A Look At The Vandy Boys Playing In The 2022 MLB Playoffs

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Dansby Swanson. Photo: Courtesy of the Atlanta Braves

The MLB Postseason is here and though Nashville doesn’t have a dog in the fight, there are some Music City connections that Nashvillians can throw their support behind.

Vanderbilt baseball was ranked as the nations No. 1 college baseball program by D1 Baseball and for great reason. Along with the championships and winning records, head coach Tim Corbin has been able to produce some fantastic MLB prospects year in and year out.

This year is no different as four Vandy Boys will be representing their alma mater in the playoffs starting this weekend.

The reigning World Series champion Atlanta Braves are back in the postseason after winning the NL East in a tight race. The team has two former Commodores in Dansby Swanson and Kyle Wright, who were not only instrumental to their championship run, but proved to be irreplaceable this season as they lead the Braves to one of the most dominant performances among all teams.

Kyle Wright. Photo: Courtesy of the Atlanta Braves

Swanson, class of 2015, was a work horse this season, playing all 162 games at shortstop. He sported a batting average of .277 and on-base percentage of .329. He had a career-high of 177 hits and 96 RBI’s with 25 home runs. Through the Braves early season struggles and injuries, Swanson has been one of the most important players for the team.

Wright, class of 2017, emerged from last year’s World Series as a solid option for the Braves starting rotation coming into this season. But he has exceeded expectations, being one of the top pitchers in all of baseball.

In 2022, Wright pitched 30 games with an astounding 22 wins and ERA of 3.19. He struck out 174 batters and pitched 180.1 innings. He has been nothing short of superb and will be key for Braves as they look to repeat last season’s success.

The Braves are the No. 2 seed and will play next week, facing the winner of the series between the St. Louis Cardinals and Philadelphia Phillies.

Former Vandy superstar David Price, class of 2007, will also be representing the black and gold with the Los Angeles Dodgers this postseason, who finished with the best record in baseball at 111 wins. He’s been one of the better relief pitchers in the league for the better half of seven years, winning a World Series with both the Boston Red Sox and Dodgers. This season, he pitched in a career-high 40 games with an 2.45 ERA. Though he only pitched 40 innings, his presence will be needed for the Dodgers as games will most likely be tight towards the final innings.

David Price. Photo: Courtesy of Vanderbilt Athletics

Price joins fellow Nashville native and John Overton High School alum Mookie Betts, who won championships with Price in Boston and LA.

The Dodgers will also play the winner of the San Diego Padres and New York Mets next week.

There will be one former Vandy Boy playing in a Wild Card Series this weekend, and it will be class of 2011 catcher Curt Casali. He is a nine-year veteran behind the plate and played most of the season with the San Fransisco Giants before being traded to the Seattle Mariners. The Mariners punched their ticket to the postseason for the first time in 21 years.

Casali played 57 games this year–16 with Seattle–sporting a batting average of .207 and a on-base percentage of .318. He played 120 innings for the Mariners behind the plate and had a .993 fielding percentage. Casali was named to the team’s Wild Card roster this morning and will take on the Toronto Blue Jays later today (Oct. 7) at 4:07 p.m. CT.

Vanderbilt Baseball Drops Full 2023 SEC Schedule

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Hawkins Field

Vanderbilt baseball’s 2023 SEC schedule is set, with the Commodores due to play Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Tennessee. 

The 30-game conference slate gets underway March 17–19 when the Commodores welcome the Ole Miss Rebels to Hawkins Field, marking third consecutive season that Vanderbilt will open conference play at home. The Rebels will be making their first trip to Hawkins Field since 2018 when Vandy won the final two games of the three-game set to claim the series victory.

The series with Ole Miss will be the first of back-to-back weekends against SEC West opponents, as Vanderbilt will travel to Mississippi State one weekend later. The Commodores will make their first trip to Starkville since 2018.

Vandy will also welcome Georgia (March 31-April 2), South Carolina (April 14-16), Kentucky (April 28-30) and Arkansas (May 18-20) to Nashville as part of its conference home slate.

In addition to their travel to Mississippi State, the Commodores will visit Missouri (April 6-8), Tennessee (April 21-23), Alabama (May 5-7) and Florida (May 12-14).

The updated schedule replaces the previously announced schedule that was recalled due to an error that resulted in two games appearing on the 2023 Conference slate that were not scheduled to take place until 2024.

The SEC slate is subject to change for television scheduling. The Commodores will release their non-conference schedule at a later date.

Vanderbilt plans to open fall training on Oct. 18. The Commodores’ fall schedule features a pair of exhibitions, including a home matchup against Samford (Oct. 22), and a neutral-site contest against Arizona State in Las Vegas. The team will conclude the fall with the annual Black and Gold Game tentatively scheduled for Nov. 13.

College Corner: Vandy Baseball, TSU Basketball, Blue Raider Hall Of Fame

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Vanderbilt Baseball Ranked As Nation’s Top Program By D1Baseball

Photo: Courtesy of Vanderbilt Athletics

Vanderbilt baseball has been ranked as the nation’s top program in D1Baseball’s bi-annual Top 100 rankings.

The Commodores, led by head coach Tim Corbin, receive their second No. 1 ranking since 2015. They were ranked second in both 2017 and 2019. They are the only team to have been ranked among the top two spots in each of D1Baseball’s lists. Vandy has posted two national titles across the last nine seasons, including four trips to the College World Series finals.

Vanderbilt has advanced to an SEC-best 16 consecutive NCAA Tournaments, including seven NCAA Super Regionals in the last decade. The Commodores are the first school to reach the College World Series finals four times at TD Ameritrade Park and the first to capture multiple titles at the ballpark.

