitter monster, so follow his stuff, but we’re going to keep this thing going. I love these people in this building. I love this roster. We talked about in the scrimmage yesterday, the crispness, the high level prospects, the fundamentals, it’s in the building right now. We don’t have to hunt that down. I really believe in our recruiting classes and the people that are on the way, but we also have a great respect for this league and what winning requires in this league. We’ve been here a long time now, and we’re excited for the challenges to come. We’re going to continue to have great processes and habits, to continue to improve. To the players here right now, let’s just finish this fall well together. Three expectations I have going forward, and this is nothing new for our players. We want to recruit and develop at the highest level, objectively we’ve done that better than any program since COVID. I’m excited to continue with the people in this room that make that possible. I want our guys to prepare like professionals and go compete like champions. I want them to be on the hunt. I want them to push the line between aggressiveness and recklessness, and know that regardless of how it plays out, we will have their back. And I want them to crave competition. If you want to play in the SEC, you better love to compete. It’s tough, with a razor-thin margin of error, but our guys signed up because they want to be the best and they want to beat the best. I can’t wait to go to battle with you guys this spring.
“To Vol Nation, the best fan base in college sports, I can’t get over all the years traveling, being in the airport and someone saying ‘Go Vols’ because I’ve got my backpack on while I’m on a recruiting trip, or being on the beach in Mexico with my wife last year and someone says ‘hey, Go Vols’ from across the way. To feel the power of the Power T, and what the Volunteer State means, I will never take that for granted. I’m so excited for our kids, to open the new Lindsey Nelson Stadium, but also going to TBA (Thompson Boling Arena at Food City Center), and the softball games and Neyland Stadium, this is a one of a kind fan base, and you guys make this place special. We are really going to need you this spring, and I can’t wait to see you guys out there. Feel free to welcome the opposing teams to Knoxville the right way.
“In closing, nine years ago I got this job. Tony Vitello called, and I went on the road basically immediately, never went back to the place I rented in Arkansas. Running around recruiting, doing a bunch of deals, but when I got here finally for our first (recruiting) visit, running a kid around, there was a welcome packet on my desk. It had a bunch of different things, but the main thing I took out of that, I took some scissors and cut it out. It was a quote from Pat Summitt. It’s been hanging in my office for nine years, and it ain’t going anywhere. That quote is, ‘here’s how I’m going to beat you. I’m going to outwork you.’ That’s it. That’s all there is to it. I cannot wait to see what our staff, players and Vol Nation is going to accomplish in the future. Thank you guys and go Vols!”
On his emotions toward getting the job…
“Yeah, it was all over the place. I mean, the way it went down with Tony, again we were so focused on the fall and getting better. I think we’ve always been trying to say what is essential and what is not. How we focused on what’s important, and we’re in a very important period of the fall right now, but the emotions were crazy. I think for all the staff, I think we have a genuine, rooted love for this university, and it was scary, just to be very honest with you. But I want to be crystal clear, we’re all thrilled for Tony Vitello. What an amazing opportunity to do something that’s never been done before. His fingerprints will always be on this program, but to be able to earn the job and to be able to walk in and see these guys, and that moment I had with them I’ll never forget. Just really excited for the future, but honestly grateful and thankful because when you’re looking at, hey, maybe not being able to wear that Power T anymore, it’s a pretty scary feeling to be honest.”
On the coaching abilities he displayed during the interview process…
“Well, I think I just wanted to be myself. I reached out to some of my mentors in the game, and again, just wanted to be myself. I didn’t want to try to push some crazy narrative or have the arrogance that I have to put my stamp on this program. This program will always be about the players. Develop them the right way, but just really highlight the systems, whether it be the habits of the players we have, the recruiting relationships that we have, and how that can continue to just get better and better as we go with the people that are in this building.”
On what stamp he intends to leave on Tennessee Baseball…
“Yeah, I mean my focus has essentially been connecting with all the recruits, making sure they’re in a good spot, taking care of our players and finishing the fall. Like for me, it’s ‘hey, how do we get through this period that we have that’s a limited time based on NCAA rules, and how do we get better?’ And I think, big picture stuff, we’ll get with our staff and I’ll lean on them and administration. We just want a team. To be able to communicate like champs across the board. That’s our focus moving forward, but again, like any kind of notion that I have to put my stamp on something like this now, this is an organic, sustainable culture that’s been built over a long period of time, and we truly, truly believe in that. And the players are the ones who make that possible and hold those standards every day.”
