Tag: Vanderbilt Commodores

Florida baseball bounced from SEC Tournament in opening round

Florida’s run in Hoover was brief this year as the Vanderbilt Commodores knocked the Gators out of the SEC Tournament in the first round.

There will be no miracle run from the Florida Gators at the 2024 SEC Tournament in Hoover, Alabama.

Florida fell, 6-3, to Vanderbilt Tuesday night in a game that was all Commodores until the final two frames.

[autotag]Pierce Coppola[/autotag] went 3 2/3 innings for the Gators, allowing four earned runs on as many hits and one walk. Despite the damage, Coppola struck out five and threw a season-high 74 pitches. If the draft doesn’t get him, he’s a potential ace for the program next year.

A leadoff walk doomed the second inning for Coppola. A follow-up double put two men in scoring position, and Vanderbilt did what good teams do and scored both runners on sacrifice flies.

Coppola got through the third, 1-2-3, and almost out of the fourth after sandwiching a single between a pair of strikeouts. With two outs, Vanderbilt got to him for two more RBI base hits, knocking Coppola out of the game.

[autotag]Jake Clemente[/autotag] took over and got the fly out to center he needed to stop the bleeding, but Florida was staring at a four-run deficit halfway through the game.

Vanderbilt’s No. 9 hitter Calvin Hewitt took Clemente deep to start the fifth, but that was the only earned run of the day for him. An error in the seventh led to a sixth run crossing for Vandy, but that doesn’t affect Clemente’s numbers.

[autotag]Fisher Jameson[/autotag] took over at that point and sent all four batters he faced back to the pine. Florida finally started to put some offense together, but it was too little and too late to impact the end result.

[autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] scored in the eighth on a [autotag]Colby Shelton[/autotag] groundout after moving from first to third on a series of passed balls on wild pitches. Micahel Robertson homered, scoring [autotag]Brody Donay[/autotag], in the ninth to make the score somewhat respectable.

Florida must now wait until the various conference tournaments conclude to find out whether it makes the NCAA Tournament Field of 64 or not. With a high RPI ranking and the top strength of schedule in the country, the Gators seem poised to receive an at-large bid to a regional. Getting out of that regional alive is a different story entirely, though.

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Kentucky baseball drops final game of the season to Vanderbilt

Kentucky baseball loses their final game of the season to the Vanderbilt Commodores.

The 2024 season has wrapped up for Kentucky baseball, and they finished up by winning two out of three games with the Vanderbilt Commodores. The series win clinched a share of the SEC regular season title with the Tennessee Volunteers.

Kentucky got early homeruns from Ryan Nicholson and Emilien Pitre which tied the game at two. Things got away from them in the sixth inning, though. Vanderbilt scored four runs in the inning, then added two apiece in each of the final three innings for a 12 – 4 victory over the Wildcats.

Related: Kentucky baseball ranked in top three

The Wildcats recorded 12 hits in the game, but couldn’t get the runs across the plate. Nicholson and Pitre had two hits apiece. The Kentucky pitching struggled, giving up 16 hits and 12 runs.

Kentucky ended the season with a 39 – 12 record overall and went 22 – 8 in the SEC, which was tied with the Vols for first place.

The SEC Tournament is up next, and the Wildcats will play on Wednesday at 10:30 AM.

Vanderbilt lands former Michigan State point guard via transfer portal

Former Michigan State point guard AJ Hoggard will play for Mark Byington and the Vanderbilt Commodores in his final college basketball season.

After four years playing for Tom Izzo at Michigan State, veteran point guard AJ Hoggard entered the transfer portal and ultimately committed to the Vanderbilt Commodores for his final season in college basketball.

Hoggard chose to play for new coach Mark Byington at Vanderbilt over a final five that included Florida, Georgia, Washington, and USC.

Hoggard is a polarizing player, regressing from an excellent junior year to average 10.7 points and 5.2 assists as a senior in what was a rough year for the Spartans in the Big 10.

Vanderbilt has been very active in the transfer portal since Byington replaced Jerry Stackhouse, adding four guards already in Chris Manon (Cornell), Grant Huffman (Davidson), MJ Collins (Virginia Tech), and Jason Edwards (North Texas).

Still, Hoggard should get the keys to the offense for Vandy, and in an offensive system that worked exceptionally well at James Madison there is an opportunity for the 6’3 guard to put together the best season of his career under coach Byington in Nashville.

