Former Tennessee coach Tony Vitello offers condolences to Wes Rucker family
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Former Tennessee baseball coach Tony Vitello released a statement on Saturday on the tragic death of longtime Volunteers beat writer Wes Rucker.
Rucker died in a multi-car crash on I-40 West in Knoxville on Thursday night. He was only 43 years old and left behind a wife, Lauren, a son, Hank, and was expecting another child later this year. Vitello, now the manager of the San Francisco Giants, not only paid tribute to Rucker himself but also mentioned the family that will now have to go on without their beloved husband and father.
“Wes was unbelievable at his job, but he was a better person. He was always good to be around, and I think he helped me, whether he knew it or not, in my job. Tough when there’s a family left behind, more than anything. He was a good soul,” Vitello said.
While Rucker was a staple of Tennessee basketball and football, he also made an imprint on Volunteers baseball, and so did Vitello, who managed at Tennessee from 2018-25 and led the Vols to a national championship in 2024.
Rucker covered Tennessee for WBIR Channel 10 and was a presence at Tennessee for over a quarter of a century.
Vitello might not be in Knoxville anymore, but he wanted to take time out from his new job with the Giants on Saturday to pay tribute to a very important person from his past at Tennessee.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
