2018 Tennessee Baseball Preview: Coaching Staff

We're officially one week out from Opening Day of the 2018 Tennessee baseball season! It's time for our final team preview of the season. Today we'll get to know more about this year's new coaching staff.

The Volunteer's welcome an entirely new coaching staff to Rocky Top this season, led by first-year head coach Tony Vitello. This year's staff brings a solid mix or youth and experience and has combined to make five trips to the College World Series. Get to know a little more about each staff member below.

Tony Vitello – Head Coach
Tony Vitello will make his head coaching debut one week from today as the Vols open their 2018 season at home against Maryland at 3:30 p.m. The St. Louis native arrived on Rocky Top following four seasons as assistant coach/recruiting coordinator at Arkansas. His rise to the head coaching ranks also includes stops at Missouri (his alma mater) and TCU.

Vitello has earned a reputation as one of the elite recruiters on the college baseball landscape, having assembled eight top-15 signing classes – including America's top-rated crop of talent in 2014 – and is well on his way to adding another as Tennessee's 2019 class is currently rated No. 6 in the country by Perfect Game. In November 2016, D1Baseball.com ranked Vitello No. 2, and tops in the SEC, on its list of the top 30 recruiting coordinators in America.

During his 14 years as a full-time Division I assistant coach, Vitello has developed a reputation for not only signing top player but also developing them into college and big league stars. He has signed and developed six first-round MLB Draft picks and a handful of players who advanced to the big leagues. That list includes Andrew Benintendi, Brandon Finnegan, Kyle Gibson, All-Star Aaron Crow, Gold Glove Award winner and four-time All-Star Ian Kinsler and five-time All-Star and three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer.

Vitello already boasts the incredibly rare distinction of having mentored both a National Hitter of the Year (Benintendi) and National Pitcher of the Year (Crow). During his four-year stint at Arkansas alone, Vitello coached 22 players who were selected in the MLB Draft.

The 39-year old Vitello has also proven to be a winner everywhere he's gone, making 12 NCAA tournament appearances, three NCAA Super Regionals and one trip to the College World Series during his three stops as a Division I assistant coach.

A three-year letterwinner at Missouri (2000-02), Vitello earned Academic All-Big 12 Conference honors as a senior and was named to the Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll twice. Following his playing career and the completion of his management degree at MU, Vitello joined the Missouri coaching staff as a volunteer assistant in 2003 and completed his course work for his master's degree in business. In 2004, he was elevated to full-time assistant coach.

Read more about coach Vitello and his new role HERE.

Frank Anderson – Assistant Coach (Pitchers)
Heralded as one of the premier pitching coaches in all of college baseball, Frank Anderson joined Vitello on UT's coaching staff following five seasons as an assistant at Houston, where he helped lead the Cougars to three NCAA Tournaments, including an NCAA Super Regional in 2014. UH played in four consecutive American Athletic Conference Tournament championship games, taking home the title in 2014 and 2017.

Anderson brings a wealth of experience as both an assistant and a head coach at the NCAA Division I level. Prior to his successful stint as pitching coach at Houston, Anderson served as head coach for Oklahoma State for nine seasons (2004-12), leading the Cowboys to six NCAA Regional appearances as well as a trip to the NCAA Super Regionals in 2007. Anderson racked up 329 career victories during his stint as OSU's head coach, which ranks second all-time in program history.

Before taking over in Stillwater, Anderson oversaw the pitchers on legendary coach Augie Garrido's staff at Texas for four years (2000-03). During his time in Austin, Anderson helped lead the Longhorns to three consecutive College World Series appearances (2001-03), and helped them win a national championship in 2002.

Other stops for Anderson included 10 years as an assistant at Texas Tech (1990-99), three seasons at Howard College (1987-89) and three years as an assistant at his alma mater, Emporia State (1983-85). In all, Anderson's teams have advanced to 16 NCAA Tournaments, five NCAA Super Regionals and have made three trips to the College World Series.

Anderson has overseen some of the nation's top pitching staffs during his 34-year coaching career. Most recently, Houston finished in the top-10 nationally in team earned run average during three of Anderson's five seasons with the program. In all, Anderson's teams finished among the top-25 in the country in ERA 11 times, including six top-10 rankings.

Anderson has mentored some of the nation's top pitchers throughout his career. In total, 15 pitchers were selected in the MLB Draft during Anderson's tenure at Houston. He also had 27 pitchers drafted during his time at Oklahoma State, 15 selected while he was at Texas and 21 picked during his 10 seasons with Texas Tech, giving him a grand total of 78 pitchers drafted throughout his storied coaching career.

