Three Amigas lead Vanderbilt Women’s Basketball to victory; Men in action Saturday
March 6, 2025
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Vanderbilt Sports
Iyana Moore led her team to a major victory over Tennessee earlier today in the SEC Tournament. (Photo courtesy of Vanderbilt Athletics).
Vanderbilt Men’s Basketball: We just want more
March 4, 2025
When my father’s best friend, who was like a second father to me after my dad passed away in 1977, was eulogized at First Presbyterian Church in Nashville, the minister said, “We know he’s in a better place, but we just wanted more.”
That’s the way I feel about our Vanderbilt Mens’ Basketball team. We all just want more of them, and we want watch these guys all the way till the night of Monday, April 7th in the Alamodome in San Antonio at the National Championship Game. This group of players are 100 percent class in everything they do. Their heart, their dedication, their competitiveness, and their personal integrity shines brightly out on the floor. And that has been enhanced even more the past three games we’ve been victorious in against then-No.23 Ole Miss on Saturday, February 22nd; then @ No.12 Texas A&M last Wednesday Night, February 26th, and, most recently, in a spellbinding victory at Memorial on Saturday, a 97-93 overtime victory over No.19 Missouri.
March is here and our team is locked, loaded and homed in on winning every basketball
game that is in front of them starting tonight with a 9 o’clock tip against Arkansas on the
SEC Network. But let’s look back at Saturday versus Mizzou for a minute. It was epic.
Jason Edwards sank a critical trifecta with 12 seconds left to keep us in the game, cutting
the deficit to 79-78, Tigers. After Caleb Grill, a terrific shooter for Missouri
who poured in 28 points, sank both free throws to put the Tigers up 81-78, Memorial Magic
struck again in the person of Tyler Nickel, our great small forward, who drained a three with
four seconds left to tie the game at 81, unbelievingly. The clock ran out, we went into
overtime and won it from there, a 97-93 final. There were several heroic performances. Our
awesome undersized, but does it matter? (That’s a flat out NO), power forward Chris Manon
scored 23 and pulled down 11 boards. Chris has been terrific lately. Our phenomenal point
guard, A.J. Hoggard finished with 21 and 6 dimes. A.J. is always an awesome distributor of
the basketball and if he can shoot like that, we’re a very dangerous team. A.J. is a leader
and a difference maker. Edwards finished with 17 points and four assists and sank two huge
free throws. A.J. was 8-of-8 from the line. We were 21 of 24 from the stripe, 88%, which
was major because Mizzou was 28-of-35, 80%, and shot 11 more free throws than we did.
So every point from the stripe mattered. Nickel finished with 12 points, sank 3 triples and
was 3-of 4 from the line. Manon was 7-of-8 from the line in his spectacular performance.
Jaylen Carey and Devin McGlockton only finished with 7 points each, but Carey finished
with 10 boards and Devin added 8. We out-rebounded them, 39-28, always a major stat.
Tyler Tanner only had four points, but they were both critical floaters that were clutch plays
during the game. MJ Collins finished with 7, but connected on a critical 3 in the second half
towards the latter part of the game.
So, a total team effort by a team that exemplifies just that,. It’s a team game and our player understand that. Just spectacular.
But we want to keep the winning going. Lunardi has us as a 9 seed in the East playing the
No.8 seeded UConn Huskies in Raleigh. But the goal right now is to defeat Arkansas
tonight at 9. It’s been a thrilling year with this team, and it’s hopefully going to keep getting
better. Gotta take care of business tonight. Then it’s @ Georgia Saturday at 11 AM CT on the
SEC Network.
From there it’s the SEC Tournament in Nashville at Bridgestone Arena, Wednesday, March
12th through Sunday, 16th.
We are now 20-9 overall and 8-8 in the SEC, tied for 8th in the
conference. There’s more work to be done and I can’t wait to see these guys
do more work. I know we all are.
Women’s Basketball homes in on the Postseason
Our Vanderbilt Women’s Basketball season finished off the regular season with a
resounding 100-59 victory over Missouri at Columbia.
We now head into the SEC Tournament as the No. 8 seed. The tournament starts
Wednesday at Secours Wellness Arena ihn Greenville, S.C. We’ll play Thursday at 10 AM CT
versus the winner of No.16 Texas A&M and No.9 seed Tennessee. The game will be
broadcast by the SEC Network. The Championship Game is Sunday, March 9th, at 2 PM CT
on ESPN.
We compiled a regular season record of 21-9 overall and 8-8 in the SEC, good for
a tie for 8th in the conference. We finished tied with Tennessee in the standings, but
prevailed in a tiebreaker by virtue of our 71-70 victory over the Vols on Sunday, January
19th at Memorial.
In our Missouri victory, our tremendous freshman Mikayla Blakes poured in 29 points on 11-
of-17 from the field and 6-of-10 from trifecta. Senior guard Iyana Moore added 18 and 7
assists and sophomore forward Khamil Pierre added 16 points and 10 boards. So, awesome
effort from the team.
According to ESPN Bracketologist Charlie Creme, we are an 8 seed in the Spokane Regional
and would face 9 seed South Dakota State in the first round. That’s fluid, of course.
Got a lot of work left and I know our women are excited about it. Coach Shea Ralph is
building a powerhouse program on the West End, just like Coach Mark Byington is, and the
next step is going deep this March; both in the SEC and NCAA Tournaments.
As Coach Corbin says, we just want to have a good practice today and be successful on
Thursday. I’ll be in touch soon.
Vanderbilt Men’s Basketball tremendous/Bracketology, VU Baseball cookin’, VU Women’s Basketball’s dynamic duo strikes again/Bracketology; Men’s/Women’s Golf/Tennis
February 28, 2025
Our men’s basketball team secured a phenomenal victory at College Station on Wednesday Night as we defeated the 12th ranked Texas A&M Aggies, 86-84, to move to 19-9 overall and 7-8 in the SEC. The No.12 Aggies (AP Poll) fell to 20-8 and 9-6.
To say it was a mild surprise might sound like an understatement unless you understand the makeup of this group, which we all do. They’re warriors and were not going to be denied at Reed Arena. Our terrific marksman guard/forwardTyler Nickel sank 7 of 10 trifectas and finished with 21 points. Guard MJ Collins had a big night with 16 points and four boards. Our super combo point guard/shooting guard, Jason Edwards, we’re kind of a position-less group, finished with 15 and was iron from the charity stripe sinking 8-for-8 at the stripe. We were 28-for-36 as a team from the line, 78%, and that was massive down the stretch.
The game took 2 hours 40 minutes with excessive foul calling and reviews. It was out of control. But our guys responded to those adverse conditions (the road and the refs) and emerged with a major resume building victory. Our terrific freshman point guard, Tyler Tanner, finished with 9 points and four assists, and was 4-for-4 from the line. These were all highly clutch free throw conversions in the last two minutes of the game. Big man Jaylen Carey sank a couple of key free throws late as well. Jaylen and our awesome other big man, Devin McGlockton, were saddled with foul trouble throughout the game. It was a very questionably officiated game. Devin fouled out, but pulled down 10 boards before he did. He always gives us superb minutes, even if he doesn’t score a ton of points. He usually gives us good offense though, and he’ll give us great effort every time out. One of the key moments in the game was when JaQualon “JQ” Roberts, our 6’8″, 230 inside guy, came in late with Devin and Jaylen in foul trouble. JQ gave us 8 valuable minutes. He pulled down four boards, had a massive dunk off a beautiful dish from MJ, and played awesome defense. JQ, one of the two holdovers from Stack’s program, along with Jordan Williams, which you gotta admire and appreciate, will be a valuable piece for us down the stretch if Jaylen and Devin get into some fouling issues or they just need a break. I love what JQ did for us Wednesday and what he can do for us going forward. Last season, towards the end of the 2024 year, JQ was coming on for sure as a freshman. So I really believe that he can be a factor for us. He’s tough, physical, is a very good rebounder, and give us some offense.
A.J. Hoggard, Chris Manon and Grant Huffman weren’t major factors in the outcome, but did some good things, and we always need those guys to play well in order for us to be successful. They are all three highly valuable pieces to this team’s success. Definitely need them to give us their usual quality minutes going forward. Manon put together an awesome performance against No. 24 Ole Miss last Saturday in our 77-72 victory at Memorial. He finished with 16, 7 boards, 4 steals and 3 blocks against the Rebels. He’s such a superb athlete, and brings so much energy to the court. A.J. is always an important player for us distributing and leading our offense along with some scoring and solid D. Grant brings hustle and talent. We’ll need everybody.
So where do we stand? We are now 19-9, and 7-8 in the SEC, tied for 9th in the conference. Auburn has been excellent this year at 14-1 and 26-2 and are the clear No.1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament according to ESPN’s Joe Lunardi and Heat Check’s Lukas Harkins, another accurate brackelogist. Auburn is projected No.1 in the South by both Lunardi and Harkins. Auburn’s only two losses are @ Duke, much earlier in the season and at home versus Florida a couple of Saturdays ago. We are seeded 9th by Joe in the South playing in Lexington versus 8th-seeded Illinois. Lukas has us 9th in the West playing No.8 BYU in Wichita. So riveting stuff going on with our team, and if we keep playing like this, we’ll get a higher seed going forward by both Joe and Lukas. I’ll keep you apprised on those developments as they transpire. Both Bracketologists release their projections each Tuesday and Friday, and these brackets are completely up to date as they both released their respective ones this morning.
