'This team is definitely different than the others' - Tony Vitello confirms suspicion about the 2025 Tennessee baseball team

The Tennessee Vols baseball program, under Tony Vitello, has a reputation for being a fiery group that treats nearly every game like a gladiator showdown in the Roman Colosseum. 

From Drew Gilbert to Jordan Beck to Christian Moore, the Vols have had a lengthy list of players under Vitello who display a loud killer instinct on the diamond (which often gets under the skin of other players/coaches across the field). 

But that's not the only approach that works when it comes to winning baseball games. Baseball history is littered with silent assassins who keep emotions in check while racking up wins. 

According to Vitello, the 2025 version of the Vols is a more laid back team that is at its best when they just "go out and play", and not when they're fired up about killing the other team.

"This team is definitely different than the others we've had here," said Vitello during an appearance Tuesday on 104.5 The Zone's 3HL. "They're a little more laid back, and I don't think that means [they're] playing the game casually. I just think when they show up and it's the best form of them -- it's kind of like that fresh start we had against Alabama (in the SEC Tournament). It was the beginning of a new season, technically, with the tournament down in Hoover. And it was game one, fresh start. We had played Alabama, we beat them. They were confident -- of course, they should have been confident anyway. But it wasn't a lot of rah rah or intensity, or we're going to kill these guys. It's just a fun loving, again, laid back [group].

"It sounds a little negative, but it's a little more calm and confident group than we've had. In 2022, it was like I had to play policeman every day to tame that group down a little bit. They were [wild], it was kind of what made them go (in 2022). And I think our guys (in 2025), we had to figure out what makes them go. But they've also kind of had to sort through that a little bit, too. We had fireworks with the Vanderbilt game, and I think, this is my perspective, both teams were equally guilty of that. It was just the nature of a very competitive series here in Knoxville. And I don't know if this was the case for our guys, but I don't think they do very well with the whole, 'Let's go out and kill these guys and let's go out and dominate'. It's better when they're more relaxed and they just go out and play and keep it simple."

"And we've tried to point that out to them," continued Vitello. "But by this time of year, it is up to those leaders, and I do think we have some positive leadership. If anything, this group has been a fun group to come to work with every day. And the team chemistry has been there, and it's gotten better and better each day. As opposed to with some teams, the more you spend time around each other, it's like a relationship, which I don't know much about that, but sometimes the more you spend time around somebody, the more you want to strangle them. This group has kind of gone the other way. It's been fun to be around each other every day."