KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee head baseball coach Tony Vitello announced the addition of a new strength and conditioning coach on Thursday, welcoming back Quentin Eberhardt for his second stint as the Director of Baseball Sports Performance.
Eberhardt served in the same role for the Volunteers from 2018-2021 before taking a job in Major League Baseball with the Chicago Cubs prior to the 2022 season.
Eberhardt was instrumental in the continued improvement of Tennessee baseball during his first stint with the program.
Under Eberhardt’s guidance, the Big Orange saw drastic increases in their power numbers each season. UT had 141 extra-base hits and 42 home runs during his first season in 2018 after finishing with 123 extra-base hits and just 33 homers the year prior. Tennessee made an even bigger leap in 2019 with 173 extra-base hits and 53 long balls. The Vols were on pace to shatter those numbers in 2020 before the season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In just 17 games, UT had already compiled 77 extra-base hits and ranked second in the nation with 31 homers and sixth nationally with 43 doubles.
Tennessee made another huge leap in 2021, blasting 98 homers while racking up 244 extra-base hits en route to making its first trip to Omaha since 2005. UT was one of the top offensive teams in the nation, ranking among the top 10 in the country in runs scored (7th – 425), hits (2nd – 657), doubles (3rd – 134), home runs (4th – 98) and walks (5th – 336). The Vols’ 98 homers were the second most in a single season in program history at the time.
It wasn’t just the bats that displayed major improvements under Eberhardt, as UT’s pitchers also increased their strikeout totals during each of his four seasons. After finishing with only 198 strikeouts in 2017, Tennessee’s pitching staff nearly doubled that in 2018 with 383 punchouts. In 2019, the Vols finished the year ranked 33rd in the country with 551 strikeouts, the second most in a single season in program history. Through 17 games in 2020, Tennessee pitchers had already racked up 171 strikeouts and were averaging 10.1 Ks per nine innings. The 2021 team went on to set a new program record with 617 punchouts while averaging 9.00 strikeouts per game.
The Big Orange increased their speed during Eberhardt’s watch, as well, ranking among the SEC and national leaders in stolen bases multiple times. In 2019, UT led all Power 5 programs with 108 stolen bases, its most in a single season since 2005.
On top of his time with the Cubs, Eberhardt brings a wealth of experience as a strength and conditioning coach at the professional level.
The Columbus, Ohio native spent four seasons as the head strength and conditioning coach for the New Orleans Baby Cakes, the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. Before working with New Orleans, Eberhardt also spent time as the strength coach with four other minor league teams: the Rome Braves (2013), the Quad City River Bandits (2012), the Corpus Christi Hooks (2011) and the Gulf Coast League Astros (2010). During that time, he worked with numerous major leaguers such as Dallas Keuchel, Dee Gordon, Brian McCann, Stephen Piscotty, J.D. Martinez, Edinson Volquez and Martin Prado, among others.
-UT Athletics
