Pitching matchups for this weekend as we host the No.4 Texas Longhorns at the Hawk.
Friday, 6 P.M. CT/7 ET, streaming on SEC Network+.
Vanderbilt: Junior right hander Connor Fennell, from Londonderry, New Hampshire. 3-1, 4.74 ERA, 57 IP’s, 14 BB’s, 70 K’s, 12 homers given up. .239 batting average against. Connor’s been excellent the past two Fridays. Against OU on Friday, 4/9, Fennell went 7.1 innings, gave up 7 hits, 3 earned runs, with no walks and 10 K’s in a Commodores’ 10-0 victory. Last Friday @ Kentucky, Fennell went 6.1, giving up 5 hits, 1 earned with 2 walks and 3 K’s. We lost that game in the ninth inning on a grand slam, 5-2, but Connor got the job done and deserved better. He’ll compete. He’s a bulldog.
Texas will go with lefty Dylan Volantis, 5-0, 2.13 ERA,16 walks, 69 K’s, 1 homer, .196 BA against.
Saturday, 7 P.M. CT/8 ET, SEC Network.
VU pitcher, to be determined. I’ll guess freshman righty Nate Schlote (Fairway, KS.), 3-1, 0.50 ERA, 18 IP’s, 17 walks, 20 K’s. 0 homers. .125 BA against. Been good, needs to throw strikes. Other candidates are junior right hander Luke Guth (Franklin, PA.), 1-1, 4.12, 24 IP, 15 walks, 27 K’s. 2 homers. .250 BA against. Or possibly junior righty Brennan Seiber (Newport Beach, Cali.- nice place to live). 5-1, 5.04, 17 BB’s, 20 K’s. 2 homers, .257 BA against.
For Texas, right hander Ruger Riojas, 5-1, 3.25 ERA, 12 walks, 83 K’s. Two homers. .222 BA against.
Sunday, 12 P.M. CT/1 ET. ESPN2, The Deuce.
Vanderbilt: Freshman right hander Wyatt Nadeau (Gorham, Maine). 1-2, 5.40 ERA, 38.1 IP, 32 BBs, 51 K’s, 4 homers given up. .207 BA against. When Wyatt throws strikes, he’s very effective.
Texas:
LHP Luke Harrison. 4-2, 4.09 ERA, 50.2 IP, 22 BBs, 54 K’s. 2 homers. .242 BA against.
Their closer is righty Sam Cozart, 5-0, 1.83, 6 saves. 7 walks, 49 K’s. 3 homers, .104 BA against.
***Keys to success***
1. Throw strikes
2. Keep the ball in the ball park.
3. Let our defense make plays.
4. Play very solid D.
5. Hit in the clutch.
Always the formula for success.
I’ll be back over the weekend with a report if we’re having success.
Men’s golf is struggling today and doesn’t look like they’ll make the Match Play. We’re +6 today, and -5 for the tournament. Eighth place Arkansas is -14. We’re through holes 12-16. We’ve got four teams in front of us below Arkansas. So really disappointing performance by the team. We’ve got the NCAA Tournament, but this is just not the way Vanderbilt Men’s Golf is supposed to compete. Auburn and Florida are both at -32 in the lead. Both are on holes 9-12. Very disappointing performance.
Men’s Basketball,
now this is something to be ecstatic about, particularly if we get two more guys back on the team.
Here are our 2026 signees for the 2026-27 team. All of these ratings are from 247 Sports.
Incoming freshmen 1. Ethan Mgbako, 6’6″, 215 small forward out of Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Virginia. 92, 4-star.
2.Anthony Brown, 6’1″,160 point guard, Archbishop Carroll, D.C. 91, 4-star.
3. Jackson Sheffield, 6’9″, 240 Center, Hoover, Alabama. 90, 4 star.
Transfers
1.T.O. Barrett, 6’4″, 200, shooting guard. Missouri transfer. Originally from Edmond, OK. 93, 4-star out of high school and 91 4 star from Missouri.
2. Sebastian Williams-Adams, 6’8″, 230 power forward. Auburn transfer. Originally from Houston. 98, 4 star out of high school. 94 from Auburn.
3. Bangot Dak. 6’11”, 185 Power Forward. From Lincoln, Nebraska originally. Colorado transfer. 84 out of high school, and 89, 3- star from Colorado.
4. Ace Glass. 6’2″, 170, shooting guard. Washington State transfer. From Rancho Cucamonga, CA. 91, 4 star out of high school. 91 from Wash State.
5. Berke Buyuktuncel. 6’10”, 244 power forward. Nebraska transfer. Originally from Bursa, Turkey. Reminds me of when I was trying to call a basketball game at UAB back in 1986 as I was auditioning for potential broadcasting jobs and I had my friend, and frat brother Skins with me and this Turkish player hit a deep trifecta, and Skins said, “He just hit that from downtown Constantinople!” Berke was a 99 4 star out of high school and a 91, 4-star from Nebraska.
So, awesome class by Coach By. Our team ranking is 14th in the country by 247 Sports and our transfer class is 15th. We can do some damage with these guys.
Two other guys we need to lock down are superstar point guard Tyler Tanner, who is weighing his options with the NBA. The deadline for underclassmen to declare for the draft is April 24th, today. May 10-17 is the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago, and June 13th is the deadline for college players to withdraw from the draft and maintain their eligibility. Tyler is getting a very healthy offer from VU to stay, somewhere in the $2.5 to 3 Million range for next season. Tyler should come back. The pay is great and he can be a star and not the 11th or 12th guy on the bench in the NBA. Hopeful Tyler will choose to come back. One thing we have working for us: Tyler is an awesome kid.
The other player is our super solid small forward AK Okereke. He’s trying to get a waiver for a fifth season from the NCAA to get another season at VU. AK’s argument is he played at Cornell, which doesn’t give out athletic scholarships as per Ivy League rules. Would love to get the big fella back as well.
And two guys I would be highly remiss to leave out are our stud freshman small forward this season, Chandler Bing. Chandler, from Atlanta, had a really solid frosh season and is primed to be a big time player for us. And Jayden Leverett, our 6’10”, 205 center, from El Paso, Texas. Jayden showed flashes of being a really nice player for us down low. He’s got good handles, getting more size and he’s already a physical player, good rebounder, can affect the rim, and has a pretty solid offensive game that’s developing.
So, that’s what we’ve got in baseball and basketball. Looking stellar in both sports.
I’ll keep you apprised on baseball this weekend.
Have an awesome weekend.