College Corner: Tennessee & Vanderbilt Baseball, Belmont Women’s Basketball

Tennessee Baseball Earns No. 1 Overall Seed For First Time Ever

Tennessee Baseball celebrating their SEC Tournament Championship. Photo: Courtesy of Tennessee Athletics

After winning the SEC Tournament Championship for the first time in 27 years, the Tennessee baseball team has now earned its highest ever seed for the NCAA Tournament, claiming the No. 1 overall spot.

The Volunteers will host Georgia Tech, Campbell and Alabama State in the Knoxville Regional at Lindsey Nelson Stadium this weekend. It’s the seventh time in program history that the Vols will be hosting a NCAA Regional and their second straight after winning the Knoxville Regional.

Should the top-ranked Volunteers win the NCAA Knoxville Regional, they would also play host for a Super Regional the following weekend. The Vols will be making their 12th overall appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

UTK enters the tournament with an NCAA-best record of 53-7 and won both the SEC Regular Season and Tournament championships for the first time since 1995.

Tennessee made the College Baseball World Series in 2021, but lost in double elimination to Virginia and Texas in Omaha.

 

 

Vanderbilt Heading To NCAA Tournament For 16th-Consecutive Season

Enrique Bradfield Jr. Photo: Courtesy of Vanderbilt Athletics

For the 16th-consecutive season, Vanderbilt is headed to the NCAA Tournament and will be the No. 2 seed at the Corvallis Regional.

The Commodores are joined by host Oregon State, No. 3 seed San Diego and No. 4 seed New Mexico State. Vandy open the double-elimination regional on Friday at 3 p.m. CT against San Diego.

This season, Vanderbilt racked up eight wins against D1 Baseball Top 25 opponents, while sitting at No. 7 in the NCAA RPI. Vandy boasted the nation’s toughest schedule.

The Commodores are one of nine Southeastern Conference teams selected among the field. Vanderbilt is joined by Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Ole Miss, Tennessee and Texas A&M.

 

 

Sally McCabe Returns To Belmont As Director Of Basketball Operations

Sally McCabe. Photo: Courtesy of Belmont Athletics

The Bruins’ all-time blocks leader and two-time Ohio Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Year, Sally McCabe, is headed back to Belmont as Women’s Basketball’s Director of Operations, announced head coach Bart Brooks.

In her new role, McCabe will be responsible for the team’s logistical operations and travel while overseeing daily administrative duties.

“I can’t be more excited to welcome Sally back to Belmont to work with our coaching staff and players,” says Brooks. “She was one of the best players to ever put on a Belmont uniform and I was blessed to coach her in her final season. I can’t say enough good things about Sally, the quality of her character and how impactful she will be as a mentor to our student-athletes. Sally is a great representative of our program and I’m thrilled to welcome her back home.”

Upon finishing her highly-decorated athletic and academic career at Belmont in 2018, McCabe attended nearby Vanderbilt where she received a Master of Education degree in early childhood special education in May of 2020. For the last two years, she has worked in early education as a teacher at Nations Ford Elementary in Charlotte, North Carolina, and most recently Granbery Elementary in Brentwood.

During the 2021-22 basketball season, McCabe served as an assistant girl’s basketball coach at Brentwood Academy.

Steven Boero