We’ve got No.14 Missouri Saturday @ home @Memorial at 5 PM CT on the SEC Network. Need an electric crowd to help us knock off a very good team and enhance our resume even further. Missouri is 21-7 and 10-5 in the conference and is coming off a 101-71 home victory over South Carolina. They are presently tied for fourth with Tennessee in the conference standings and are a 5 seed by Joe in the East, and a 5 seed by Lukas in the Midwest. They are talented and can do damage in the NCAA Tournament, so we need to bring everything we’ve got. They defeated us in Columbia on Saturday, January 11th, 75-66. We can get this done, but it will take another stellar performance. We’ve got it in us though. Love the way we’re competing. Will give you a recap on Monday.
Vanderbilt Baseball
Our 13th/14th ranked Vanderbilt Baseball team is on a roll right now after sweeping Saint Mary’s last weekend at the Hawk and defeating Tennessee Tech handily this past Tuesday. We won 11-4 last Friday, 2/21, we won 13-7 on Saturday, 2/22, and 10-0 Sunday, 2/23, in 7 innings with the 10 run rule in effect after 7– top of the 7th at home, bottom of the 7th on the road. Then, for good measure, we defeated Tennessee Tech 16-3 at the Hawk in 7 on Tuesday.
RJ Austin is the heart and soul of this baseball team. Our junior from Atlanta is hitting .455 with 2 doubles, 3 triples, a homer and 9 Ribeyes. RJ is also 6-for-6 in stolen bases. Jacob Humphrey, who has found a home in the corners of our outfield, is hitting .440, and is 3-for-3 in stolen bases. Love what we’re getting from transfer Riley Nelson (Western Texas College/Yavapai College, Texas). Riley is hitting .406 with a double, a homer and 12 Ribbies. Freshman Rustan Rigdon is hitting .360, and I’m liking what I’m seeing out of freshman Brodie Johnston. He’s a slick fielding third baseman and was a highly ranked recruit in the class of 2024. Brodie hits and fields at a high level. He was 2-for-4 Sunday against Saint Mary’s with a pair of runs driven in. Like what we have there. Mike Macini, a transfer from James Madison, is going to be stellar at second base. With steady, reliable junior Jonathan Vastine leading the charges at short, we’ve got a good makeup in the infield with Nelson a nice fielding first baseman as well. The SEC is tough, but our 13th/14th-ranked team (Baseball America, D1 Baseball rankings, respectively) is shaping up well. We are now 8-1. Pitching has been pretty solid. Still some room for improvement. Really like what I’m seeing out of our present Sunday starter Cody Bowker. Cody is 1-0 with an 0.00 ERA. Can’t get any better than that. Cody, a Georgetown transfer, is a strike thrower. He’s walked four and struck out 12. JD Thompson and Ethan McElvain are still rounding into form on Friday and Saturday, respectively. Corbs will see how the guys develop before settling into an SEC weekend rotation. The bullpen has been very solid. Miller Green looks like a shutdown closer and we’ve got great arms in middle relief and for midweek starts.
We have UCLA tonight in L.A. in the Southern California College Baseball Classic. First pitch is a 7 PM CT and it’ll be streamed on BIG Ten Network+.
Saturday, we play USC in Irvine, CA. at 4 PM CT on the BIG Ten+ Network.
And Sunday, we face UConn at 12 PM in L.A., again. Today’s game is at Jackie Robinson Stadium, Saturday’s game is at Great Park, and Sunday’s game is again at Jackie Robinson Stadium, all in Southern California. So, two true road games today and Saturday. UCLA is 7-2, USC is 7-1, and UConn is 1-5. So, some challenges this weekend that will be good for getting us mentally tough for the SEC, which starts in two weeks @ Auburn. We’ll open @ Auburn Friday, 3/14, and play there through Sunday, 3/16. Will have much more on that after we get through this non-conference schedule. Major challenges this weekend starting today versus the Bruins.
Women’s Basketball
Khamil Pierre filled it up last night in our victory over A&M. (Photo courtesy of ESPN).
Sophomore Khamil Pierre poured in 31 points on 13-of-21 shooting from the field and added 6 boards, and freshman standout Mikayla Blakes finished with 18 points and 5 assists as our women defeated Texas A&M, 91-58, at Memorial Thursday Night. Khamil is from Phoenix, and Mikayla is from Somerset, New Jersey, 40 miles from the Big Apple. Justine Pissott added 14, going 5-for-5 from the field and 4-of-4 from the stripe. Justine is a junior from Toms River, New Jersey. It’s 75 miles from Toms River to Manhattan. We moved to 20-9 and 7-8 in the SEC. We’re now 9th in the conference and are an 8 seed in the Spokane Bracket in the NCAA Tournament according to ESPN Bracketologist Charlie Creme. Charlie is the expert in projecting the tournament bracket for the women’s game, and he’s pretty darn accurate as are Joe and Lukas in the men’s game. Mikayla is now averaging 23 points per game, and Khamil is at 20.9. Khamil also averages 9.5 boards per game. Iyana Moore is at 11.9 points per game. Coach Shea Ralph knows we have a lot of work left if we want to reach our goals of playing much deeper into March. We finish out the season this Sunday @ Missouri for a 2 PM CT tip on SEC Network+. The Tigers are 14-16 overall and 3-12 in the SEC. The SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament starts Wednesday, March 5th at Greenville, S.C. So, exciting stuff for the women’s team as well. Will have more on the SECT on Monday after we play Missouri, and, hopefully, get the job done.
Coach Mark Byington and Coach Ralph are doing absolutely tremendous jobs with the men’s and the women’s teams, respectively. Love our coaches. Of course, Corbs is doing his usual phenomenal job. He just keeps getting it done. Love what all three teams can do going forward with both the Men’s and Women’s bball teams heading into March and our baseball team setting its sights on the rest of the non-conference, and then homing in on the SEC in mid-March. Extremely exciting stuff going on for our programs.
Men’s and Women’s Golf; Women’s and Men’s Tennis
Will have a lot more for you on our three respective teams on Monday along with our Men’s and Women’s golf teams and our Men’s and Women’s tennis teams. All four teams are matriculating well.
The Men’s Golf team, which is ranked 14th in the Clippd rankings, the premier rankings in men’s and women’s golf, opens play at the Cabo Collegiate in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico this coming Monday with a loaded field competing. Should be a great measure on Coach Scott Limbaugh’s team Monday through Wednesday on the Twin Dolphin Course. Will have more as the team competes next week.
Coach Greg Allen and his 12th ranked Women’s Golf team (Clippd rankings as well) play in the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate Monday through Wednesday versus a talented field as well. More on the Women as well next week.
Our 19th ranked women’s tennis team (ITA Rankings), 8-1 on the season after opening SEC play with a 7-0 victory @ Missouri last Sunday, plays Mississippi State today @ the Currey Tennis Center in Nashville at 2 PM, and hosts No.17 Alabama Sunday at 1 PM. So huge weekend for the women’s tennis team.
The Men’s team is ranked 32nd by the ITA Rankings, and is 8-3 overall. After defeating LSU on the road this past Monday, 4-3, we play @Auburn today at 2 PM CT, and we are @ No.25 Alabama Sunday at 1 PM.
I love what Women’s Tennis Coach Aleke Tsoubanos is doing for our team, and what Coach Scott Brown is doing for our men. We have another Scott Brown, who is our pitching coach. So we two have Coach Browns on our respective staffs.
I’ll check back in Monday with a lot more on where all of our teams stand heading into the week. God Bless, have an awesome weekend, and Anchor Down!
Mikayla Blakes goes off…again; Men’s bball in major tilt up north; Baseball cookin; Men’s Golf nice showing in Florida
February 19, 2025
Our terrific McDonald’s All American freshman Mikayla Blakes made history again on the basketball court as
she set a freshman record this time for any freshman, true or redshirt, as she poured in 55 points and led her
Vanderbilt Commodores teammates to an amazing 15 point comeback in the fourth quarter at Neville Arena in Auburn as the Commodores defeated Auburn 98-88 in overtime to move to 19-7 overall and 6-6 in the SEC. Coach Shea Ralph was not only happy for Mikayla, she was ecstatic for her team as we had lost three in a row. But what a performance by our young freshman out of Somerset, New Jersey and Rutgers Prep. Mikayla was 15-of-28 from the field, 2-of-7 from trifecta and 23-of-24 from the stripe. She is now averaging 23 points per game and is second in the SEC and sixth in the country in scoring. She was voted SEC Player of the week and SEC Freshman of the week. There was no doubt that was going to happen. The team is now tied for 8th in the conference, and Charlie Creme, the Bracketologist for ESPN, has us as a No. 7 seed and playing 10th seeded Richmond in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Los Angeles. Our next game is Thursday at 6 PM @ No.16 Oklahoma. OU is 19-6 and 7-5 in the SEC, so they’ll be a tough out. Mikayla and the women will have to step up once again. I like them to do just that.
Men take on the Cats in Rupp
Our men’s team is in a huge contest today at 6 PM today on the SEC Network at Rupp Arena versus Kentucky. We fought so hard against Tennessee and almost pulled off the upset, but are looking ahead to today in a massive game at Rupp. We are 17-8 overall and 5-7 in the conference, and Joey Brackets has us as an 11 seed and in the West Regional playing in Cleveland in the first round and facing No.6 seeded Clemson. Gotta excel here in our last six games. We’re getting very good play from Jalen Carey, Devin McGlockton and Jason Edwards, among others. Need everybody to step up tonight, Tyler Nickel, AJ Hoggard, Chris Manon, MJ Collins (so athletic) and Grant Huffman will HAVE to do their part as well for us to emerge with the victory. Coach Byington knows it’ll take a total team effort to come away victorious. I don’t gamble, but I do predict against the spread, and we were a 6 1/2 point underdog yesterday, and now we’re 5 1/2. So trending in the right direction. It was 4 1/2 earlier today. Just gotta lock in.