Kentucky baseball beats the Vanderbilt Commodores in game one of the series

Kentucky baseball got a series-opening win against the Vanderbilt Commodores 10 – 5.

Kentucky baseball began the final week of the regular season ranked third in the top 25, and faces the Vanderbilt Commodores in a three-game series over the weekend. The Wildcats began the set by taking game one by a score of 10 – 5.

The Kentucky bats got going early on Thursday, with a three-run first inning. In the third, they broke things open with four more. A Ryan Waldschmidt three-run homerun was the big blow. Vanderbilt posted three of their own runs in the fifth, but a Nick Lopez in the eighth finished it off.

Related: Kentucky baseball atop SEC standings

Waldschmidt had a terrific day, going 3-for-4 with a homer, three RBIs and three runs scored. Nick Lopez drove in two and scored two. On the hill, Trey Pooser had a good start, but struggled in the fifth. The Wildcats bullpen was strong, though, and closed things out.

Game two of the series takes place on Friday at 6:30 PM ET. It can be seen on SEC Network+. The Wildcats are attempting to finish the season in first place in the SEC.

Vanderbilt lands New Mexico State transfer tight end Eli Stowers

Vanderbilt lands commitment from tight end out of the transfer portal.

A team that has certainly been active in the transfer portal this offseason, the Vanderbilt Commodores picked up a notable addition Wednesday afternoon, as Eli Stowers officially announced his commitment to the SEC program.

Stowers, a transfer tight end from New Mexico State, comes to Vanderbilt off a season in which he had 35 receptions for 366 yards and two touchdowns, as well as rushing for 108 yards and two more scores on 28 attempts. The New Mexico State transfer also saw time as a passer, completing 4-of-8 passes for 99 yards and a touchdown.

A season in which he converted to the tight end position, Stowers originally began his collegiate career within the SEC at Texas A&M where he played quarterback. There, he was rated as one of Texas A&M’s top commits from their 2021 class, ranking as a four-star prospect, but would not record any stats with the Aggies across the 2021-22 seasons prior to transferring to New Mexico State.

Stowers is now transfer portal pickup No. 21 for Vanderbilt this offseason, as well as the first at the tight end position.

An SEC program is trending to add former Notre Dame cornerback Micah Bell

This would be an interesting pairing

Unfortunately for cornerback [autotag]Micah Bell[/autotag], his time playing for Notre Dame football was short.

During his freshman season, he registered just one tackle, kept his year of eligibility by redshirting then opted to move on from the Irish following spring practice. After just a few weeks as a free agent, it looks like Bell may be coming to a decision on where his next football home is, Vanderbilt.

According to On3’s Steve Wiltfong, the Commodores are trending in his re-recruitment. As a recruit, Bell was ranked as the No. 258 overall player and 30th cornerback according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings.

Vanderbilt’s head coach is a familiar face, as former Irish defensive coordinator [autotag]Clark Lea[/autotag] runs the program. Bell would be a great addition for the former Notre Dame coach.

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Duke hosting former SEC quarterback for official visit, per 247Sports report

247Sports’ Adam Rowe shared on Friday that Mike Wright, who previously played quarterback for Vanderbilt and Mississippi State, would visit Durham this weekend.

Former Vanderbilt and Mississippi State quarterback Mike Wright will take an official visit to Durham this weekend, per 247Sports’ Adam Rowe.

The 6-foot-4 passer spent three seasons with the Commodores before he transferred to the Bulldogs for the 2023 season. His best statistical season came during 2022, his final year with Vanderbilt when he threw for 974 yards and 12 touchdowns against just four interceptions.

Across his career, Wright has completed 55.5% of his passes for 2,520 yards, 24 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions.

Wright also offers one of the most potent dual-threats in the country. He’s compiled 1,229 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground across his collegiate career, including 517 yards and five touchdowns in that same 2022 season.

The Blue Devils already added former Texas quarterback Maalik Murphy to the quarterback room this offseason, and he split time with returning sophomore Grayson Loftis during the spring game.

Shelnut belts 3-run homer to put Florida over Vanderbilt

Florida didn’t get the series win it wanted in Nashville this weekend, but at least the Gators left Vanderbilt with a win on Saturday.

Things didn’t go the way Florida wanted this weekend, but the Gators didn’t left Nashville with the last laugh, beating the Vanderbilt Commodores, 6-2, on Saturday.

