COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — Todd Helton declared Tennessee baseball coach Tony Vitello the best in the business Sunday during his induction speech at the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
“I would also like to recognize the best head college coach today, Coach Tony Vitello, and the national champion Tennessee Volunteers,” Helton said.
Vitello was in attendance to see Helton enshrined in the Hall of Fame. Vitello and the Vols won the program’s first national title in 2024, beating Texas A&M in a three-game series in Omaha, Nebraska. UT became the first team in SEC history to win 60 games in a season.
Helton, who was one of four inductees in the 2024 Hall of Fame class, played at Tennessee from 1993 to 1995. He is already in the National College Baseball Hall of Fame, and his No. 3 was permanently retired by UT in 2008.
Helton hit .370 with 38 homers, 238 RBIs and 199 runs at UT. His RBI total ranks first in program history, as does his total of 147 walks. He ranks second in runs, hits with 280, doubles with 65, extra-base hits with 114 and total bases with 481.