Baseball
We’ve gotten some pretty solid pitching so far in our first five games as our No.15 Commodores (D1 Baseball Rankings) are 4-1 with victories over Grand Canyon, UC Irvine and two over Air Force. Our only loss is to No.23 Nebraska on Saturday Night, and that seemed like a road game in the MLB Desert Invitational. Really like what we got from JD, who pitched 4.2 against Grand Canyon, and allowed just 3 hits, 0 runs, with a walk and 6 K’s. JD is our Friday Night guy for now, but that’s still being determined. Sure like our chances with him on the mound. Cody Bowker, a transfer from Georgetown, was super Sunday against Cal-Irvine. Cody went 4, gave up 0 runs, 2 hits, with a walk and, also like JD, six K’s. Nice efforts from a lot of our pitchers. Like the way our pitching is rounding into shape. We play Saint Mary’s in a weekend set this Friday-Sunday. Hitting is coming along. New addition Rusty Rigdon, kind of a utility player for us in the infield and outfield, is leading us at .467. Jacob Humphrey, whom I’ve always been bullish on since he arrived on the West End from Duke in 2024, is hitting .455. And our electric center fielder RJ Austin, who can do everything, kind of an Enrique Bradfield with a little more power, is hitting .391. We’re fielding at a .989 clip with just a couple of errors, so pretty solid. I’m sure Corbs is pretty pleased with the start. Gotta keep improving every practice, every game as Corbs always preaches. Our goal is Omaha and getting it done there. That never changes.
Nice showing by Men’s Golf
Our 11th-ranked Men’s Golf team (CLIPPD Rankings, premier college men’s golf ranking service) finished in 5th place at the Watersound Invitational in Panama City Beach, FL. on the Shark’s Tooth Golf Course. We had a rough day in day one shooting 9 over as a team. Then we came back and shot 6 under, and, in round 3, we finished 14 under to post an 11 under score for the tournament. Florida State won it at 26 under par. We did get a terrific effort from senior Jackson Van Paris who finished tied fourth individually shooting 6 under par. Luke Clanton of FSU won it at -10. Nice comeback by the squad. Need some more guys to step up if we want to reach our goals this year in the SEC and NCAA Tournaments. Next is the Cabo Collegiate Sunday, March 2nd through Tuesday, March 4th. It’ll be 3 rounds with a loaded field. I will let you know more about it when it’s time to get to work in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico at the Twin Dolphin Club.
I’ll have more coming up next week. I will be out of pocket the rest of this week working on another project here in town, so will check back in the middle of next week or so with intel on Men’s basketball, baseball, Men’s golf and women’s basketball and anything else that transpires in the VU sporting arena. Thanks a lot.
College Football Week 2 looks terrific
September 8, 2022
College Football transitions into week 2 with some nice matchups led off by the Crimson Tide traveling to Austin to face the Longhorns. Auburn has a home game with San Jose State and there are a couple of nice matchups within the SEC. The UAB Blazers hit the road to try to avenge an embarrassing defeat at Protective Stadium last season. Some national tilts look fascinating as well. Here is this Saturday’s lineup along with predictions.
Last Week, Straight up, 18-4, ATS, 12-10
No.1 Alabama @ Texas
DKR-Memorial Stadium, Austin
11 AM CT
FOX
Gus, he’ll be more amped up than ever if that’s possible, Joel, Jenny
Crimson Tide by 20
Surprisingly, Texas leads this series, 7-1-1, with the one loss to the Crimson Tide coming in the 2009 National Championship Game. Mack Brown is still complaining that if Colt McCoy hadn’t been injured early in the game by Marcell Dareus, there would have been a different outcome. Guess we’ll never know, but could have been closer. I don’t know if you saw Brown’s locker room dance from last Saturday after the Tar Heels defeated App State, 63-61, but it was embarrassing. Wish he hadn’t done that. You’re not going to confuse Mack with Mickey J. UNC gave up 40 points in the fourth quarter. Gene Chizik’s defenses strike again. He may be better in the broadcast booth than he is on the field. We’ll see how Chiz’s defense develops. As for this game, Bryce Young is looking electric as usual, rushing for a hunge last Saturday against Utah State. He’s developing some excellent targets on the perimeter in Georgia transfer Jermaine Burton and Traeshon Holden. I liked what I saw out of freshman Kobe Prentice as well. Jahmyr Gibbs looks to be headed for a big year at running back if the line can block for him. This will be a good test for the Crimson Tide O Line on Saturday. Will Anderson Jr. looks better than ever, and can wreak havoc on Texas QB Quinn Ewers. Texas is going to be better this season and Sark is an excellent offensive coach and stellar recruiter. They are No.2 in the 247 Sports recruiting rankings for 2023 behind the Crimson Tide. They have 3, 5 stars committed, including all world quarterback Arch Manning, Peyton and Eli’s nephew, Cooper’s son, Archie’s grandson. But I like the Tide here. I see Bryce having a big day, and the defense clamping down on Ewers, though I believe in Bijan Robinson, the stellar tailback for the Horns. See him peeling off some nice runs. But the Tide advances in week 2.
Crimson Tide 42, Texas 21
San Jose State @ Auburn
Jordan-Hare Stadium
6:30 PM CT
ESPNU
Brian Custer, Dustin Fox, Lauren Sisler
Tigers by 23
The Tigers had an OK performance last Saturday. The running game was tremendous, with Tank Bigsby rushing for 147 yards and Robbie Ashford, who came on in relief of TJ Finley at quaterback, rushing for 68. Finley threw two interceptions, one right to the safety, hitting him in stride much like Tom Brady does with Mike Evans. However, Finley’s pass went to the wrong team. Ashford did a pretty solid job coming off the bench. Where is Zach Calzada? What’s happened to the guy? What has he not even been considered for the starting job? I’ve looked for it, but nobody is reporting on it. I’ll keep digging to find out. I don’t understand Bryan Harsin’s thinking here. You listen to Harsin talk and there is a lot of boring coach-speak coming out of his mouth. He’s articulate, somewhat, but there’s just not much substance there. I like the Tigers here, but they’ve got to get a lot better if they want to have a successful season. Penn State comes to the Plains next Saturday for a 2:30 PM CT kickoff on CBS.
Auburn 34, San Jose State 10
Samford @ No.2 Georgia
Sanford Stadium, Athens
3 PM CT
SEC Network
Taylor, Matt, Alyssa
Dawgs by 52
Kill.
Georgia 62, Samford 3
No.20 Kentucky @ No.12 Florida
Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville
6 PM CT
ESPN
Tess, Gregory, McShay, Katie
Gators by 5
I’m bullish on Billy Napier, quarterback Anthony Richardson and the Gators after last Saturday’s 29-26 victory over then No.7 Utah. I’ll take Billy and Anthony in the Swamp on a Saturday Night over a pretty solid Kentucky team.
Gators, 31, Wildcats 24
South Carolina @ No. 16 Arkansas
Razorback Stadium, Fayetteville
11 AM CT
ESPN
Bob Wischusen (questions every coaching decision imaginable) Dan Orlovsky, Kris Budden
Hogs by 8
Early start, so I like a hard nosed, physical, very good game.
Arkansas 24, South Carolina 21
No.24 Tennessee @ No.17 Pittsburgh
Acrisure Stadium, PIttsburgh
2:30 PM CT
ABC
Sean, Todd, Molly
UT by 6
I like what Hendon Hooker is doing at quarterback for Josh Huepel and the Vols. I’m bullish on this group.
Tennessee 31, Pitt 24
App State @ No. 6 Texas A&M
Kyle Field, College Station
2:30 PM CT
ESPN2
Anish Shroff, Brock Osweiler, Taylor McGregor
A&M by 19
Never sure what to make of A&M under Fish. Haynes King has talent, but he’s erratic like all quarterbacks are under Fisher. I like the Aggies to win, but they need to improve significantly if they want to have a successful season, and that means double digit wins out there. Might not be attainable unless King can develop quickly.
A&M 35, App State 10
Mississippi State @ Arizona
Arizona Stadium, Tuscon
10 PM CT
Fox Sports 1
State by 10 1/2
Give me Leach and his Bullies against a PAC-12 team after dark.
Bullies 38, ‘Zona 24
Missouri @ Kansas State
Bill Snyder Family Stadium, “the Little Apple,” Manhattan, KS.
11 AM CT
ESPN2
Beth Mowins, Kirk Morrison, Stormy Buonatony, always a mouthful
K State by 7 1/2
I was tempted to pick the upset here, but I’ll stick with the favorite in a tight contest.
Kansas State 31, Mizzou 28
Central Arkansas @ No. 22 Ole Miss
Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, Oxford
6 PM CT
ESPN+
Rebels by 34
I like Lane and his charges to get the job done at the Grove. Ole Miss has an excellent running game led by former TCU five star Zach Evans, who rushed for a buck 30 last Saturday against Troy. If they can develop one of their quarterbacks, it could be a really nice season for the Rebs.
Ole Miss 45, Central Ark. 10
Georgia Southern @ LSU
Tiger Stadium, Baaton Rouge, Louisiana, as Howard used to say
6:30 PM CT
SEC Network
Tom, Jordan, Cole
Tiguhs by 47 1/2
After Brian Kelly’s inauspicious start last Sunday with his special teams costing him the game, he needs to get it back together or there are going to be some upset Cajuns. Interestingly, Southern defeated Florida Memorial? 86-0. Southern University is also located in Baton Rouge.
