Tag: Vanderbilt Commodores

Duke football stays scorching on recruiting trail, land three-star 2025 OT Kai Jacobowitz

Duke adds OL Kai Jacobowitz to its 20th-ranked 2025 recruiting class, its fifth commitment along the offensive line in 48 hours.

Duke football has been on a white-hot tear on the recruiting trail this June, and instead of slowing down, the Blue Devils continue to keep things rolling.

June has been the month for official visits across the college football world, and the Blue Devils have taken full advantage of this opportunity to host prospects on their radar.

On Monday, the fruits of their labor were revealed again as Manny Diaz and his staff saw their 10th commitment from the month of June alone hop in the boat Monday afternoon.

Kai Jacobowitz is a massive young man, standing 6-foot-7 and around 300 pounds. His physical potential is impressive, and he’s a pure offensive tackle. Jacobowitz chose Duke over North Carolina, San Diego State, and Vanderbilt offers. He’ll have to spend some time in the weight room to continue to get stronger, but that will come with time in the weight room and more physical maturity.

Duke offered back in February as offensive line coach Jeff Norrid began to set his recruiting board for the 2025 class. The Blue Devils prioritized him and have been in constant communication since.

It took one official visit for Jacobowitz to learn that Durham is where he wants to play his collegiate football, and he made it official with a post on his social media.

With his commitment, the Blue Devils continue strengthening their hold on the 20th-ranked recruiting class in the country after an electric June on the recruiting trail. Jakobowitz also becomes the fifth offensive lineman to commit in the last two days after Roman Fina, Cole Allen, Jamin Brown, and Evan Scott all joined the class since Sunday.

Duke’s not done, and with one more weekend of official visits, Duke may add to this total by the following Monday.

Duke expected to add New Mexico State transfer running back Star Thomas, per Matt Zenitz

Duke looks to add final piece to the 2024 running back room after Tuesday reports of a potential transfer commitment.

Duke’s running backs are about to get another infusion of talent.

On Tuesday afternoon, Matt Zenitz of 247Sports reported that New Mexico State transfer running back Star Thomas was expected to transfer to Duke.

The transfer, who visited Duke’s campus on Tuesday according to Zenitz, will apparently pick the Blue Devils after a hard push by the Vanderbilt Commodores.

He entered the portal in April, and things have gone in several directions since then. Toward the end of the month, it was believed that new ACC member Cal was going to earn his commitment, but the Blue Devils found a new gear, got him on campus, surged ahead of Cal, and fought off advances from Vanderbilt, too.

Thomas accounted for 1,499 yards from scrimmage and 14 touchdowns over two years at New Mexico State

Landing Thomas is huge for Duke. He’s a senior with tons of experience, giving Duke another veteran to pair with lead running back and fellow senior Jaquez Moore. Moore is the only significant returning running back after Jordan Waters opted for the transfer portal and transferred to NC State.

 

The Devils have young names like Marquise Collins, Travis Bates, and Peyton Jones on the depth chart, too, but if they aren’t progressing in the manner they need to, Duke can ride Moore and Thomas as they build their offense around Texas transfer QB Maalik Murphy.

Highlights from Florida baseball’s SEC Tournament loss to Vanderbilt

Here are a handful of highlights from Florida’s loss to Vanderbilt in the SEC Tournament on Tuesday. 

Florida baseball’s stint in the Southeastern Conference Tournament came to a quick end on Tuesday at the hands of the Vanderbilt Commodores, who dealt the Gators a 6-3 loss in Hoover, Alabama.

The Orange and Blue got a start from Pierce Coppola, who lasted 3 2/3 innings allowing four earned runs on as many hits and one walk. That was all that Vandy would need in this one, as Florida pushed a few runs across in the later innings but were unable to keep their SEC title hopes alive.

Below is a look at a handful of highlights from Florida’s loss to Vanderbilt in the SEC Tournament on Tuesday.

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.