Vanderbilt baseball was ranked No. 15 in the Perfect Game preseason poll Monday, the first of many preseason college baseball polls for the 2025 season.
That ranking was eighth among 10 SEC teams ranked in the poll. The Commodores are behind Texas A&M, LSU, Georgia, Tennessee, Texas, Florida and Arkansas, and ahead of Oklahoma and Auburn.
Vanderbilt has been ranked in the top 10 of the preseason Perfect Game poll in five of the last six seasons. The Commodores were ranked No. 11 in 2023. They were last ranked as low as 15th in the 2018 preseason Perfect Game poll, in which they were not ranked at all.
In 2024, Vanderbilt went 38-23 overall and 13-17 in the SEC, its worst conference record since 2009. Coach Tim Corbin fired assistants Mike Baxter and Tyler Shewmaker, replacing them with Jayson King and Ty Blankmeyer.
While several key players return, including shortstop Jonathan Vastine, second baseman Jayden Davis, utilityman RJ Austin and left-handed starter JD Thompson, the Commodores also brought in seven transfers and 14 freshmen. Transfers who could make an impact include right-hander Cody Bowker and infielder Mike Mancini, while freshmen Brodie Johnston, Rustan Rigdon, Hudson Barton and Matthew Shorey all shined in the fall.
PROJECTED LINEUPProjecting Vanderbilt baseball’s 2025 lineup, rotation after Game 3 of fall classic
Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at agerson@gannett.com or on X, formerly Twitter, @aria_gerson.
