Tony Vitello gave a radio interview on Tuesday where he covered a myriad of topics, including Chase Burns’ decision to enter the transfer portal.

Burns’ departure from Tennessee is a bit of a surprise, as he’s had a lot of success with the Vols over the past 2 seasons. He’s currently projected to be one of the first college pitchers to be selected in the 2024 MLB Draft.

“This season went in a lot of different ways and as coaches we have to do what we think is best for the whole group and find a way and try to win games and in the end I think that worked fairly well but for his case he’s going to take his effort somewhere else and it’s been a deal where he’s done more for a lot for the program, not just last year and of course this year too,” Vitello said on SportsTalk 99.1, via RockyTopInsider.

Burns is coming off of an excellent NCAA Tournament run. During the postseason, he allowed just 1 earned run while striking out 22 batters in 16.1 innings of work.

However, Burns was not always part of Tennessee’s weekend rotation this season. Burns began the year as a starter, but was later moved to the bullpen after struggling in SEC play. He started in 8 of his 18 appearances and had an ERA of 4.25 on the season.

“In the course of this year he became the No. 1 popular pitcher, maybe in the country, but definitely in his class,” Vitello added. “He’s probably ranked No. 1 as a pitcher in his class at this point but it’s a different day and age so he’ll take those efforts on somewhere else and we wish him the best.”

In 2 seasons at Tennessee, Burns posted 217 strikeouts in 152.1 innings.

Burns is a Gallatin, Tennessee, native.