LSU 52, Southern 3
No. 23 Wake Forest @ Vanderbilt
FirstBank Stadium, Nashvegas
11 AM CT
SEC Network
Dave, Deuce, Andraya
Demon Deacons by 12 1/2
The Demon Deacons welcome back quarterback Sam Hartman this week. He had a blood clot in August and was considered out indefinitely, but he’s full strength now. He accounted for 50 TDs last season, 39 through the air and 11 on the ground. He did throw 14 interceptions though, so if the Dores can get some pass rush, maybe that will create opportunities for their secondary. Mike Wright accounted for 6 TDs last Saturday Night in the Dores’ 42-31 victory over Elon, but the Commodores were not overly impressive in the second half as Elon very much outplayed them. It’s always a process for a new coach at Vanderbilt. Clark Lea is doing some good things, but I don’t see the Dores as good enough to prevail over Wake.
Wake Forest 35, Vandy 21
UAB @ Liberty
Williams Stadium, Lynchburg, VA.
5 PM CT
ESPN+
Blazers by 6 1/2
I had a couple of Blazer fans get on me last Thursday for not writing about their team, so here goes. UAB looks to be a strong outfit with a chance to win a lot of games this season. With their navigable schedule, they can get to double digit victories. There’s a a lot of talent on this squad. I like them to prevail on the road over Hugh Freeze and his Flames, that don’t look as good as usual.
UAB 28, Liberty 21
National games
USC 31, Stanford 21
Stanford Stadium, Stanford, CA.
6:30 PM CT
ABC
Reece, Chris at U.S. Open, Kirk, Holly
Trojans by 8 1/2
I’m not declaring them back yet, but this program looks promising again under Lincoln Riley.
Clemson 42, Furman 7
Memorial Stadium, Clemson
1:30 PM CT
ACC Network
Clemson by 44 1/2
Not a buyer of Clemson, yet. Not sure their starting quarterback is that good, but maybe their 5 star freshman backup is. Not selling them either. Just holding them for right now.
No.3 Ohio State 41, Arkansas State 7
Ohio Stadium, Columbus
11 AM CT
Big Ten Network
Buckeyes by 44 1/2
Not sure I’m a believer in this group, either. A decent Notre Dame team kept it close. I’d say Notre Dame is barely above average, if that. The Buckeyes aren’t very impressive at this point.
No.9 Baylor 35, No.21 BYU 34
LaVell Edwards Stadium, Provo, Utah
9:15 PM CT
ESPN
Mark Jones, RG III, Quint Kessenich
BYU by 3
This is one I might have to stay up for. Should be a classic. I’ll take the Bears in a slight upset in a hostile environment.
Oklahoma State 49, Arizona State 35
Boone Pickens Stadium, Stillwater, OK.
6:30 PM CT
ESPN2
Dave Flemming, Rod Gilmore, Tiffany Blackmon
Cowboys by 12 1/2
Derek Mason’s defense gave up 44 points to Central Michigan last Thursday Night. Central Michigan? I know about MACtion and all that, but come on, Mason. The Pokes score a lot, but Mason’s defense looks very questionable.
The spectacular Tim Corbin and his amazing team, MLB guys
June 7, 2017
Corbs’ decision to start Matt Ruppenthal proved to be a highly prophetic one (Photo courtesy of D1Baseball.com).
Jackson Gillis closed the door on Clemson (Photo courtesy of Twitter).
The greatness of Tim Corbin was no more evident than Monday Night in our regional championship game versus Clemson at Doug Kingsmore Stadium in Clemson, S.C.
Corbs went with Junior Matt Ruppenthal as our starter. Some people questioned the decision. I questioned it slightly. I was wrong as were the others. Corbs and Pitching Coach Scott “Brownie” Brown believed in Rupe 100% and “trusted” him, as Corbs said during the game to the ESPN3 commentators. And did Matt ever deliver.
Corbs and Brownie also trusted “freshman,” Jackson Gillis, and I put that in quotation marks because this young gun pitched like Mariano Rivera. Did he ever.
All in all, it was a sensational performance not only by our team, but also by our coaches. Corbs has had so many special seasons in his 15 years as head coach at Vanderbilt University, and this one ranks up there as one of his best, however it ends up. I’m optimistic that it’ll be in Omaha, but whatever transpires the rest of the way, it’s the way Coach Corbin has developed this group of players from a group that didn’t look very good in the fall, according to Tim, to one that has developed into one of the best teams in the country.
We’ll absolutely be tested in Corvallis this weekend versus Oregon State, but I really like where this team is at right now. They’re not playing distraught over Donny Everett’s passing, though I know there is still sadness, but they’ve now got the passion to play “with” number 41, as Corbs said to me three weeks ago. It’s greatness. It’s really phenomenal. It’s strength through belief, strength through passion, strength through dedication to their late teammate, his amazing parents, Teddy and Susan, an amazingly focused discipline to be the best, and a passion for each other. It all starts with head coach Tim Corbin. It’s been an amazing transformation of a college baseball team.
And it really didn’t totally click until last Friday. There were signs during the season that this team was very talented. But over the weekend in Clemson, they showed what type of team they can be. And it culminated with an absolutely terrific performance from Matt Ruppenthal, Will Toffey, and Jackson Gillis. But our other players were hugely clutch throughout the weekend. Here’s what happened in the penultimate game on Monday Night.
Matt was called upon by Corbs and Brownie to give us 6 good innings or so, and that’s exactly what he did. Matt didn’t rely on his 12-6 curve as much, though he did use it, but he was also throwing it 88-90 MPH with his fastball and throwing strikes and getting outs. Matt went 6, gave up only 6 hits, 0 runs, with a walk and 5 K’s. He threw 80 pitches with 51 for strikes against 29 balls. He was electric and dominant against a terrific hitting team in a very hitters friendly ballpark. It’s almost like Coors Field in Colorado where the Colorado Rockies launch long ball after long ball. With the short porches in Clemson, guys like DH Seth Beer (16 homers), catcher Chris Williams, who hit but didn’t catch due to a shoulder problem (14 homers), and shortstop Logan Davidson (12 homers) launched many balls into the seats this season. But Matt held them in check throughout his six innings of stellar work. He was phenomenal. Reed Hayes, our usual closer, came on in the 7th, as Corbs made a prescient decision to go with a guy who throws it 93-95 to mix it up from Matt’s slower stuff. Reed got’em out 1-2-3 in the top of the 7th, but then had some struggles in the 8th. The Tigers loaded the bases in the bottom of the 8th with one out , and the powerhouse hitting Beer coming to the plate. Corbs went to Gillis out of the pen. Jackson not only has the demeanor of a veteran pitcher, he has the look. He just looks tough. Jackson struck out Beer on a 93 MPH heater. Then he got Chase Pinder, another .305 hitter with 7 homers, to ground out to third for the final out. Jackson got them out 1-2-3 in the 9th to clinch the 8-0 victory and a trip to Corvallis to face No.1 Oregon State.
It was a masterful pitching performance by Matt and Jackson. Jackson could have earned Corbs’ and Brownie’s trust as our closer. He sure looked spectacular against a very good hitting team in a major pressure cooker situation.
Meanwhile, Will Toffey continued his masterful hitting in the postseason with a 2 run shot and a 3 run shot. Wow, Toff is hitting on another level. Those were home runs 10 and 11 for Will, and with the 5 RBIs, he now has 62 on the season. He is hitting .350.
Will was selected as Regional MVP. He was 9-for-19 over the weekend, a .474 average. He scored 8 runs and drove in 10. Ro Coleman was 3 for 5 in the game and freshman right fielder J.J. Bleday had a super game going 3-for-4 with an RBI and 2 runs scored. J.J. had 3 singles. Ro and Jeren Kendall were named to the All Tournament team. Jeren drove in 8 runs for the weekend, and Ro was spectacular, going 7-for-14 over the weekend. Ro played phenomenal left field as well, making highlight reel catch after highlight reel catch. He and Jeren were very instrumental in helping us win the Clemson regional. But the other guys, catcher Jason Delay, Reed Hayes as DH, second baseman Ethan Paul, and first baseman Julian Infante were also major reasons we advanced to the Super Regional. You can’t forget the superb starting pitching performances of Patrick Raby on Friday, and Kyle on Saturday. Just an awesome team Regional victory.
Now we head out to the great Northwest to play the No.1 seed in the entire tournament and the top ranked team in the country, the Oregon State Beavers. They are 52-4. The Beavers also went 27-3 in the PAC-12. We are now 36-23-1. We’ve got our hands full. Game 1 is Friday Night at 8 CT on ESPN 2. Rabes gets the ball for us. Saturday Night’s game is also at 8 CT, and that will be televised by ESPN. Sunday’s game, if there is one, hope there’s not, is to be determined for time and network if we split the first two games with the Beavers.
Will have more on this ultra talented Oregon State team, and more on our ultra talented team coming up on Friday as I preview this blockbuster matchup.
David Price, Mike Minor, Sonny Gray, Pedro Alvarez
David
I watched David Price’s performance from Saturday this morning and was very impressed. David had total command of the game leading his Boston Red Sox team to a 5-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. David went 7, gave up 3 hits, 1 run, with 1 walk and 7 K’s. David threw 92 pitches, 55 for strikes against 37 balls. Craig Kimbrel came in and closed it out for Dave and the Bosox for his 16th save.