Tyler Shelnut’s three-run home run in the fifth turned the momentum Florida’s way, and he added two more to the tally with a two-run double in the ninth.

Before Shelnut got going, Florida struggled to hit Vanderbilt starter JD Thompson, but a fourth-inning ejection shifted the momentum in UF’s favor.

Florida’s dugout argued that Thompson was going to his arm, with the thought being that foreign substance was in play. The umpires conferred and ejected Thompson just after a Cade Kurland double put the first Florida run of the day on the board.

Colby Shelton also had two hits for Florida’s offense. Jac Caglianone’s home run streak ended at nine, which is good for a share of the NCAA record for consecutive games with a homer.

Caglianone went five innings on the mound. He gave up two earned runs on six hits and three walks while fanning five. The command wasn’t quite there like it was earlier in the year, but he still threw 60 of his 100 pitches for strikes.

Cade Fisher took over for Caglianone, but thing went bad fast. He walked two batters and hit another, forcing Kevin O’Sullivan to give him the hook before he got through an inning.

Fisher Jameson was dominant the rest of the way, though. He struck out six of the 11 batters he faced and allowed just one hit. Efficient.

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Gators baseball drops Game 2, series against Vanderbilt

Florida won’t leave Nashville with a series win after dropping the second game of the weekend set against Vanderbilt.

Florida’s offense couldn’t figure out Vanderbilt’s pitching staff for most of Saturday night, leading to a 5-2 loss that guarantees the Commodores a win in the three-game series that concludes Saturday.

The Gators struck out 12 times, including 10 against Vanderbilt’s starter, left-hander Carter Holton, who threw seven innings. The only time Florida got to Holton was in the sixth, when Brody Donay and Jac Caglianone each hit solo home runs.

Caglianon’s blast tied an NCAA record for most consecutive games with a homer at nine. Fifteen of his 23 home runs have come against lefties.

Luke Heyman provided Florida’s other two hits on the night. He singled twice, which should help his numbers after a nasty slump at the plate. Still, Colby Shelton and Tyler Shelnut struck out three times apiece. Florida can’t expect to win with no support from the middle of the order. The pitching staff simply isn’t experience enough to win these low-scoring duels.

Pierce Coppola made his second start for Florida. He gave up two runs on three hits and a walk while striking out just one over 1 2/3 innings. Liam Peterson took over after Coppola, throwing three innings of one-run ball.

Ryan Slater kept things close after Florida put up the two run to make it a one-run game, but Luke McNeille allowed Vandy to tack on two runs in the eighth. Fisher Jameson struck out the only batter he faced.

Florida and Vanderbilt conclude the series on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET.

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Gordon Sargent will defer his PGA Tour card, return to Vanderbilt for senior season

Big news in the college golf realm.

Professional golf is going to have to wait a bit longer to see one of the game’s premier amateur players take his next step.

Gordon Sargent announced Thursday he was returning to Vanderbilt for his senior year. The news may come as a surprise to some, considering Sargent has a PGA Tour card secured thanks to PGA Tour University Accelerated, but he’ll defer his status until next summer, meaning the amateur game gets another year with one of its best players.

“It’s been an honor to represent this university alongside my teammates and coaches, and I look forward to continuing to compete – and further my education – at this amazing place that has given so much to me,” Sargent said in a release. “I would like to thank everyone who has supported me on this journey, and I’m excited for this final chapter at Vanderbilt.”

Sargent, from Birmingham, Alabama, is one of the game’s longest hitters with his astounding speed. He earned the final of 20 points in the PGA Tour U Accelerated program in the fall when he was on the United States team at the World Amateur Team Championship in Abu Dhabi.

As of now, Sargent is the only player who has earned 20 points via PGA Tour U Accelerated since the program was introduced two years ago.

Sargent, No. 1 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, won the NCAA individual championship as a freshman and went 4-0 at the Walker Cup last fall at St. Andrews. He also earned low amateur honors at the 2023 U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club.

This year, Sargent has one win, coming in his latest start at the Mason Rudolph Championship. The 2023-23 Golfweek Player of the Year has posted four top-five finishes during the 2023-24 season and holds a scoring average of 69.92 through eight collegiate tournaments.

By deferring his PGA Tour card, Sargent will be able to take it following the 2025 NCAA Championship. He will have full status through 2026 once he turns professional.

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