The rivalry between Arkansas and Tennessee has been well-established since Tony Vitello and Dave Van Horn's spat after the Hogs won the series between them in 2021. And while they're good friends off the diamond, their competitive nature is at the heart of the rivalry.
It's so intense that Vitello has come to regret some of the recruiting he did while at Arkansas ten years ago. Inadvertently, and a decade in the making, he helped the Razorbacks land this season's SEC Player of the Year: Wehiwa Aloy.
Tony Vitello sparked the Hawai'i pipeline that brought Aloys and Souza to Arkansas
In Tennessee's preseries press conference, a reporter asked Vitello about Arkansas' roster, specifically Aloy. "I'm frustrated. I led the charge on a guy named Rick Nomura, and Rick was a talented player from Hawai'i," said Vitello. "I think he's served as a bridge because it's not just [Wheiwa and Kuhio Aloy]. They've got [Nolan Souza] over there that's been injured, but [he's] a real talent."
"It's cool how they've started a little trend there. I kind of hate that I was a part of it since I'm wearing orange."
While some might see the comment as self-aggrandizing, there's more than a sliver of truth to the claim that the Aloys and Souza wouldn't be here without his help. Rick Nomura transferred to Fayetteville and became the first Hawai'ian to play for Arkansas in 2015. That season, he helped the Razorbacks reach the College World Series for the eighth time in history. And if it weren't for him, Arkansas may not have noticed the three gems they have now.
In an episode of the Hawgs on the Hill podcast, Nomura joined to preview the Texas series and talk about his experience as a Hog. He began to talk about his relationship with the Aloys and Souza.
After he finished his baseball career, Nomura returned home to Hawai'i and put on a clinic for aspiring high school baseball players. That's where he met Nolan Souza.
"I just moved back home from Vegas, and my brother was like, 'Hey, would you want to run clinics?'... I seen [sic] Nolan field, like first hand, and seen him hit, and I call Coach Van Horn, and I was like, 'Coach, I think I might have finally found you someone from Hawai'i.'
When it comes to his connections with the Aloys, Nomura's father coached at the University of Hawai'i, and Jamie Aloy, Wehiwa and Kuhio's father, played for the Warriors. Then, the Nomuras run a nonprofit called Sunday Night Baseball that brings players from around the state together to play in a friendly competition.
"We're firm believers that you need to play against the best to be the best," Nomura said. "And the Aloy brothers would sometimes fly in to play, and it was always a privilege to have those two 'cuz, obviously, they could hit."
"It's awesome to see, you know, what they're doing and how just the connection of our family is just trying to help kids get to the next level led to what it is now that there's three Hawai'i kids on the Razorbacks there's possibly one more on the way."
Whether Vitello's comments were self-serving or not, it's amazing that one of his recruitments opened a seemingly untapped pipeline 4,000 miles away from Arkansas, and a decade later, the Vols' head coach had to fight against it. It's indeed a small world, and hopefully, Vitello's frustrations are validated with a Diamond Hogs Super Regional victory.