On who the man behind the beard is…
“I think I’m a father first in everything that I do. I love my family, but anybody that commits to play at Tennessee, there needs to be a trust that we’ll take care of their kids, right? But, who am I? I love the game of baseball. I love the intricacies of the X’s and O’s, and the fundamentals, and trying to dominate the average play, but also what works over the course of 56 (games), and what winning requires in this league. It’s not easy. I’ve made some mistakes, plenty of them over the last nine years in this league, in recruiting or on the field, but I think it puts us all in a better position moving forward. But again, this day is not about me. This day is about this program and what we’ve accomplished. About these players. I can’t wait for you guys to see my guy Blaine Brown go deep or Henry Ford put a hole in the scoreboard yesterday, the next 100-mph arm. It will always be about these guys.”
On the phone call with his mom and dad…
“Love my parents more than anything. Honestly, I’ve never expected the chaos on the phone. I wasn’t ready for that. I’m going to make it a priority to get back with everybody as all of this plays out, but my parents have just been so incredibly supportive. They were actually here this last weekend, helping us hold down the fort with the little ones. So, I’m just excited to share that moment with them. They’ve always been so supportive and I’m so thankful. I wouldn’t be standing here without them today.”
On how he balances transitioning into a head coaching role…
“That’s a great question. I think I have to lean on my staff and lean on the administration for some help in this change. I’m not going to act like I have it all figured out immediately. In conversations I’ve had with recruits, I’ve been very adamant that I’m still planning on coaching third base, being in the cage, grinding with the guys on the hitting side, whether it be prep with (Zach) Stovall and Ross (Kivett) and Ricky (Martinez), and how we go about this deal. I just told these guys, anything big picture, let’s just finish this fall at a high level. With the staff, obviously, there’s an open position. My focus is entirely right now on the staff that’s standing right behind you, taking care of those guys. I’ve been flattered by how many people have reached out, but I’m going to lean on administration as well as our current staff, because we have to protect the culture and the timing of everything is very important. I think also too, with the recruits, I would like to loop them in with anything, as well.”
On what makes Rocky Top special…
“Yeah, I mean, we talk about it a ton in recruiting. It’s got everything, right? You got the Smoky Mountains, if you want to go out on the lake, if you want to go to a quarry, you can go downtown, grab a bite to eat. So many good places to eat down here. That’s probably one of my favorite things, but just to see the explosion. How much real estate has gone crazy here, but you have anything you could ever want within a 30-mile radius. You also have the small-town bubble of a college feel. Like on game day, this is the place to be. In the state, but also too, hey if you want to go downtown, have a meal or go out to the Smoky Mountains, it’s just a good blend. No matter where kids are from, and we’re going to take pride in recruiting kids coast to coast, you know, they can come to the city and be like, ‘hey, this is a little bit different. This place is special, and not only can I become the best baseball player and person possible, but I’m going to have a great time living in Knoxville, Tennessee.’”
On his assessment of the current baseball team…
“Just really excited. I think there’s some firepower on the mound. I think we have a different bullpen than we did last year. Again, I think flame throwers are something we’ve always kind of hunted down in recruiting. Always been 100-mph arms. When V (Tony Vitello), and Frank, and I, and Ross went into the portal this year, had to make some changes. We wanted just a little bit more balance. Maybe some lefty specialists, some cutter guys, some different looks, whether it be different slots, whether it be IVB (induced vertical break) guys, running heaters, sinkers, cutters. We just want to be hard to prepare for. On the pitching side, I’m so, so excited about the youth and the transfers, I think there’s a good balance. And the most exciting thing is, it’s up to them to figure out where they’re going to pitch. That’s not going to change, that’s always been the deal. Excited for the pitching staff, and offensively, clearly, I’m biased as always on that side of the ball, but I really like this group. I think we’re dynamic, very athletic and very versatile. So, I think trust is going to be a big word, and as we move these guys around a little bit and figure out what positions work best, how do we mix that? We’re talking with Stovall, whether it be matchups and analytics, and how do we blend that into how we attack each game? But also too, just being real with the players. Make sure they understand, they know what’s going on on the decision-making side and they feel like they’re looped into the process. I’m just excited for this group and really just get a little better each day. But I can’t wait to go to war with them this spring.”
