Tony Vitello's TCU coaching stint, revisited: Vols coach was Jim Schlossnagle assistant

Tony Vitello on Saturday will lead No. 1 national seed Tennessee against Jim Schlossnagle and No. 3 Texas A&M in the College World Series best-of-three-game series. Both programs will be gunning for their first-ever national college baseball championship.

But, 14 years ago, Schlossnagle and Vitello weren't coaches vying against the other for a college baseball national championship: They were aligned and coaching in the same dugout, after Schlossnagle hired Vitello as his recruiting coordinator for the TCU baseball program.

Schlossnagle, the former TCU baseball coach — who left the program to take over at Texas A&M beginning with the 2022 season — announced Vitello's hiring from Missouri as the recruiting coordinator for the Horned Frogs on July 19, 2010. Vitello had played for the Tigers from 2000-02 before joining as a volunteer assistant in 2003. He was promoted to full-time assistant in 2004, primarily as the pitching coach. Baseball America highly touted Vitello's recruiting, as he regularly brought in classes that ranked in the top 25.

MORE: Watch Texas A&M vs. Tennessee in the College World Series live with Fubo (free trial)

"We searched nationwide for the right fit for our program, and Tony clearly emerged as one of the nation's most aggressive, hard-working and knowledgeable recruiters," Schlossnagle said at the time he hired Vitello. "He comes widely recommended and has been a major part of Missouri's outstanding baseball program over the last several years."

Here's what you need to know about Vitello and his history with Schlossnagle:

REQUIRED READING: Why Texas A&M's Jim Schlossnagle isn’t surprised by Tony Vitello’s success with Tennessee baseball

Tony Vitello, Jim Schlossnagle's success at TCU

From 2004 to 2021, Schlossnagle helped turn TCU into a college baseball powerhouse. He led the program to five College World Series appearances, including four straight from 2014-17. While Vitello was not on the coaching staff for any of those runs, he did play a major role in helping create the foundation for that sustained success.

Vitello joined Schlossnagle's staff at TCU ahead of the 2011 season, and stayed on through 2013. The Horned Frogs made the NCAA baseball tournament in 2011 and 2012, though his impacts were not fully seen until he left for Arkansas for an assistant position. In 2014, TCU made it to four straight College World Series, with Vitello recruiting the core of the team in 2014.

The Horned Frogs reached the 2011 NCAA Baseball Tournament as a No. 9 national seed, but failed to advance past the Forth Worth Regional after getting upset by 3-seed Dallas Baptist and 4-seed Oral Roberts. The next season, seven freshmen started for the Horned Frogs against UCLA in the Los Angeles Super Regional in 2012, the second year with Vitello on the coaching staff.

While the team was ousted by the Bruins in a sweep, it set the stage for future success for the program.

TCU baseball recruiting under Tony Vitello

Here is Vitello's recruiting classes ranked, by season, while he was at TCU under Schlossnagle (per D1 Baseball). The 2013 class included future first-round MLB Draft pick Billy McKinney, while future first-round pick Brandon Finnegan was in the 2012 class. Four second- and third-round picks were also in the 2012 class.

• 2011 ― 13th overall, 12 commits, one top-100 recruit

• 2012 ― 16th overall, 13 commits, four top-100 recruits

• 2013 ― 30th overall, 13 commits, one top-100 recruit

Tony Vitello vs. Jim Schlossnagle head-to-head record

Vitello is 4-1 all time against his former head coach, including a 7-4 victory at the 2024 SEC Baseball Tournament this season.

Schlossnagle's lone victory over Vitello was a 3-0 win in the first round of the 2023 SEC Baseball Tournament. In the lone regular-season matchup between the coaches, Vitello's Vols swept the Aggies in a three-game series in Knoxville in 2023.

Here's a game-by-game look at their previous head-to-head meetings:

• March 24, 2023: Tennessee 10, Texas A&M 4

• March 25, 2023: Tennessee 8, Texas A&M 7

• March 26, 2023: Tennessee 9, Texas A&M 6

• May 23, 2023: Texas A&M 3, Tennessee 0

• May 23, 2024: Tennessee 7, Texas A&M 4

Jim Schlossnagle College World Series appearances

Schlossnagle is making his seventh CWS appearance and first appearance in the championship series as a coach at TCU and Texas A&M.

• 2010

• 2014

• 2015

• 2016

• 2017

• 2022

• 2024

Tony Vitello College World Series appearances

Schlossnagle is making his third CWS appearance and first appearance in the championship series as a coach.

• 2021

• 2023

• 2024

We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. USA TODAY Network newsrooms operate independently, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tony Vitello TCU coaching stint: Vols coach was Jim Schlossnagle assistant