Anderson is a native of Grant, Nebraska, and earned his bachelor's degree in physical education from Emporia State in 1983 before going on to attain his master's degree from the school in 1985. Prior to attending ESU, Anderson played two seasons at the University of Nebraska at Kearney and was a junior college All-American at Mid-Plains Junior College in North Platte, Nebraska.

Anderson and his wife, Sandra, have two children: a son, Brett, who is a pitcher for the Chicago Cubs, and a daughter, Katelyn.

Josh Elander – Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coordinator (Catchers & Hitting)
Josh Elander was part of the same staff as Vitello at Arkansas last season, serving as the program's volunteer assistant coach, and will work primarily with the Vols' catchers and hitters on top of being the program's recruiting coordinator.

The Round Rock, Texas native was a decorated collegiate player at TCU and brings a wealth of knowledge to the staff after spending four seasons in the professional ranks before transitioning to coaching.

Most recently, Elander was part of an Arkansas team that went 45-19 last season and hosted an NCAA Regional. He helped lead one of the most potent offenses in the SEC as the Razorbacks led the conference and ranked ninth nationally with 83 home runs in 2017. The Hogs also ranked among the top three in the SEC in batting average, runs scored, RBI, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, triples and total bases. Elander played a large role in working with Arkansas' catchers and helped develop Grant Koch into a first team All-SEC selection. Koch also earned a spot on the USA Baseball Collegiate National team.

Prior to joining Arkansas' coaching staff in 2017, Elander spent the 2016 season as a student assistant at his alma mater TCU, where he was able to complete his degree in communications while helping the Horned Frogs reach their third consecutive College World Series.

Elander had a decorated playing career himself during his time at TCU from 2010-12. He hit .333 with 39 doubles, seven triples, 18 home runs and 114 RBIs over 169 games during his three seasons in Fort Worth. Elander earned Freshman All-America honors from Louisville Slugger and Ping!Baseball in 2010 after batting .356 with 69 hits, 16 doubles, four triples, two home runs and 33 RBI in 59 games while helping TCU reach the College World Series.

After taking over as the Horned Frogs starting catcher as a sophomore, Elander earned a spot on the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team. Under the guidance of Vitello, who was TCU's hitting coach from 2011-13, Elander started all 62 games and posted careers highs with 70 hits, 11 home runs and 43 RBIs en route to earning all-conference and Capital One Academic All-America honors in 2012.

Elander was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the sixth round of the 2012 MLB Draft and spent parts of four years in the Braves and Arizona Diamondbacks minor league systems. Elander's best season came in 2013 when he was named the Atlanta Braves Minor League Player of the Year and also won the Atlanta Braves Hank Aaron Award, which is presented annually to the organization's top hitter in the minor leagues.

Elander earned his Bachelor's degree in communications from TCU in 2016 and lives in Knoxville with his wife, Brittany.

Ross Kivett – Volunteer Assistant Coach (Infielders)
Ross Kivett will serve as Tennessee's volunteer assistant coach and will work primarily with the team's infielders as well as run camps. This is the first year in coaching for Kivett after spending the past four seasons in the Detroit Tigers' minor league system.

Kivett was an All-American and Big 12 Player of the Year for Kansas State in 2013 before being drafted by the Tigers in the sixth round of the 2014 MLB Draft. During his professional career, Kivett totaled 362 hits, 77 doubles, 147 RBI and 61 stolen bases.

Prior to the 2014 draft, Kivett saw time at five different positions for the Kansas State Wildcats. During a breakout junior campaign, he led the Big 12 in hits (94) and runs (57) and finished second in stolen bases (26) and total bases (126). Following the 2013 season, Kivett was tabbed an All-American by three different outlets, earned Big 12 Player of the Year accolades, ABCA Midwest All-Region First Team honors and MVP of the NCAA Manhattan Regional. Kivett decided against turning pro after being drafted by the Cleveland Indians in 2013, and instead returned to Kansas State to play his final season of college baseball as well as earn his degree.

The All-American continued his stellar performance as a senior in 2014, becoming the first K-State player in nearly 17 years (the third in program history) to hit for the cycle when he achieved the feat on March 26 against Nebraska. Kivett capped off his career with ABCA Midwest All-Region and All-Big 12 Second Team honors. He also earned CoSIDA Academic All-District 7 Team recognition.

Kivett finished ranked among the Wildcats' top-10 in multiple categories, including first in stolen bases (80), second in games played (225) and games started (215), tied for second in runs scored (181), third in hits (277), fifth in hit by pitch (31), tied for fifth in walks (108) and tied for seventh in triples (11). He also started in 207 consecutive games, the longest such streak in Kansas State history. Kivett earned his Bachelor's degree in communications from Kansas State in 2014.