David hit 94-95 some with his heater, but was using his cut fastball quite a bit, throwing it 88-90, and hitting his spots perfectly. He also used his change up quite a bit and it was a very effective pitch as well. He gave up a homer to Manny Machado, but giving up a homer to the star third baseman for the O’s is something a lot of pitchers have to live with sometimes. But David was terrific overall.
The Red Sox also defeated the Yankees last night in the Bronx, 5-4, to move to 32-25 on the season, 1 game back of the Yanks in the American League East. So the Bosox are heating up. David pitches again tomorrow against the Yankees at Yankee Stadium @ 6 PM CT on ESPN. David will square off against Michael Pineda, who is 6-3 with a 3.76 ERA. In Pineda’s last outing, he went 5 innings against the Toronto Blue Jays and gave up 5 runs on 10 hits, so he’s hittable. The Yankees have some lumber though, so DP will have to be really on his game. David is now 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA, he has walked 3 and K’d 11. His WHIP (walks plus hits per inning) is 0.67 which is fantastic. Like where the man is right now.
Mike Minor
Mike Minor has been unbelievably stellar for the Kansas City Royals (Photo courtesy of Beyond the Box Score).
Mike came in last night in the 9th for the KC Royals and pitched a really solid inning, giving up 1 run and striking out 1 with no walks, getting the victory to move to 3-1 on the season with a 2.12 ERA. Mike was hitting 95 with his fastball. He was throwing his slider 88 to 89, and pitched spectacularly well. Mike looks like he’s back to being the pitcher he was when he was really cookin as a starter for the Braves in 2013. Mike has an 0.91 WHIP, so he’s been terrific as well. Would love to see Mikey get another shot as a starter for KC. The Royals actually won it on a walk off homer by designated hitter Mike Moustakas in the bottom of the 9th to defeat the Houston Astros, which are 42-17 and uber hot, 9-7. The Royals moved to 25-32. They’re in last place in the AL Central but only 5.5 games out of first place. The Minnesota Twins lead the Central at 29-25, so that division is up for grabs. The Astros are 13 games up on the Los Angeles Angels and Seattle Mariners in the AL West, so they are really dominating right now. Tony Kemp plays for the Fresno Grizzlies, the Astros triple A team, and he’s been up to the big club this year like he was last year. Would really like to see Tony get a shot somewhere. He’s just an injury away. He’s hitting .288 for the Grizzlies, and playing outfield and second. Tony’s such a super player.
Mike is really hitting his stride right now for the Royals.
Sonny Gray
I thought Sonny pitched really well for the A’s last Sunday in Oakland against the powerful Washington Nationals. He went 7, gave up 4 hits, 3 runs, with 3 walks and 6 K’s. He threw 104 pitches with 63 for strikes against 41 balls. Sonny’s fastball was hitting 93-95 and he hit 96 a couple of times. He located his fastball well, and his curve was outstanding. The Nationals are a tough group to pitch against, the best team in the NL at this point and a hitting machine, so I was impressed with Sonny’s performance. There has been a lot of talk of Sonny being on the trade market. If that’s the case, I hope he can land with a contender. The Cubs are interested from what I’ve heard. There are some other contenders he could go to. Would like to see Sonny on a team that is seriously in the playoff hunt. Sonny will pitch again Saturday at Tampa Bay against Erasmo Ramirez, who is in his first start for the Rays and has a 4.09 ERA. Sonny is now 2-2 with a 4.57 ERA and has a 1.21 WHIP, but I was very encouraged by his performance last Sunday against the best hitting team in baseball.
Pedro Alvarez
Pedro is still playing for the Norfolk Tides, the triple A club for the Orioles, and last night he went 1-for-2 with an RBI double to deep central field. That was his 41st RBI of the season, to go along with 13 home runs and a .235 average. That average doesn’t look that great, but it’s come up so much the last couple of weeks. Pedro has been tearing it up with the bat recently. He needs to get a shot with Baltimore. He’s too valuable of a hitter and he can play first or in right field if the O’s need him to. He’s just an injury away, or if Chris Davis keeps striking out 44 percent of the time he’s at the plate (88 strikeouts in 198 at bats), maybe he can take Davis’s spot at first. Pedro’s a better player in my opinion, and has a ton more heart than Davis does. It should happen soon. I don’t know what I’m seeing differently than the Orioles brass is seeing, but I see a much better first baseman at Norfolk than I do in Baltimore.
Tomorrow
Feature on one of our VU baseball superstars, who has an incredibly moving, powerful story.
Friday
Vanderbilt@ Oregon State
A preview of our Super Regional series at Corvallis, Oregon which promises to be a classic college baseball playoff series.
Astra Sharma’s fascinating journey
May 18, 2017
I had great intentions to write a deeply thought out feature on Vanderbilt women’s tennis redshirt junior Astra Sharma, the phenomenal Vanderbilt player, but then I spoke with Coach Geoff McDonald and Astra on Tuesday and their comments were so captivating that I decided to make this a Q&A with these engaging two people. This is Geoff’s account of Astra, her background, what type of player she has become, and most importantly, the development of her as a person. I also got Astra’s riveting comments about her life as a Vanderbilt tennis player, and as a student at one of the most academically demanding schools in the country. Here are Geoff and Astra.
DW: Tell me about Astra’s backstory?
Geoff: We lost a recruit to Stanford. It’s incredibly hard to recruit against Stanford. They have the best tennis tradition in the country. So we lost a kid to them. I got an email from a coach in Australia that said I’m coaching a really good student, and on top of that she has really high aspirations to play the game. She wants to be a pro if she can. He said she was the best athlete he’d ever seen on the court. He said she was a phenomenal athlete. My associate head coach, Aleke Tsoubanos, is married to an engineering professor, Jason Valentine. She is a co-head coach with me and was a 3 time All American here. She came to me and said Jason has a conference in Melbourne, Australia in December and what do I think if she took 10 days off and went with him to Australia. Sure enough the Australian juniors were at the same time. I said not only can you go, but we’ll pay for it. It’ll be a recruiting trip.
So she went and recruited Astra. She saw a lot of potential. Aleke said Astra was a bit raw, but her athleticism was off the charts. Not only that, Aleke said she was well spoken, respectful, just a good person.
So Astra came to us and in her first year she suffered a hand and wrist over-use injury and it didn’t heal. We wanted to rest it for 6 weeks thinking it would flare up again if we pushed her. So we redshirted her and what impressed me was I would give her a book to read and she’d read it. If I gave her an article or youtube clip, she’d read or watch. I had her, even when she was injured, practicing things that didn’t hurt her hand like her toss, things you did that wouldn’t hurt her injury but maybe help her game a little bit. She did every single thing I asked her to do with just a remarkable attitude.
It’s hard to be redshirted. You feel like you’re not part of things and you also wonder if you can ever get over the injury. But she began to play in the summer and she did solidly. My timetable for her was she’s going to develop in a year or 2 and she’s going to be quite good. The next spring (her sophomore season), she just took off and she was the story of the 2015 national championship team. Just an amazing effort by her.
DW: Geoff, where have you seen the most improvement in her game?
GM: Understanding how to play, decision making. It’s like baseball, there are a lot of nuances. There’s a lot of stuff that if you don’t understand, you’re not going to do very well. Some matches you have to be really patient and play points out, and others you have to be more aggressive. It’s a blend. What we’ve tried to teach is what we call, ball-court game. Most of the women’s game is modeled on aggressive baseline play, but that’s not a lot of variety and not a lot of net play, etc.. We try to teach her all court tennis which takes the longest to develop.
DW: How is she doing with that?
GM: She’s improving by the week really. It’s just kind of fascinating, this year she was SEC player of the year and a lot of it was in difficult situations against the best players in the conference. She was able to come through.
DW: Will Astra be returning next season?
GM: She will come back, yes. She’s going to play the pro tour this summer as an amateur from June to the beginning of the second semester (2018). You don’t say this often, but she’s good enough to get to the next level. She’s got an extraordinary work ethic. She graduates next spring and she’ll finish her course work. She’s ahead on hours, and she has that season of eligibility because we redshirted her. Back in 2014, that was hard to do. We were tempted to play her, but I’m glad I held off because it’s been good for her development.
DW: Where do you see Astra’s future in the pro game?
GM: I think Astra is good enough to become a top 50 player and become someone who plays in Grand Slams. I think she can do it. It’s a hard journey, but she loves the game, she has the work ethic, she has good feet and she also has a really big heart. She’s got pretty much what you need.
DW: What’s your read on your team heading into the Sweet 16?
GM: I know what I’m going to get in terms of competitiveness. You don’t know about winning and losing because everybody is so good at this level. But she’s going to bring her all and that’s all we focus on as a team. You can’t control winning and losing, you can control your effort, your resiliency, the way you work at tennis. This team has done remarkably well. They’re an overachieving group. We’re excited for the opportunities before us Friday. There are 8 matches on Friday and we’re down to that 16 (teams) and that’s pretty exciting.
DW: How does Astra’s opponent look from Cal?
GM: Maegan Manasse. She’s a very good player. Each day, there’s no such thing as a good draw. Everybody’s good, you just go into that match and battle. If somebody beats you they really have to be good. We’re a tough opponent as well. Maegan has been in the top 10, but has been a little down recently (she’s at No.34). We tell them the rankings are a good sign post but that doesn’t matter when you’re playing. It doesn’t matter who’s seeded higher or who’s ranked. It’s a contest.
DW: Can Astra reach No.1 in singles nationally?
