He attacks hitters with a fierce fastball, trying to get ahead before whipping out his offspeed to keep his opponents on their front leg. Although Young had a batting average of .252 last season, he capitalized in clutch moments, such as scoring two of Vanderbilts four runs in the NCAA Super Regional game against East Carolina. Look for him to truly come onto the scene as he settles into his starting role. 3 Vanderbilt Commodores quest for a third consecutive College World Series appearance will begin on Feb. 18 when they host No. Anderson, Vaz, Noland,Bulger, LaNeve and McKenzie are other draft-eligible players who are unlikely to be picked in the first 10 rounds and could opt for another year at Vanderbilt. Name Pos. . Polk enters his first season with the Commodores after a noteworthy high school career. I was fortunate enough to be in the press box for the Davis Diaz breakout game against Missouri, including his first collegiate home run and a back pick at third that got the attention of Chris Rose and Jomboy Media, and I was amazed by his skill and his mind. It seems the prolific junior is out of words to describe him, but Ill try to start with this: EBJ is one of the most talented players to ever don the Black and Gold and has a chance to put together one of the most decorated individual seasons in VandyBoys history in 2023. The Commodores will also host league foes Georgia (March 31-April 2), South Carolina (April 14-16), Kentucky (April 28-30) and Arkansas (May 19-21). Fans may recall his clutch 2-run bomb in the bottom of the ninth against. When not working for The Hustler, she loves reading, listening to music, watching movies and playing with her dog. Reilly is commonly subject to long innings with tons of walks and unnecessary jams. Schultz is a known commodity, as hes now started 10 games over his two years at Vanderbilt. Junior IF Cooper Davis 3. Vanderbilts second baseman will almost entirely depend on Vanderbilts first base situation. Still, he tallied 25 RBIs and finished the year with nearly a .900 OPS. The power-hitting righty appeared in 42 games last season but saw his power numbers take a hit after battling. 1 overall pick in the MLB Draft by years end. Vanderbilt is very thin at catcher with Anthony Migliaccio and Sam Hunt, both of whom redshirted in 2022, entering the portal. For years, Tim Corbin has nurtured and developed freshmen pitchers in the midweek starter role who have gone on to become elite college arms (Mason Hickman, Kumar Rocker, Jack Leiter just in the last few seasons) and even World Series winners (Walker Buehler comes to mind). The Commodores begin a six-game homestand Feb. 21 against Central Arkansas. But right field is Joness position to lose. The sophomore from California wasnt a day-one starter but found his way onto the field as a consistent third baseman, a position he shined in. Freshman C Karl Ellison 25. Bobby is also the Sports Director for VandyRadio, co-host of Kent and Coad, a weekly sports talk show on VandyRadio and the host of VU Sports Wired, a Vanderbilt Video Productions and Hustler Sports Television show. 2021 Roster Position Players. On Wednesday, at around 2 p.m. CDT, Vanderbilt baseball released their 2023 . C, Freshman Freshman C . Vanderbilts second baseman will almost entirely depend on Vanderbilts first base situation. Posting a .274 average and a .445 slugging percentage in 2022, Noland has the potential to be a threat at the plate. The scouting site describes him as having a strong and accurate throwing arm with solid athleticism in the field and the ability to hit to all fields at the plate. over Stanford. Senior OF CJ Rodriguez 5. He can be reached at [emailprotected], Andy Carr ('22) was a student in the College of Arts and Science who studied economics with minors in business and computer science. Here are all the former Vanderbilt baseball players on MLB Opening Day rosters. Hes already shown that he can flourish in any role hes put in and with the increased role of the shortstop position, Im confident Diaz will see great success. Around him, junior Calvin Hewett and sophomore Matthew Polk have both flashed ability at times. EBJ might swipe the program record for career stolen bases (96) over the weekend and is 12 triples away from tying the legendary Tony Kemps Vanderbilt record for three-baggers. Holton is the favorite to be the Friday starter. Aiden Rutman ('25) is a student in Peabody College majoring in HOD and minoring in Communication Studies. Fans may recall his clutch 2-run bomb in the bottom of the ninth against Indiana State last season, setting up Enrique Bradfield Jr. to eventually steal home and win the game in the bottom of the 11th. UTL, Senior Diaz is a true five-tool with a smooth glove and a bat that has a knack for finding the holes in the defense. Through two college seasons, Bradfield Jr. has looked like what would happen if former 14-year MLB veteran Juan Pierre added plus-plus defense and a bit of juice in his bat to his game. The junior will provide toughness and grit as a catalyst for a team trying to make a run towards a College World Series title. On a warm afternoon at Hawkins Field, the Commodores fell to the Bears, 5-4. 7 Vanderbilt on Friday. UTL, Freshman If Young stays healthy and boosts his batting average, he may emerge as one of the great shortstops Vanderbilt has ever seen. Player B/T Pos Ht/Wt Cl. IF, Freshman Vanderbilt baseball begins official fall practices on Oct. 18. The growth of these two sophomores might determine Vanderbilts ceiling this season. The deadline to enter the transfer portal was July 1 in order to be eligible immediately for the 2023 season. The junior was arguably Vanderbilts most consistent arm outside of Kumar Rocker and Jack Leiter last season, appearing in 28 games and registering a 2.31 ERA. 75 ABs). The talented freshman was a top 20 prospect in Florida, tallying 15 RBIs while hitting .418 as a senior. 51 can take them and if the first two seasons of his career are any indication, the skys the limit for Bradfield and the VandyBoys in 2023. 