Tennessee Baseball Alum Griffin Merritt Talks Vols Tenure In 2023, Development Of Christian Moore & Blake Burke & What Makes Tony Vitello Special
Chase Thomas is the Sports Renaissance Man, Atlanta Sports Guy & VFL. On today's program, Chase is joined by 2023 Tennessee baseball star Griffin Merritt to talk about transitioning to dental school at Ohio State after his Vols career, what it was like playing at Tennessee last season, the development of guys like Christian Moore and Blake Burke, and what makes Tony Vitello a special baseball coach and recruiter.
Host: Chase Thomas
Guests: Griffin Merritt
On Tennessee Winning it all
Former Tennessee baseball star Griffin Merritt talked about whether or not he was surprised to see his old team win it all in Omaha this summer. Merritt stared on the 2023 team as the Vols’ DH. Tennessee made it to Omaha in 2023, but it was a tough road for the preseason No. 2 team in the country. The team faced adversity everywhere they went and kept finding a way to survive and advance. Merritt talked about the team needing to go through that to be ready to win it all in the College World Series the next season.
On Blake Burke & Christian Moore
Merritt talked about the development of Burke and CMo at Tennessee over their three years in Tony Vitello’s program. They obviously became superstars this past season and went high in the 2024 MLB Draft, but it took time. Merritt explained how the duo evolved into stars in their junior seasons at Tennessee, and a lot of it had to do with just getting reps at this level. They had to gradually learn and develop their craft and it all turned out to work out this season at Tennessee as the duo dominated at the top of the order for the Vols.
On Tony Vitello
Merritt opened up about coming in as a graduate transfer from Cincinnati. He talked about how the process worked in the transfer portal along with what sold him on Tennessee and Tony Vitello. He talked about why Vitello is the best recruiter and coach in country and his personal recruiting story with Vitello. The Volunteers skipper is genuine and it went a long way with Merritt and it’s a big reason why he’s built such a juggernaut in Knoxville at Tennessee.