Tennessee awarded head baseball coach Tony Vitello a five-year contract extension worth $3 million per year Friday, making him the highest-paid coach in the sport.

Vitello was rewarded after leading the Volunteers to their first national championship in baseball this past June. The program has reached the College World Series in three of the past four seasons.

Vitello, 45, was named national Coach of the Year by the American Baseball Coaches Association. He won similar awards from other organizations in 2021 and 2022.

“Tony and his staff have developed the country’s top baseball program, and we are excited to announce this long-term extension to keep Tony on Rocky Top,” Tennessee athletic director Danny White said in a release. “As an athletics department, we aim to lead the way in college sports, and Tony has created a baseball program that sets the standard across the entire sport. The on-field results in the nation’s best conference are unmatched, and the enthusiasm he has brought to Vol Nation has been incredible to witness.”

As the top overall seed in the NCAA baseball tournament in June, Tennessee became just the second No. 1 seed to win the championship in the tournament’s present format (since 1999).

Vitello took over the program before the 2018 season and has racked up a 295-112 overall record (.725 win percentage) in Knoxville.

–Field Level Media