Reports: Giants finalizing hire of Vols' Tony Vitello as manager

Field Level Media|published: Wed 22nd October, 13:57 2025

Sep 20, 2025; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head baseball coach Tony Vitello watches the football game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the UAB Blazers during the second quarter at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-Imagn Images

The San Francisco Giants are finalizing a deal to name Tennessee coach Tony Vitello as their new manager, multiple outlets reported Wednesday.

It will be the first time a major league team has hired a manager directly from a college program with no experience in the professional ranks.

Multiple reports expanded on the growing interest in Vitello over the weekend. San Francisco president of baseball operations Buster Posey, who moved into his current post in September of last year, decided on Vitello over candidates that included Nick Hundley, Skip Schumaker and former manager Bruce Bochy, who was eliminated from consideration early in the process.

Vitello, 47, owns a 341-131 record in his eight seasons with the Volunteers, guiding the program to the College World Series in 2021, 2023 and 2024. Tennessee won the first national championship in program history in 2024.

The Giants fired Bob Melvin on Sept. 29 after two seasons as the club's manager. Melvin posted an 81-81 record in 2025, which marked a one-win improvement from 2024.

San Francisco finished third in the National League West in 2025, 12 games behind the division-winning Los Angeles Dodgers and nine back of the playoff-bound San Diego Padres. They were two games out of the NL's final wild-card spot.

--Field Level Media