On speaking to Tony Vitello since being hired…
“Great question. Coach V has been amazing throughout this whole process. We Facetimed shortly after signing the contract. He was on a plane in Atlanta. It was just simple. We’re so different and we’ve worked together for so long, it was just ‘hey, congratulations. Love ya, love ya.’ He’s got things to do so let’s move on. So, what’s the next task? It’s something we’ve talked about a ton with our players. That’ll be a theme here, as well. He took a chance on me and that is something I’ll never take for granted. But, I think for right now it’s hey, he knows I’m focused on this group right here, but we’ll link up again plenty of times over the next month, two months. He’s a lifelong friend and mentor and I will never take what I learned from him for granted.”
On interviewing with the support from players and staff…
“I think we just went in with a united front and a singular focus. The only avenue was I was always going to go in there and prove that I was the guy for the job. I put all my preparation into the interview process, but I just wanted to be authentic. That’s it. Be comfortable in my own skin and throw my best punch. If I wasn’t the guy, then so be it. If Danny (White) thought someone was better to lead this program, would’ve 100 percent understood and supported them every single day. But again, there was some pressure, whatever. Again, this is a family here. We talk about it in recruiting. The real roots of all the time that we spend together, that’s not something that we take for granted. So, it was more so, ‘hey, let’s go to battle one more time, and see where the chips lie after that.’”
On the greatest lesson he’s learned since coming to Tennessee that he will carry into being a head coach…
“I think it’s just attacking each day. We never really talked about it, it may sound crazy, ‘we got to win X amount of games or win this many championships.’ It was, ‘do you have good habits and processes and can you get buy-in from the players to get a little bit better each day?’ And then hold them accountable to be consistent over time. That’s been our magic here. And then treating people right. Teach them how to be a pro. Teach them how to recover. Know that we have their backs, right? I know the family aspect is something that gets thrown around a bunch in recruiting, but I know these guys feel it. When recruits come in, it’s authentic here. It’s a little bit different. We don’t expect that to change.”
On the feeling of players and staff wanting to stay after him taking the job…
“I mean, we take pride in our relationships in recruiting, right? Even when we get a kid committed, it’s just the beginning of an incredible journey. So, to give you a story, we commit Jordan Beck. We had just got here, he’s a junior in high school. You get to go watch him play, you go through the draft, he ends up turning it down to come to school. You get to grind in the cage, see the guy compete, develop, become a first rounder, and then fast forward two years ago, me and my wife get to go see him play in Yankee Stadium with the Rockies. I texted the video to Q (Quentin Eberhardt). Pretty crazy, he does Q’s pregame band routine on the field, right before the game. To me, that’s what it’s all about. The relationships and taking care of each other, it really is. But this is the easiest no-brainer of all time. I love this place and am just excited to continue this show with the guys.”
On former players voicing their support for him to take over and how the current team has handled the transition…
“I just thought the team was incredibly professional last week. I mean, again, nobody was asking me about it. We were just going through practice as normal, the most we could. It was just so flattering, honestly. It made me soft, it was emotional when I saw some of it, so I basically just tried to block it out because I didn’t want our guys at practice to think something was going on or they were being left out of something. So again, the relationship with these guys standing here and the former players, that’ll never change. I think that’s going to be the root of what we all do here. I’ll never forget their support, and I’ll never take that for granted.”
On coaching staff assignments and positions going forward…
“Yeah, definitely going to lean on administration throughout this process. This is the first time I’ve ever done this, but my focus is to take care of the people in the building first, not worry about anything externally. I think we have some of the best people at what they do in their positions, so they need to be taken care of the right way and that’s my main and sole focus and all the roots we have. I’m just excited because we want stability for these guys in the building moving forward.”
