KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello spoke to the media on Thursday to discuss the Tennessee Volunteers’ super regional matchup against the Arkansas Razorbacks this weekend.
Relationship with Dave Van Horn – Vitello spent time on the Arkansas coaching staff from 2014-2017 under the Razorbacks’ current head coach, Dave Van Horn.
The Tennessee head coach has a good relationship with Van Horn and described him when he talked to the media ahead of Tennessee traveling to Fayetteville.
“For the first time, I had a guy that synced with me a lot,” Vitello said. “It was a good one-two punch on the recruiting front.”
Vitello mentioned that Van Horn had called him to congratulate him with an emotional phone call after Tennessee had won the 2024 National Championship.
Breaking Down the 2025 Arkansas Razorbacks – When asked, Vitello spoke very highly of this 2025 Arkansas team. As it stands, the Razorbacks are the highest-seeded team remaining in the NCAA Tournament field.
“It is not just the [Aloy] brothers…Their offense is kind of what people talk about,” Vitello said. “A lot of those guys are big, physical hitters. You kind of jump to the conclusion that they are a DH [designated hitter] or that they are in there only for their offense. But, on both sides of the ball, their starting nine are all really good.”
Arkansas is 16th in the country in team batting average (.313) and sixth in the country in home runs as a team (120). Tennessee also matches Arkansas when it comes to hitting home runs, as they are third in the country with 128 total long balls.
As Vitello mentioned, the Razorbacks are also great on defense as well. They have the best fielding percentage in the country at .984, which is tied for first with the Charlotte 49ers.
How is Tennessee Different than the First Time They Played Arkansas? – Tennessee went to Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville to play Arkansas in the final weekend series of the regular season. The Volunteers walked away from that weekend losing the series, as they won just one game out of the three that were played.
Vitello talked about how his team was different heading into a matchup with a trip to the College World Series on the line.
“I think every game that we have played since we have been there has basically been cutthroat,” Vitello stated. “All of the results since then, positive or negative on the scoreboard, have been great for our team. There is a little more experience and a little more maturity.”
In the postseason and since the series loss to Arkansas, Tennessee has a record of 5-2. This includes games in the SEC Tournament in Hoover, Ala. and in the Knoxville regional to open the NCAA Tournament.
Up Next – The highly-anticipated super regional matchup between Tennessee and Arkansas is set to begin on Saturday, June 7. The first pitch for game one of the super regional at Baum-Walker is scheduled for 5 p.m. EDT.
The game can be watched on ESPN.
Photo: Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello watches the action in the dugout against LSU in the first inning in a baseball game at the NCAA College World Series in Omaha, Neb., Tuesday, June 20, 2023. (AP Photo/John Peterson, File)