J.P. Arencibia – Student Assistant Coach
VFL and former All-American J.P. Arencibia returned to the University of Tennessee to finish his undergraduate degree after 10 years in the professional baseball ranks, six of which were spent in the MLB, and will serve as UT's student assistant coach.

The Miami native was taken with the 21st overall pick of the 2007 MLB Draft by the Toronto Blue Jays. He spent three years in the minors before making his debut on Aug. 7, 2010, in a game against the Tampa Bay Rays that became one to remember. Arencibia homered twice and finished with four hits, earning a standing ovation at Rogers Centre.

He became Toronto's starting catcher in 2011 and held onto the position through 2013 before signing with the Texas Rangers as a free agent for the 2014 season.

In 2015, Arencibia played a 24-game stint with the Tampa Bay Rays and recorded the best average of his career (.310). He went 22-for-71 and drove in 17 runs over that span.

Arencibia finished his MLB career with 80 home runs and 245 RBI over 466 games. In the minors, he played 647 games, homering 135 times and driving in 445 runs. Arencibia earned 15 accolades over his career including American League Player of the Week in May of 2012.

In his first season at Tennessee, Arencibia finished the year ranked second on the squad in RBIs (71) and home runs (14) while ranking third in hits (91). By the end of the 67-game slate, Arencibia's freshman stats placed him in UT's single-season record book in multiple categories, including second in at-bats (283), tied for eighth in hits, tied for ninth in homers and sixth in RBIs. The campaign also earned him Freshman All-America honors from Baseball America and Louisville Slugger, and the title of SEC Freshman of the Year. He earned additional postseason recognition when he was named to the SEC All-Tournament team and NCAA Knoxville Regional All-Tournament team.

Following his freshman season, Arencibia immediately joined the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team and proceeded to lead the elite club in hits (23), RBIs (12), total bases (33) and slugging percentage (.579).

As the Vols' starting catcher, he hit a career-high .352 during his sophomore season. Arencibia totaled 76 hits, 28 of which were extra-base knocks. He also recorded a career-high slugging percentage of .583 en route to driving in 52 runs. The stellar campaign earned him All-America accolades from Louisville Slugger and College Baseball Foundation.

During his final season on Rocky Top, Arencibia posted a .450 on-base percentage while tallying 63 hits and 42 RBI. He finished his UT career with a .333 batting average, 230 hits, 165 RBI and 145 scored runs through 174 games. Arencibia started all but one contest while at Tennessee and ranks among the top 10 all-time at UT in hits (seventh), doubles (seventh), home runs (sixth), RBIs (fourth) and total bases (third).
Arencibia is married to Kimberly Perry, a member of the well-known country music group The Band Perry.

Quentin Eberhardt – Strength and Conditioning
Quentin Eberhardt was hired as Tennessee baseball's strength and conditioning coach in October of 2017 after spending eight years in professional baseball.

Eberhardt brings a wealth of experience as a strength and conditioning coach in the professional ranks. The Columbus, Ohio native spent the last four seasons as the head strength and conditioning coach for the New Orleans Baby Cakes, the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins.

Before working with New Orleans, Eberhardt also spent time as the strength coach at four other minor league teams: the Rome Braves (2013), the Quad City River Bandits (2012), the Corpus Christi Hooks (2011) and the Gulf Coast League Astros (2010).

During his time working in professional baseball, Eberhardt has worked with numerous major leaguers such as Dallas Keuchel, Dee Gordon, Brian McCann, Stephen Piscotty, J.D. Martinez, Edinson Volquez and Martin Prado, among others.

Eberhardt played college baseball Norfolk State, Columbus State Community College and Ashland University, where he was a corner infielder and earned All-Regional Tournament team honors during his senior year in 2008.

Eberhardt is a certified strength and conditioning specialist by the National Strength and Conditioning Organization (NSCA) and also holds a Precision Hydration Level 1 certification from Precision Nutrition.

Eberhardt grow up in Columbus, Ohio and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in management from the University of Phoenix in 2011. He has a son named Marcellas.

That wraps up our 2018 Tennessee baseball preview. The Volunteers open their 2018 campaign at home on Friday, Feb. 16 when they host Maryland at 3:30 p.m. Season and single-game tickets are available on AllVols.com or by calling the Thompson-Boling Arena ticket office at (865) 656-1200.

For the most up-to-date information on Tennessee baseball, visit UTSports.com/Baseball and follow the team on social media (Twitter & Instagram: @Vol_Baseball | Facebook: Tennessee Baseball).

University of Tennessee Athletics

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