Josh Elander’s first game as Tennessee’s head baseball coach began with a quiet moment and a message.
“The first thing I did walking in is I sent a video to all of the recruits, just saying, ‘I can’t wait to go to battle with you guys next year and the years to come,’” Elander said.
By the end of the night, he received the game ball. A moment that signaled to something greater.
“You just want to attack each day,” Elander said. “Tyler Johnson brought me the ball for the first win, but this is just another win for the Tennessee Volunteers. That’s how I look at it.”
Elander’s debut carried emotion, history, and perspective. As he walked into the renovated stadium, he was met with texts from former players across different eras of the program.
“It’s just such a cool place to walk into and I have so many memories,” he said. “Like Andre Lipcius, Luc Lipcius, I just had guys from all over the years texting me this morning. So, very grateful for that, but also know that this means to a lot of people around here now. So it’s time to get to work.”
That defined his first day in charge.
Opening Day can bring heightened emotion, something Elander addressed directly with his team.
“I told the guys, sometimes Opening Day is a little bit tricky, just to be honest, to coach, some guys are a little bit hyper emotional,” he said. “You have to calm them down a little bit. So the theme all week was like, hey, like, just don’t need to be anything crazy. Just slow down a little bit. Take a deep breath, focus on whatever your task is, and then execute.”
Players describe that steadiness as part of why the transition felt natural. Sophomore Tegan Kuhns said he simply wants to play for him.
“It was absolutely amazing,” Kuhns said of helping secure Elander’s first win. “I just want to win for that guy, man. He loves his players. He loves his players.”
Kuhns said the team’s trust in Elander never wavered during the offseason.
“I think the whole team just really trusted in him,” he said. “Everybody’s super comfortable with him.”
After Tyler Myatt and Stone Lawless sent a pair of pitches out of the park to close the game with a 10-0 win over Nicholls, the team gathered in the outfield.
There Elander was presented with the ball from his first win as head coach. Players bounced around him, briefly allowing the moment to be what it was.
“Oh, it was awesome,” Kuhns said. “We were all hyping him up. He got a ball as the first win as head coach. So, that was pretty special for him.”
The setting amplified the milestone. Elander recalled watching the renovated ballpark take shape over the past year, remembering when parts of the stadium were little more than a dirt walkway recruits would avoid.
“It’s great. It’s great. It’s just cool,” he said. “Hats off to administration. What an amazing ballpark. … It’s a special place. Now, we have to do our part and make sure we’re doing our part on the field.”
For one night, the milestone mattered. The history mattered. The symbolism mattered.
But in true Elander fashion, the message that began his day carried through the end of it.
“So it’s time to get to work,” he said.
