First-year Tennessee baseball coach Josh Elander jokes that certain corners of the team facility resemble a daycare as the Vols prepare for their 2026 season opener.
He and his wife Brittany have three young daughters, A.J., Maxie and Ava. And some assistants on his revamped coaching staff also have young children.
Elander has an open-door policy to family members visiting the baseball facility, which has livened up things around Lindsey Nelson Stadium. And it’s made “Bluey,” the children’s TV show, as popular as baseball film breakdowns.
“You’ll see my girls running around the stadium,” Elander said. “We have some ‘Bluey’ playing on the TV while I’m working on the computer, and they’re running around the office.
“My wife is the best in making sure I get plenty of time around my girls, and she’s holding down the fort while I’m up here because there have been some late nights.”
Tennessee opens the 2026 season with a weekend series against Nicholls, beginning on Feb. 13 (4:30 p.m. ET) at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. It continues on Feb. 14-15 with each game starting at 1 p.m. ET. All games will stream on SEC Network+.
What Josh Elander’s daughters think about Tennessee baseball
In October, Elander was promoted to head coach to replace Tony Vitello, who became the San Francisco Giants manager. Elander had served as recruiting coordinator, hitting coach and eventually associate head coach since 2018.
Elander is taking over one of the top programs in college baseball. His daughters know their dad has an important job, but they haven’t fully grasped it as opening day approaches.
“My 2-year-old was like, ‘Daddy, go to field?’ So she’s kind of starting to understand (my job) a little bit,” Elander said. “My middle daughter, Maxie, says, ‘I get to see Smokey (the UT mascot) on Friday.’ That’s what she is excited for.
“So we’re all looking forward to some ball games around here.”
In his new role, Elander has kept his family as close as possible. And he’s encouraged his coaches to do the same. He knows ‘family atmosphere’ is a coaching cliché when describing a program, but he wants to be genuine in leading the Vols.
“In the family-life balance, I’ve always tried to integrate my family into work, as crazy as that sounds,” Elander said. “December was my hunker-down period in the office, preparing for the season.
“But the (players) take care of my girls. We talk about family and I tell them all the time to bring their families through and let them see the facility. I want that to be authentic and real and not just something that’s talked about.”
Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing atknoxnews.com/subscribe.
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Josh Elander, Tennessee baseball coach, has ‘Bluey’ playing in office
