Tyler Bell, Matt Ponatoski listed in Baseball America update

Baseball America made its first big update in several months to its 2026 MLB draft prospect list. Sophomore shortstop Tyler Bell, who is draft-eligible next summer, along with highly-ranked baseball and football commit Matt Ponatoski, appeared on the top 100 list.

The list is behind Baseball America's paywall, so I'll keep all information general. I encourage folks to subscribe if they're interested in seeing more details from the publication.

Bell was ranked inside the top 15, and Ponatoski was just outside of the top 50. Bell has appeared in the top five in at least one other publication I saw recently, so it looks like a general preseason range for him could be anywhere from five to 15. Bell, a native of Frankfort, Illinois, slashed .296/.385/.522 with 17 doubles, 10 home runs and 46 RBI as a freshman in 2025. He'll enter the 2026 season with a realistic chance to be the Wildcats' highest draft pick since first baseman Evan White was selected 17th overall in the 2017 MLB Draft.

We'll see what happens over the spring, but it seems likely that Ponatoski will be the biggest draft risk of the class. This has been widely discussed since his commitment to the Wildcats in two sports in July, so it's hardly a new development. With that said, this upcoming draft will likely be one of the busier ones in recent memory in terms of both the current team and incoming recruits. I plan to dive into that more in November or December once there's not much to report on with the current team.

Two major SEC coaching announcements

It's rare to get any college baseball coaching news in October, let alone two massive announcements from the same conference on the same day. But that's what happened on Wednesday, as Tennessee's Tony Vitello was named manager of the San Francisco Giants and Florida coach Kevin O'Sullivan announced a leave of absence.

Vitello emerged as a person of interest in the Giants' search over the past few weeks, but The Athletic's Andrew Baggarly, Brittany Ghiroli and Ken Rosenthal reported on Saturday that the Giants were "closing in on hiring" Vitello. ESPN's Jeff Passan reported on the same day that a decision from Vitello was expected to come in the next 24 to 72 hours. The final announcement came slightly later, but as expected, Vitello will become the first MLB manager in history to be hired directly from a college program without any professional coaching experience.

In doing so, a transformative era of Tennessee baseball comes to an end. Vitello, whose first season in Knoxville was in 2018, revived a program that had not been in the NCAA Tournament field since 2005. He leaves Tennessee with a 341–131 record overall, including six NCAA Tournament appearances and three trips to the College World Series, culminating in the program's first national championship in 2024. Pitching coach Frank Anderson was named the interim head coach by athletic director Danny White.

It remains to be seen what kind of fallout takes place following Vitello's decision. Although players can enter the transfer portal now, they will not be allowed to play during the 2026 season. It's unlikely that any projected significant contributors will leave at this point. However, next summer could see more movement if a new coach from outside the current staff is hired.

The effect of Vitello's decision on the 2026 recruiting class is the more interesting scenario in the short term. Tennessee has 19 commitments in the 2026 class, a large number considering rosters are now capped at 34 spots. With the head coach gone and the possibility that the entire staff they committed to could be gone by next June, it wouldn't be surprising to see some players reopen their recruitment. Cole McLean, a left-handed pitcher, is the only player from Kentucky in the Vols' class, though first base commit AJ Curry played at Ryle High School in Union, Kentucky, in 2024 before moving back to California. McLean is from Campbellsville, Kentucky, and is ranked in the top 300 nationally by Perfect Game. He's been committed to the Vols since 2022, so perhaps he's locked in regardless of who the coach is. Still, with Kentucky's recent surge of left-handed pitching commitments, it could be a situation worth keeping an eye on if he returns to the open market.

O'Sullivan's decision to take a leave of absence was announced through a university statement. Chuck Jeroloman will serve as the interim.

"I appreciate the support of the University and athletic department, " O'Sullivan said in the statement. "I have some personal and family issues that need my full attention at this time."

"Coach O'Sullivan has our full support as he takes the time he needs to focus on personal matters," said Athletics Director Scott Stricklin. "We appreciate his openness in communicating this decision, and respect his need for privacy."

Florida has made nine trips to the College World Series under O'Sullivan and won the 2017 national championship. He was set to serve a three-game suspension to begin the 2026 season because of the way he berated site administrators at the Conway Regional in June.

It's unclear if or when O'Sullivan will return to the Gators. There's a chance that both Tennessee and Florida will be making new hires next summer, putting in motion what could be a memorable coaching carousel.