GM: She is certainly capable. You can get hung up on rankings. Let the computers do that and you just focus on getting better and improving and have a mindset that you can keep improving in tennis and that’s what we’re working on now. We talked to the team a lot about let’s get ready for this tournament not as a maintenance thing, but let’s play to get better. We were on the court today from 8 AM to 3:30 PM with 5 players focusing on the little things to see what they can do to play a little bit better.
DW: You really like this team.
GM: Yeah, they’re good. There haven’t been many teams I didn’t love. They have a 3.6 GPA. With all the traveling in the college game and missing classes and your team gets a 3.6, that’s amazing.
DW: How has Astra done academically?
GM: She got a 3.8 this time. She has a 3.4 overall GPA (majoring in Health, Medicine and Society). Her grades have gotten steadily better. When you’re younger you have to take classes like Organic Chemistry and that makes it harder to get a good grade. She’s done very well.
After speaking with Geoff, I got Astra on the phone. Here are Astra’s comments.
DW: How does it feel to get to another Sweet 16?
AS: It was great to get by Clemson. They were a tough opponent.
DW: Tell me about your family?
AS: I have an older brother, Ashwin, who just graduated from the University of Pacific (Stockton, California). My younger sister, Tara, goes to a good university in Perth, Western Australia. She majors in Physics and Biology. She’s a smart cookie. My parents are Dev and Susan.
DW: How was it growing up in Perth, Australia?
AS: We actually moved over when I was little from Singapore. It was my dad and mom’s decision because they wanted us to have a more well rounded life in sports and stuff which was a really good call. I enjoyed playing a lot of soccer and tennis, track and field and swimming. I was very active. It was just loads of fun.
Perth is actually pretty similar to Nashville. It’s a mediumish city (population 2 million). We lived in the suburbs. It’s kind of a quiet, laid back sore of town (in southwestern Australia). It’s not as busy as Melbourne or Brisbane. Still it can get pretty active. But I remember my childhood in Perth being pretty quiet. It’s a very good family town, a really good place to raise a family.
DW: What was your favorite sport growing up?
AS: I always really liked soccer, and I really liked track and field events. I liked the long jump, the triple jump, that sort of thing. I was actually a pretty good runner but I didn’t enjoy it as much. I thought it was a bit boring. Growing up it was usually soccer and tennis. I narrowed it down to soccer and tennis when I was 13 or 14, and only chose tennis when I was about 16.
DW: What attracted you to Vanderbilt?
AS: Actually I didn’t know much about college tennis until I was in Melbourne and the assistant coach came to Australia. She talked to my coach and offered me a spot. Initially, I didn’t want to come because I wanted to try my hand at the pro circuit. Then I decided to try college for a year and see how it goes because I was interested in getting a good education.
DW: What has been the key to your development as a tennis player?
AS: The main reason is the coaches, Coach McDonald and Coach Tsoubanos. They’re the best coaches I’ve ever had in my life. I think I hit the jackpot with the right coaches. I’m very driven intrinsically. They just guide me and have challenged me to grow within myself and push myself more. Not so much physically, but mentally, and I think that’s the biggest gain in my tennis, the mental aspect. Coach, from day 1, has been grooming me, I guess, with the books, and the lessons I learn every day. it’s not a repetition, it’s something different, something new. That’s what I love. I’ve learned to appreciate so much more about the mental side, how to be a tennis player is what I’ve learned the most.
DW: What would you say are the strengths of your game?
AS: I’m a pretty good athlete and I move very well. On the court I cover quite well. My biggest strengths on the court are my serve and my forehand. They’ve always been my go to weapons. I’m trying to develop my volley and I’m getting there right now. It’s movement, serve and forehand that are my strengths.
DW; How hard is it to handle the academic demands at Vanderbilt and be an elite tennis player?
AS: It comes in waves. It can be really busy. It takes big time management and discipline. The day is really busy. I train twice a day. I get up in the morning, train, gym, class, lunch, come out again, hit, dinner. It’s just non stop. The key is finding pockets of time (to study). The normal student can take off for a couple of hours and watch NetFlix. That’s not an option when you know you have a paper due in 2 days, and you can’t really take time off and waste one day. There’s a lot of discipline and I think a lot of student athletes come out stronger from the college experience. I’m so much more aware of what it takes to do well in both areas.
DW: How much better is it to be done with school and just be able to focus on tennis now?
AS: It’s so much easier. There’s so much more time to catch up on your sleep. My team, we’ve caught up. You always have a little bit of a sleep deficit during the season because you’ve gotta study. People aren’t always going to have that 8 to 10 hours of sleep. Right now, everyone is feeling really great. Everything seems so much easier without having to do 2 to 3 hours of school work every night. We now go to practice, go to lunch, take a nap, come out again. It’s so much better. I love it.
DW: What do you know about Cal and how do you think you stack up against their singles player (Maegan Manasse)?
AS: We haven’t played them in recent memory. It’s more about attitude and focus. I’m not too worried about how I stack up against someone.
DW: Where do you see your tennis future?
AS: I definitely want to try my hand at the pro circuit. I’ll do a lot of that in the summer. I want to see different parts of the world and get to play the best tennis players in the world. So I’m very excited this summer to try that and see how it goes.
DW: What does it mean to get a degree from Vanderbilt?
AS: This has been one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. It’s the best decision I could have made. Getting my degree will mean so much.
DW: How has the experience shaped you?
AS: It’s a very challenging academic school and it’s not easy playing in the SEC and having the demands of an Ivy League. I’ll be so proud and happy with this accomplishment. I’m very excited to get a degree.
Photo courtesy of Vanderbilt University Athletics
Scott Limbaugh has built eliteness into the VU golf program, and they proved it over the weekend in Sea Island with more eliteness hopefully in store
April 28, 2017
Coach Scott Limbaugh leads his team to the SEC Championship with more goals ahead
True freshman John Augenstein was beyond clutch on Sunday and Monday
Vanderbilt University has made some superb hirings in the past several years. The hire of Tim Corbin in 2002 was spectacular. Tim is the best college baseball coach in the country and an institution, not only in the college game, but throughout baseball. Coach Corbin has built an phenomenal legacy at Vanderbilt. The hiring of Derek Mason by Athletics Director David Williams in 2014 is proving to be a genius move again as Derek is ready to take his Commodore football program to new heights, greater than the program’s ever achieved. Two thousand seventeen looks electrically exciting for football. Commodore football is in tremendous hands. The hiring of Geoff McDonald for the women’s tennis team back in the ’90’s has been a beyond spectacular. His program is as elite as it comes in college tennis and will be playing for its second national championship in the last 3 years in the next 2 weeks as the women’s team starts NCAA tournament play. Williams’ hire of Bryce Drew was superb. Bryce will have us competing for championships both in the SEC and nationally as soon as next year. The future couldn’t be any brighter for Vanderbilt basketball with Bryce at the helm.
And golf has been nothing short of sensational under 5th year Coach Scott Limbaugh, who just led his amazing team to an SEC Championship at Sea Island Golf Club last weekend. The 36 year old LImbaugh got stellar play from freshman John Augenstein, who sank a birdie putt on the 20th hole to beat Florida last Sunday and win the semifinal match. Then, on top of that on Monday, the cagey freshman with all the pressure on the line, beat the Texas A&M player on the 23rd hole to help the Commodores capture their first SEC championship in the program’s existence.That’s some stellar stuff from John.
But most all of the credit goes to Coach Limbaugh, the Childersburg, Alabama native, who was the lead recruiter at the University of Alabama and recruited Tide standouts Justin Thomas, Trey Mullinax, Bobby Wyatt among other, all 3 of whom are on the PGA Tour. Justin is having massive success. Alabama won the national championship in 2013 and 2014 with many of the players Limbaugh recruited. And he’s continued that stellar tradition in Nashville, and that, along with his superior coaching ability, led the Commodores to the pinnacle of the SEC, the toughest conference in the country in most every sport imaginable, with the best athletes, the best competitors, the best coaches. Coach Limbaugh said he got congratulations from everybody, Tim Corbin and Bryce Drew sent texts, as did Justin Thomas and Trey Mullinax. He said the most meaningful thing though was seeing his wife Kate, his two young daughters, Malley and Annie, and his year and a half old son, Thomas, after the team’s amazing victory. Scott Limbaugh is not only a superb coach, he’s an even better person. He’s the personification of a Vanderbilt man. And we are fortunate and grateful to have him.
Now, while the players take a break and get ready for finals, but also get a chance to relish this phenomenal victory, Scott and I talked on Wednesday about the performance of his team last weekend, what this means for him and his program, and what lies ahead with the NCAA’s, as capturing the national championship is next the next goal on the agenda for this tremendous team and their superior leader.
DW: How’s this week gone for you?
SL: “I just now started today to get my feet on the ground. Monday Night I had to hit the road recruiting, so I didn’t get back till last night. But it’s been overwhelming. I’ve had so many people reach out to me, it’s awesome. All good stuff.”
DW: Talk about the clutch play of John Augenstein, the clutch putt on Sunday against Florida and Monday, his play on Monday, how clutch it was.
