Old Vol baseball fans, what happened with Rod Delmonico and….

[rockydoc]

….his program at UT after 1995? Won three straight SEC championships and never won another after 95.

 

[GregAmsler]

….his program at UT after 1995? Won three straight SEC championships and never won another after 95.

It was still good after 95. Went to Omaha in 01 and 05. But he was up and down. Great year followed by two bad years. Repeat. I think Corbin doing what he did at Vanderbilt was the ultimate clincher of Rod’s fate. Corbin was building a consistent winner, recruiting top instate talent, and the writing was on the wall. Tennessee decided not to settle for “on again, off again good,” but ended up with much worse in Raleigh. It was somewhat similar to the Fulmer situation in that regard.

 

[vol66]

Also, the academics became a thing.

 

[VolPack22]

What happened with Delmonico?

 

[Zues1]

I don't know about anyone else but I enjoyed the Delmonico years.
Not as much pressure to get to "Omaha or bust" every year as today. So when they did get to the big show it was awesome.

 

[russahouse]

I don't know about anyone else but I enjoyed the Delmonico years.
Not as much pressure to get to "Omaha or bust" every year as today. So when they did get to the big show it was awesome.

I didn't realize how special Delmonico era until we suffered through Raleigh and Serrano. Everyone thought Serrano was HR hire.

 

[WallyBalls]

I'd say, compared to Raleigh...Serrano was still a HR. Right guy/wrong situation/wrong time type thing.

Raleigh is probably one of the worst coaching hires ever made, regardless of sport. And, at UT...that's saying something.

 

[Zues1]

I'd say, compared to Raleigh...Serrano was still a HR. Right guy/wrong situation/wrong time type thing.

Raleigh is probably one of the worst coaching hires ever made, regardless of sport. And, at UT...that's saying something.

Not only was Raleigh bad at his job he was a total butt and a disgrace to the university and conference.
I believe he's out of coaching.
Thanks Mike Hamilton 🤡

 

[nashvillepanther]

I didn't realize how special Delmonico era until we suffered through Raleigh and Serrano. Everyone thought Serrano was HR hire.

Serrano is a HR hire. He literally built Cal St Fullerton (first a PC and RC, then HC) from nothing into a top-tier program. And he appeared to be replicating that at Cal St. Northridge before announcing his retirement. For a variety of reasons, UT and the SEC didn't fit well into his style and philosophy.

He is much (hard to overstate the magnitude) better suited for west coast baseball.

 

[WallyBalls]

Not only was Raleigh bad at his job he was a total butt and a disgrace to the university and conference.
I believe he's out of coaching.
Thanks Mike Hamilton 🤡

Exactly.

I did see his kid made the majors last year, so good for him I suppose.

 

[CINCYVOL]

Also, the academics became a thing.

Unfortunately that was the demise of the entire athletics program.

 

[wmcovol]

Delmonico never really recruited Tennessee hard except for Knoxville kids. Yeah he got RA Dickey and a few other MT kids, but only cause Dickey wasnt accepted at Vandy, otherwise he'd gone there. RD recruited Fla and Cali hard but those were not as consistent recruits for him. He was very complacient at Tennessee and he and his staff got lazy.

Then after RD left Tennessee did "Tennessee" by hiring Todd Raleigh.............

 

[GregAmsler]

Delmonico never really recruited Tennessee hard except for Knoxville kids. Yeah he got RA Dickey and a few other MT kids, but only cause Dickey wasnt accepted at Vandy, otherwise he'd gone there. RD recruited Fla and Cali hard but those were not as consistent recruits for him. He was very complacient at Tennessee and he and his staff got lazy.

Then after RD left Tennessee did "Tennessee" by hiring Todd Raleigh.............

The talent in Tennessee, especially Middle and West Tennessee, has long been neglected by UT. Serrano did the same thing. He'd rather go get a 5-10 California pitcher who throws in the high 80s than a bigger, more talented Tennessee kid. This state cranks out a lot more talent than it's given credit for. Locking that up is a huge step towards success. Look at UT's 4 aces this year...3 of them are from Middle Tennessee.

 

[cobbwebb0710]

Serrano was a dang fine coach and I was pumped when he was hired. For whatever reason, he never had the success I envisioned.
When I was growing up, it was Summitt, Majors, Delmonico and Devoe. Those 4 will always have a soft spot in my big orange heart!
GBO!!

 

[Putbacks]

Serrano was a dang fine coach and I was pumped when he was hired. For whatever reason, he never had the success I envisioned.
When I was growing up, it was Summitt, Majors, Delmonico and Devoe. Those 4 will always have a soft spot in my big orange heart!
GBO!!

Ditto here. I’ll add Ray Bussard and Stan Huntsman to that era too. They were fairly epic as well….

 

[Putbacks]

Ditto here. I’ll add Ray Bussard and Stan Huntsman to that era too. They were fairly epic as well….

…and, unrelated to the topic (except for the part about “old” fans), anyone remember who Gray Simons was?

 

[@1RBFjr]

…and, unrelated to the topic (except for the part about “old” fans), anyone remember who Gray Simons was?

Men’s wrestling HC.

 

[rockydoc]

Bill Wright was coach when I was in school. He won a couple SEC titles in about 19 years. I just remember what great players Phil Garner and Sam Ewing were (showing my age).

 

[arkyvol]

Not only was Raleigh bad at his job he was a total butt and a disgrace to the university and conference.
I believe he's out of coaching.
Thanks Mike Hamilton 🤡

Does anyone know the thought process that led to his hire? He had a Derek Dooley type resume without the name. Perhaps 'thought process' is a little strong when it comes to Mike Hamilton.

 

[arkyvol]

Bill Wright was coach when I was in school. He won a couple SEC titles in about 19 years. I just remember what great players Phil Garner and Sam Ewing were (showing my age).

Garner was a classmate of mine. Different era. If you bothered to show up at a Vol baseball game, your social life was really hurting.

 

[AthensVol2007]

Serrano is a HR hire. He literally built Cal St Fullerton (first a PC and RC, then HC) from nothing into a top-tier program. And he appeared to be replicating that at Cal St. Northridge before announcing his retirement. For a variety of reasons, UT and the SEC didn't fit well into his style and philosophy.

He is much (hard to overstate the magnitude) better suited for west coast baseball.

Do what!??? I think Augie Garrido might disagree slightly.

 

[Bigun]

Not only was Raleigh bad at his job he was a total butt and a disgrace to the university and conference.
I believe he's out of coaching.
Thanks Mike Hamilton 🤡

Heard some stories on Raleigh and he is my most hated coach, above Kiffin even. Not just a bad coach but a terrible person.

 

[Volfan1000]

I'd say, compared to Raleigh...Serrano was still a HR. Right guy/wrong situation/wrong time type thing.

Raleigh is probably one of the worst coaching hires ever made, regardless of sport. And, at UT...that's saying something.

Raleigh, Dooley and Pruitt were the three worst sports hires in Tennessee Athletics history in my humble opinion.

 

[rockydoc]

Garner was a classmate of mine. Different era. If you bothered to show up at a Vol baseball game, your social life was really hurting.

Engineering student…had no social life

 

[TN_gal]

Does anyone know the thought process that led to his hire? He had a Derek Dooley type resume without the name. Perhaps 'thought process' is a little strong when it comes to Mike Hamilton.

I was just about to ask, what thought process? Perhaps more like a lack thereof. Derek Dooley and Todd Raleigh. 🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️ Mike Hamilton really stepped in it.