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The San Francisco Giants are reportedly finalizing a deal to make Tennessee Volunteers baseball coach Tony Vitello their next manager, sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed to ESPN's Pete Thamel and Jeff Passan on Wednesday (October 22).
Vitello, 47, who led the Vols to a College World Series championship in 2024, will become the first college coach to become an MLB manager without any professional experience in league history. The reported confirmation came after days of speculation on whether Vitello would accept the position or return to the Vols after initial reports on Saturday (October 18).
The Giants fired former manager Bob Melvin on September 29 after an 81-81 season, having failed to make the playoffs for the fourth consecutive year.
Vitello is regarded as one of college baseball's best coaches and a recruiting wizard, having turned Tennessee into a national powerhouse with a 2024 College World Series title, three NCAA Super Regionals, five NCAA Regionals, two SEC Tournament titles, two SEC regular season titles and three SEC East Divisional regular season titles. The Vols finished 2025 with a 46-19 record (16-14 SEC) and a Super Regional appearance.
Tennessee hadn't previously won an SEC regular season or SEC Tournament championship since 1995 prior to Vitello's hiring.