SL: “I tell you what, it was the stuff you dream about. You talk to young kids, you try to sell’em on a vision. When we talked to John as a youngster, we sold him on doing a first time thing, and him being a crucial part of that her with him as a freshman. My gosh, the shots he made and the putt he made against Florida on the 20th hole, that was not an easy putt. It was about a cup outside on the left, fast, and he absolutely buried it. And then the final day, when Matthias lost control of his match a little bit and things started not looking as good for us as they had been, we talk all the time about, don’t wait for somebody else to do the job that you can do yourself. Always know your match will matter, always know your score is going to count. Don’t sit back and think somebody else is going to do the job. For us, we had a freshman. And I’ll tell you what, I can’t say enough about our assistant coach, Dusty Smith, the job he’s done. He’s been with us the whole time here and the job he’s done and the development we’ve had with our younger players, that stuff just doesn’t happen without Dusty. Dusty walked every hole with John and watched every shot this week. And obviously, the shot John hit on the 23rd hole (on Monday vs. A&M in the championship match), No.14 is the hardest hole on the course. The tour, when anybody plays there, it’s the hardest hole on the course. The wind was blowing 30 off the left. You can’t hit it left, you can’t hit it right. The Texas A&M kid gets up there first and strikes it right down the middle. Honestly, John didn’t have his A game this week, he had his A game in his heart, but he didn’t have his A game because he is an absolute ball striker, and he didn’t hit it that well. He won those matches on sheer resiliency and toughness and fight, because it wasn’t always pretty. The one place you can’t hit it on 14 is on the left, but you have just a little bit of room on the right. He hit it off a tree (off the tee) and it bounced off the cart path and I didn’t think he had a shot, but I was allowing Coach Smith and John to do their thing, I just turned into a fan at that moment. I had walked the final round with Patrick (Martin, who won his match handily). The shot he hit, wind off to the left with a front left pin, it’s a shot that’s going to go down in our golf memory banks for a long, long time because it changed Vanderbilt golf. He hit that thing 12 feet from no man’s land, and this other kid in the middle of the fairway, John had just tightened up the hole for him, and he just kind of scooped a pitching wedge short right of the green and he didn’t hit a great chip. John almost made the birdie putt, left it a little short, and that kid had a par putt that was breaking about 2 feet and you just couldn’t hardly make it. We were really fortunate that the ball just bounced our way that way that day, and that’s just the way sports works isn’t it?”
DW: How long was John’s putt on Sunday, his birdie putt to beat Florida?
SL: “I’d say that was about 10 feet, downhill left to right. The boy from Florida almost made a birdie from about 15 feet, it hit the edge. John just knocked it in.”
DW: Coach, what is Dusty’s background?
SL: He was an All American (player) at Lamar and he was here for a year with the prior coach before I got here and honestly, when I got the job, I felt like I needed to do things to make my own program. But when my wife (Kate) and I met him we knew it was right. My wife is a former athlete, she played basketball at Alabama, and I trust her a lot in what we do here. We came up here to look at homes, and met Dusty and he just kept doing his job no matter what the future was, and he was just the right guy for me. He does an unbelievable job of relating to the players, an unbelievable job of player development, and just his and my personality work really well.
DW: Coach what are the players up to now, are they in exams?
SL: No, there is a dead period right now, their exams start Sunday or Monday and they’re enjoying things right now. We’ve got good leadership on this team. Am I worried about our focus going forward? Yeah I am because that’s my job as a coach, because as Geoff McDonald has said to me, “Success is also adversity,” and I’m well aware of that. We’re getting an awful lot of pats on our back, so I kind of give them time after the SEC’s, I follow the same model Coach (Jay) Seawell and I had at Alabama. There’s a 3 week break between SEC’s and (NCAA) Regionals and we’re going to give our guys a break, to kind of catch their breath, focus on academics, and come the end of next week, it’ll be time for us to reconvene and get going again. That’s been our model here for my first four years here and we’re not going to change that.
DW: When is the selection Show?
SL: “It’s Thursday, May 4th.”
DW: Do you have any idea where we’ll go?
SL: “We feel good. We moved to No.2 in the Golfstat poll which is what the NCAA uses for the regional seeding, and I would say there’s an outside chance we could end the regular season No. 1 depending on how (No.1) Southern Cal, (No.3) Oklahoma State some of those type teams do. But we feel good, and we’re hopeful that we can get in the regional in Murfreesboro. Middle Tennessee is hosting it and we’re hopeful we’ll be able to gain the No.1 seed at that regional.”
DW: What does this mean to you personally?
SL: “Oh it’s big. You sell a vision to young people and you think about it 4 1/2 to 5 years ago when we started here, the program was ranked 80th in the country and you sell a vision. I tell you the amount of support we’ve gotten from our athletic department, our administration has been truly nothing short of amazing. They have believed in me and what I’ve told them we’d have to do, what the vision I sold them on if they wanted a championship golf program. We needed a lot of things and we’ve had no pushback. So you’re thankful to a lot of people, David Williams, and my former boss, Rod Williamson, and all of these people play integral parts in what we’re doing. It was special for me. I had my wife, and my 3 little kids there. And I never thought about it being the first (SEC Championship for VU). I told Golfweek that was not a burden I carried with me, even though it’s never been done. But I’ve done this long enough to know that knocking down that door after knocking on the door several times, was amazing. I’m just thrilled to death for our boys. Those guys on this team that bought into my vision because there was nothing that said I need to believe in him other than they just took a leap of faith in me and what we were trying to sell. And my gosh, it’s such a thrill to see them hold up that trophy.”
DW: Coach, that’s awesome, really excited about the NCAA’s but want you to enjoy this right now.
SL: “That’s right. And that’s the kind of mentality I’ve got. I’m a process guy and you want them to have the time to enjoy this one.”
DW: Coach, finally, do you feel like the SEC’s were really good preparation and do you feel good about the NCAA’s?
SL: “Well when you look at it, David, my goodness, we had 10 of the teams in that SEC Championship ranked in the top 30. And we started the week saying, let’s leave no doubts, this is our tournament, it’s about us and what we need to do. We didn’t just want to limp through stroke play and ease into match play. We wanted to dominate and that’s what we talked about, and that’s the kind of leadership our guys have, and that’s the mentality we had all week. And I’m proud of that. We went into the final day of stroke play, we were in third place and our guys really dropped the hammer on the last 9 of stroke play (which we won), and any time you plant seeds like that in your competition’s minds, in my opinion, it makes a huge difference. And we planted seeds in that stroke play that allowed us to really compete in every one of those matches.”
Vanderbilt basketball has tremendous postseason opportunity, baseball, football, men’s golf, women’s tennis
March 13, 2017
Bryce and the team ready for March
Our Vanderbilt basketball team finished the season 19-15 after beating A&M and Florida in the SEC tournament, both teams for the third time. With those key victories, and a key victory on the road over Arkansas, and a strength of schedule that was No.1 in the country overall, the committee awarded us with a well deserved 9th seed in the West Regional of the NCAA Tournament.
We will play 8th seeded Northwestern in Salt Lake City, Thursday at 3:30 PM CT/4:30 PM ET on WTBS, which is channel 247 on DirecTV and channel 780 on Charter Spectrum.
This is a classic matchup of two very elite academic schools that have done pretty darn well at sports. Interestingly though, this is Northwestern’s first tournament appearance in its history. Northwestern has been playing basketball since 1904, 111 years. The NCAA tournament is in its 79th year. So, it’s a huge deal for the Wildcats. But it’s just as big of a deal for us.
Northwestern finished their season at 23-11 overall and 10-8 in the BIg Ten. They lost to highly seeded NCAA tournament teams Butler and Notre Dame in their pre-conference season. But both games were close. They lost to Butler, the No.4 seed in the South, 70-68 in Indianapolis. They lost to Notre Dame in Brooklyn at a preseason tournament, 70-66. Notre Dame is the 5th seed in the West Regional. They have a road win over Wisconsin, then ranked 7th in the country at the time and an 8 seed in the tournament in the East, 66-59. They also defeated Michigan at home on March 1st, 67-65, on an electric full court heave and score at the buzzer. Michigan just won the Big Ten tournament and is a 7 seed, which seems a little low, but the committee seems to value the regular season and the early tournament games more than the final games.
The Wildcats reached the semifinals of the Big Ten tournament in D. C. with victories over Rutgers, and a 72-64 upset victory over No.25 Maryland in the quarters. Maryland is a 6 seed in the West. The Wildcats lost to Wisconsin in the semis, 76-48, but I suspect, much like us, they were out of gas by that point.
The Wildcats are led in scoring by 6’3″, 185 junior guard Bryant McIntosh, who averaged 14.4 ppg. and 6’5″, small forward Scottie Lindsey, a junior, who averaged 14.2 per game. Their other double figure scorer is 6’7″, 205 redshirt sophomore forward Vic Law, who averaged 12.4 ppg. Six-foot-8, 235 pound sophomore center Dererk Pardon averaged 8.5 points and 8 rebounds.
They averaged 71 points a game and held opponents to 65 ppg. They out-rebounded opponents 36.2-35.4. They averaged 15 assists on the season against 10.5 turnovers. They shot 44% from the field, 34% from 3, and 75% from the line.
They have a good mix of veterans and younger players and their players are all experienced. We have our work cut out for us to win this ballgame. But we can absolutely win it.
We averaged 71 points and gave up 68. We shot 43% from the field and 38% from 3. We also shot 78% from the stripe, which is outstanding. We averaged roughly 35 rebounds per game. MFD led us in scoring at 13.6 ppg. Luke was next at 13.2, Jeff was at 11 ppg, and Riley averaged 10.5. Riley was so good at the end of the season, and really all year. He shot 49 percent from 3 for the year, 68-for-138, that’s outrageously good. He also led us at the stripe at 87%. Luke shot 85%, MFD shot 82% and JRobe shot 79%. We’re outstanding from the stripe and from deep.