1992. IF, Junior Senior IF Rob Gordon 3. NO. The annual Battle of the Barrel against Louisville will be renewed on May 3, as the Commodores will face the Cardinals on the road on May 9. Vandy will return home for a pair of midweeks against Tennessee Tech (March 7) and Evansville (March 8) prior to hosting Loyola Marymount on March 10-12 for its final weekend series before conference play. He was previously the Sports Podcast Producer. Junior If all goes according to plan, Bradfield Jr. will be in the mix for the Golden Spikes Award and the No. They figure to be in the VandyBoys long-term plans, so Corbin ought to give them a taste of college ball. , setting up Enrique Bradfield Jr. to eventually steal home and win the game in the bottom of the 11th. Sophomores Rob Gordon and Jonathan Vastine are other infielders who will look to have a larger impact. Vanderbilt infielder Dominic Keegan stomps home plate after a home run against Kentucky on May 20, 2022. Sophomore left-handers Carter Holton and Devin Futrell are the early favorites to fill the Friday and Saturday spots. Hes already shown that he can flourish in any role hes put in and with the increased role of the shortstop position, Im confident Diaz will see great success. Freshman The lefty was the No. Despite the ever-present chill thats still in the Nashville air, its almost baseball season. If Kolwyck doesnt maintain his standing over at first base, expect him to likely start at second instead. While each only boasted ERAs of 4.98 and 5.48 respectively, their best baseball is undoubtedly ahead of them. Hewett should hope to get some experience and knowledge playing behind two impressive veterans, but he likely wont see the field too much more than his freshman campaign when he logged seven at-bats and 15 overall appearances. Named last years SEC Freshman of the Year as well as an All-American and unanimous Freshman All-American, Bradfield Jr. will certainly get the starting nod this year as the Commodores center fielder. Jonathan Vastine enters his sophomore year looking to build off of a solid foundation from the 2021-22 season. The freshman out of Powell, Tennessee was the ninth-ranked player and the second-ranked catcher in the volunteer state. Plus Ciaja Harbison thoughts and VandyBoys weekend roundup, FELLAS: Vanderbilts ChatGPT email is automated hypocrisy, Two Vanderbilt students compete in Jeopardy! While Maldonado will likely have offers to be drafted, his brother, Chris Maldonado, recently committed to Vanderbilt and he could choose to return to play with his brother. For the first time since the 2020 season, Vanderbilt will open the campaign on the road when the . Junior Jack Bulger is draft-eligible but may return for another season; if he does not, the Commodores may need to look to the portal. The Commodores had 35 active players in 2022 and 11 inactive players. Powered by WMT Digital. Noland started all but one game last season, and proved to be a consistent force for the Commodore offense. McKenzie flashed power in his limited opportunities last season and followed up on that with a promising fall, positioning the senior to crack the starting lineup for the first time. The Vanderbilt Hustler welcomes and encourages readers to engage with content and express opinions through the comment sections on our website and social media platforms. Kavi enjoys running and competes vicariously through the Vanderbilt cross-country and track and field teams. Vanderbilt University is a top school for some of the most talented aspiring collegiate baseball players in the country. Though his game action has been infrequent to this point, McKenzie sports a .287 career batting average as well and figures to be a key veteran presence in 2023. LaNeve, a strong hitter and reliable defender, started games both as an outfielder and a designated hitter last season. Posting a .274 average and a .445 slugging percentage in 2022, Noland has the potential to be a threat at the plate. McKenzie could get some looks in right field with center firmly occupied, but expect the bulk of the non-Jones reps to go to Mallory Jr. and Smith. With a roster full of gifted players, Vanderbilt has not only produced a tremendous amount of success on the field, but . She can be reached at lindsey.x.jorda@vanderbilt.edu. . SEC Baseball Highlights: Vanderbilt 3, Ole Miss 1; SEC Baseball Series Preview/Prediction: LSU at Vanderbilt; SEC Baseball Series Preview/Prediction: Vanderbilt at Arkansas; SEC Baseball Series Preview/Prediction: Vanderbilt at Georgia; SEC Baseball Series Preview/Prediction: Texas A&M at Vanderbilt; SEC Baseball Series Preview/Prediction . So. While . Senior IF Cooper Davis 3. The VandyBoys will start the campaign with a Friday matchup against TCU on Feb. 17 before facing off against Oklahoma State and Texas to round out the weekend. , is the definition of a utility man. Last season, Kolwyck mashed 9 home runs and hit 36 RBIs to go along with a .330 OBP and a .812 OPS. In his two years at Vanderbilt, the Junior has posted a 4.99 ERA with a 1.94 BB/K ratio thats steadily climbing. Others in play include juniors Patrick Reilly and Hunter Owen, sophomore Bryce Cunningham and incoming freshman Andrew Dutkanych, who withdrew from the MLB Draft to attend Vanderbilt. Last season, Futrell earned freshman All-American honors behind a 3.41 ERA and 64 strikeouts in 63.1 innings of work. C, Junior 10 Vandy's Maldonado slams the door on No. IF, Sophomore Backstops CJ Rodriguez and Maxwell Romero Jr. have found new homes. 2023 www.tennessean.com. Hes also a solid baserunner, stealing four bags and scoring 40 runs for the VandyBoys. The talented sophomore was one of two Commodores selected to the Baseball America Preseason. When hes on, hes a monster, striking out opponents and keeping his pitch count low. The 6-foot shortstop started 61 games last season and led the team with 16 home runs and had 52 RBIs, which was the second most for Vanderbilt.