The Giants finalized a deal to make Tony Vitello their next manager on Wednesday afternoon.
The 47-year-old Vitello, who had been the head coach at the University of Tennessee since the 2018 season, becomes the first college coach to move directly to MLB manager without previous professional coaching experience.
"I'm incredibly honored and grateful for this opportunity," Vitello said in a statement. "I'm excited to lead this group of players and represent the San Francisco Giants. I can't wait to get started and work to establish a culture that makes Giants faithful proud."
Prior to Vitello's arrival at Tennessee, the Volunteers had gone more than a decade without an appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Vitello helped turn the program around, culminating with its first national championship in 2024 -- Tennessee's third men's College World Series berth in four seasons. The program had a .722 winning percentage during Vitello's eight seasons at the helm.
Vitello takes over a Giants team that has a lot of ties to the Volunteers program already. San Francisco's first-round pick (13th overall) in the 2025 Draft, Gavin Kilen, was a star infielder at Tennessee. Its fourth-round pick in '23, shortstop Maui Ahuna, came out of Tennessee. And two players whom the Giants acquired at this year’s Trade Deadline for reliever Tyler Rogers -- outfielder Drew Gilbert and right-hander Blade Tidwell -- were Volunteers drafted in the first and second rounds, respectively, in '22.
Prior to arriving at Tennessee, Vitello filled assistant coach roles at the University of Missouri, Texas Christian University and the University of Arkansas between 2003-17. Outfielder Andrew Benintendi and starting pitchers Max Scherzer, Kyle Gibson and Garrett Crochet are a few of the Major Leaguers whom Vitello guided at the college level.
"We are thrilled to welcome Tony to the Giants family," Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey said in a statement. "Tony is one of the brightest, most innovative and most respected coaches in college baseball today.
"Throughout our search, Tony's leadership, competitiveness and commitment to developing players stood out. His ability to build strong, cohesive teams and his passion for the game align perfectly with the values of our organization. We look forward to the energy and direction he will bring, along with the memories to be made, as we focus on the future of Giants baseball."
Other candidates who were linked to the Giants’ managerial opening included former Giants catcher Nick Hundley, Guardians associate manager Craig Albernaz, Team USA manager Mark DeRosa and former catcher Kurt Suzuki, who was named manager of the Angels on Tuesday.
Vitello replaces Bob Melvin, who was dismissed on Sept. 29 after two seasons at the helm in San Francisco. Melvin, unlike Vitello, came with a wealth of managerial experience, having led the Mariners, D-backs, Athletics and Padres over parts of 20 seasons before joining San Francisco. But the Giants compiled a 161-163 record with Melvin and missed the playoffs each season.