Nolan Cressler, Joe Toye and Payton Willis were very valuable players for us too. Djerry Baptiste and Clevon Brown will be very valuable pieces for us underneath in the postseason as well. They’re both going to be very good players for us, and they need to step up for us now. Djerry can really help Luke out and Clevon can help Jeff out with some valuable minutes off the bench.
The keys to victory against Northwestern are, first, sinking several 3’s. I don’t want to put an absolute number on it, but 8 or better would help a lot. We have to hold our own on the glass with Luke, Jeff, Joe and our guards boarding well. We need to take care of the ball like we’ve done such a better job at the end of this season. We need to get some turnovers ourselves. We need to drive and score, which Nolan, Riley and Joe have been so good at and MFD can do. We need to pass it well to set up shooters and get some more backdoor scores, and we of course need to defend well. Keep them at 40% or less from the field and 34% or less from trifecta.
If we do all or most of these things well, particularly shooting, defense and the glass, we’ll move on and face the Gonzaga- South Dakota State winner on Saturday. Gonzaga is a prohibitive favorite in that game which tips off at 1 PM CT/2 PM ET in Salt Lake City on TBS.
So gigantic opportunity for our talented team that has improved so much throughout the season and is playing their best basketball right now, which is what you want. So can’t wait.
Here is the video of the team’s reaction to the NCAA announcement yesterday on CBS. It’s pretty electric.
***NOTE, This is from an email I sent out last night after the Northwestern game, Olivier Sarr is our 4 star 6’11’, 225 recruit who we are pursuing intensely. I spelled Olivier’s name Oliver. Apologize for the error.
D Mase gets a couple more huge anchors, Zach, Bryce, team, Corbs, baseball
December 17, 2016
Coach Mason grabs two more commits
Coach Derek Mason landed a couple of more commits yesterday and these are two huge gets for Derek and the staff.
Hoss out of Utah for 2017
2017, 86 three-star Cole Clemens, a 6’5″, 290 pound offensive linemen and first team All-State selection out of South Jordan, Utah, dropped anchor on Friday morning. Clemens just won his third Class 5A state title at Bingham High in Utah leading his offense that generated 4,788 total yards and 72 touchdowns with 3,097 yards and 51 of them coming on the ground. Clemens was a standout at a couple of Nike Camps this past year and had a really good camp at VU last June.
Cole chose us over offers from Virginia, BYU, Utah and several others. Those are all quality football programs. Utah and BYU always play hard-nosed, physical, solid football and are always good. Cole fit their profile and ours, so I like who we’re getting.
Watched Cole’s film. He played right tackle for Bingham, and loves to bury people. He’s got a super mean streak. Likes to get an opponent on the ground and keep’em down. He is a superb run blocker. Didn’t see him doing much passing blocking because Bingham didn’t need to pass that much because they were so good on the ground, but if you can run block, you can pass block. Work with Coach Dobson in the weight room and Coach Norcross on the field will have Cole ready to go. He looks like he could be a three year starter for us. Again, he just buries people. A typical Coach Mason player. Physical, hard-nosed, an excellent football player. Love Cole.
Rocket Armed 2018 quarterback out of New Jersey
And we got a spectacular pickup in the 2018 class as 90, 4 star quarterback Allan Walters, from Peddie High School in Highstown, New Jersey, also committed yesterday. Walters chose us over Alabama, Michigan, Ole Miss, Kentucky and Louisville. Allen, a 6’2″, 205 pound signal caller, threw for 1,373 yards and 15 touchdowns as a sophomore at Paramous Catholic in New Jersey. Then, after transferring to Peddie School in New Jersey for his junior year, Allen completed 58-of-80 passes, 73%, for 870 yards and six TDs as well as rushing for 103 yards in the first three games before sustaining a hairline fracture that cost him the rest of the season. Not sure if it was in the leg or the arm, but Allen will be fully recovered for his senior season.
Watched film on AW. Wow, he’s got a cannon for an arm and he’s so accurate. Superb with the deep ball and intermediate throws. Handles the pocket really well, doesn’t get sacked, steps up and hits his targets in stride. His arm and his accuracy are phenomenal. We’re going to love Allen Walters. Just gotta keep him in the fold until signing day in February of 2018. We get a super quarterback every year. We’ve got a stellar one in Kyle now, with Wade Freebeck and the talented freshman Deuce Wallace waiting in the wings. Deuce is being redshirted. Jacob Free is coming in this ’17 class, and Allen will be coming to the West End in 2018. Coach Mason and Ludwig are going to have fun with these quarterbacks.
So we have 13 commits right now. Cole joins 6’5″, 290 pound high three star tackle Bryce Bailey out of Indiana, and three star tackle Grant Miller out of St. Thomas Aquinas Florida as our offensive line commits for this class. We did lose cornerback Adam Sparks. Adam decided to open his recruiting up. Sorry to see that, but we still have some really good opportunities at cornerback for this class. We already have 86 three star corner Randall Haynie out of Cardinal Gibbons in Fort Lauderdale and 85 three-star safety Tae Daley out of Warner Robbins, Georgia committed to this class. We’ve got some strong possibilities in 89 three-star corner Yusuf Corker out of Stockbridge, GA, and some others. We’re also in it for some more offensive linemen as 6’8″, 294 three star offensive tackle Jonathan Stewart out of Lawrenceville, GA., and 6’5″, 270 pound offensive guard Jax Wacaser, an 85 three star out of Scottsdale, Arizona are both very interested. We’ve got some stud wide receivers we’re looking at who are very interested in our program in 85 three star Austin Connor, a 6’0″, 180 pounder out of Dutch Fork, SC, and solid three star Chris Pierce, a 6’4″, 212 pound out of Smithfield, Virginia. We have other linemen, receivers, some linebackers and d ends, and a defensive tackle or two who are also very interested in the program. Will keep you posted as Coach Mason and the staff fill out what is a special class and keeps building for the 2018 class. Allen Walters is quite a start there.
The man just keeps on piling up the awards
Zach Cunningham
Zach became Vanderbilt’s first unanimous All-American on Wednesday after he was named first team All American by the American Football Coaches Association. Along with the AFCA honor, Zach was named Associated Press, Walter Camp Football Foundation, Football Writers Association of America and Sporting News All American. Wow. Zac was also named first team All American by CBS Sports, ESPN, Sports Illustrated, USA Today, Phil Steele and SB Nation. The hits just keep on coming with Zach. And the good news is, we at least have one more game with Zach. Zach led the SEC in total tackles with 119, which ranked him 11th nationally. Zach also posted 16.5 tackles for loss, finishing second in the SEC behind Myles Garrett of A&M, and 22nd nationally. Zach’s four fumble recoveries led the SEC and were second in the country. And Zach made two of the best plays in college football this season. His stop of lightning fast Georgia wide receiver Isiah McKenzie was epic and his leap and block of Auburn’s Daniel Carlson’s kick to give us a chance to win the game was beyond superb. What a phenomenal football player and an even better person. Can’t wait to see Zach compete December 26th.
What a huge day December 26th will be when we face the North Carolina State Wolfpack in the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, LA. at 4 PM CT/5 PM ET on ESPN2. I’m having withdrawals from missing watching this electrically exciting team play. Can’t wait to see the guys line it up again in Shreveport. More on the Independence Bowl leading up to the game next week along with any more recruiting or team news.
Bryce aims to get his team on track tonight in Memorial
Basketball
Bryce and the team host Chattanooga at Memorial tonight at 7:30 CT/8:30 ET on the SEC Network. Big game for us. Chattanooga is 8-2 and took Tennessee to the wire, and the Vols just took UNC to the wire in Chapel Hill last Sunday. This is a good basketball team we’re playing, so we need to really play well and kickstart our season. Unfortunately, Cam Justice has decided to transfer. Sorry Cam made that decision. Hoping for the best for Cam in the future. We’ve got a pretty short bench with just 9 scholarship players, but they’re good players and I believe in them. Know Bryce will get this team going. We’ve got good talent, we’ve just got to win games late, which we haven’t been able to do so far. Shooting is pretty good. Matt Fisher-Davis and Riley are shooting it well, and Luke is playing pretty well. J Robe is doing a good job, and we’re getting super play from freshman point guard Payton Willis. Joe Toye, Clevon Brown, Nolan Cressler and Djery Baptiste are all doing a good job off the bench. We’re a good team, we just need to win tonight and get some momentum going as we head closer to the SEC opener December 29th @ LSU at 8 PM CT on ESPNU. We’ll play a very good Dayton team before that at 6 PM this coming Wednesday at Dayton. Just need to win tonight. Will have a postgame on Monday.
Baseball and the man getting closer
Corbs, Baseball
The Commodores baseball team will play in at least 11 nationally televised games this coming season. We’ll be playing the likes of Ole Miss, A&M, Florida and South Carolina on the SEC Network and other ESPN family of networks. Ready to see Jeren Kendall, Will Toffey, Kyle Wright and company compete in the 2017 season as we aim for another deep run in the postseason. Don’t know a lot about this 2017 team yet. There are some unfamiliar names as we have a lot of youth on this team. But Corbs’ recruiting has been through the roof good, so there is plenty of talent. May take some time for our team to develop and hit their stride, but the leadership is good with the three guys I mentioned along with super sophomores Alonzo Jones, Connor Kaiser, Ethan Paul, and Julian Infante. I like this makeup of this group the more I think about it. Will talk to Corbs in mid to late January for a preview of another riveting season in Vanderbilt baseball. Looking forward to catching up with the man. The baseball facility is fully funded and it’s a go as we have secured our place as the premier baseball program in the country.
Will never forget you Number 41. You will forever be with the program. This season is for Donny.
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