The top four programs on the list hail from the SEC, including Arkansas (No. 2), Mississippi State (No. 3) and Florida (No. 4). Oregon State rounds out the top five, followed by Louisville, LSU, Ole Miss, Texas Tech and Stanford.

 

 

TSU Basketball Finalizes Coaching Staff Ahead Of 2022-23 Season

Tennessee State University (TSU) men’s basketball head coach Brian “Penny” Collins has finalized his staff for the upcoming season, naming alum Brandon Lockridge as the Director of Basketball Operations.

With the addition of Lockridge, Collins also promoted Josh Bone to Assistant Coach after spending the previous seasons as a video coordinator and Director of Basketball Operations. Collins also bumped up Assistant Coaches Russ Willemsen and Jerry Nichols to Assistants.

Lockridge previously served under former head coach Cy Alexander during the 2007-08 season after two seasons as a graduate assistant video coordinator. As a player, Lockridge served as a team co-captain his senior season and was regarded as one of the top 3-point shooters in the OVC. He finished his collegiate career 10th all-time in the TSU record books with 116 3-point field goals. Lockridge has a career night as a junior when he dropped 18 points in 24 minutes, connecting on 6-of-9 from downtown at Ohio State. He finished his junior season seventh in the OVC in 3-point shooting.

His coaching career began in 2014 on Collins’ staff at Columbia State where the duo led the Chargers to back-to-back NJCAA National Tournament appearances, including runs to the Elite Eight in 2014, Sweet 16, and Region 7 Championship in 2015.

 

Blue Raider Hall Of Fame Induction Set For Oct. 14

The Blue Raider Hall of Fame Class of 2022 induction ceremony is set for Friday, Oct. 14, in front of the Emmett and Rose Kennon Sports Hall of Fame at 6 p.m. CT. The ceremony, as always, will be open to the public and will feature refreshments prior to its start.

The Class of 2022 features alumni from four different decades of Blue Raider athletics, with inductees recognized for their on-the-field achievements and for being outstanding representatives of the MTSU community. The Class of 2022 includes:

  • Leslie (Clark) Vance (Volleyball, 2006-09): The volleyball program’s all-time assists leader that led the Blue Raiders to four NCAA Tournament appearances as a setter
  • Krystle Horton (Women’s Basketball, 2003-07): A dynamic two-way player that ranks in the top 10 for both points and rebounds as a Blue Raider, helping MTSU win three NCAA tournament games across her career
  • Kevin Kanaskie (Men’s Basketball, 2006-09): The all-time assists and minutes played leader; he is the only Blue Raider men’s basketball player with at least 1,200 points, 400 assists and 200 3-pointers
  • Sandy (McMillan) Neal (Women’s Tennis, 1973-76): The first female scholarship student athlete at MTSU that played on Court 1 for both singles and doubles, eventually leading the women’s tennis program to three OVC titles as a coach
  • Bryan Peck (Baseball, 1999-2000): A Louisville Slugger/Collegiate Baseball All-American; the two-time All-OVC selection still ranks in the top 10 in career average, home runs and slugging percentage
  • Don Thomas (Football, 1985-88): An Associated Press First-Team All-American; started at linebacker for MTSU for four seasons, including the Blue Raiders’ 1985 11-0 regular season campaign

MTSU Puts On A Show, Beating No. 25 Ranked Miami

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The MTSU Blue Raiders. Photo: Courtesy of Mat Posey/MT Athletics

In an absolute stunner, Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) football takes down No. 25 Miami 45-31, the first win against a ranked team in Blue Raiders’ history.

“It was a fantastic win. I’m extremely proud and happy for our players,” said head coach of 17 years, Rick Stockstill post-game. “It’s always fun to do stuff that no one thinks you can do. Coming down here 26-point dogs and kicking their butt like we did… there was no fluke to this. I’m just really proud of our team. We were the tougher team here tonight, mentally and physically.”

The Blue Raiders came out of the gate hot with two interceptions, one by Decorian Patterson and a pick-6 by defensive lineman Zaylin Wood, which helped solidify a 17-3 first quarter lead. MTSU led at halftime with a 24-10 lead which they would never give up.

MTSU redshirt sophomore quarterback Chase Cunningham threw for a career best 408 yards with three touchdowns, one of which was a 98-yard touchdown pass to DJ England-Chisolm to take a 38-24 lead early in the fourth quarter.

The icing on the cake for this win is that Miami paid MTSU $1.5 million and $40,000 in travel expenses to play the Hurricanes at Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 24.

“We set the tone early, especially on defense,” Stockstill noted. “We never flinched. That’s what I’m proud of. We knocked these suckers off.”

The Blue Raiders are now 3-1 this season as they begin conference play. They face Conference-USA rival University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) at Floyd Stadium on Friday, Sept. 30 in the program’s annual Blackout Game. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT on CBS Sports Network and the Blue Raider Radio Network.

Column: What Constitutes A ‘Successful’ Season For Vandy Football?

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Vanderbilt football head coach Clark Lea. Photo: Courtesy of Vanderbilt Athletics

Vanderbilt football doesn’t look like the team from 2021 as they have picked up three wins in four games, recently beating Northern Illinois (NIU) in an exciting fourth quarter battle.

Even this early on in the season, the Commodores have already had a few shakeups with quarterback Mike Wright being benched for freshman AJ Swann who showed promise in the team’s loss to Wake Forest and helped lead Vandy to its win over NIU.

Now, Vandy will begin its SEC campaign, starting off with games against No. 2 Alabama and No. 1 Georgia, which will most likely be uncomfortably brutal losses. With three wins and a looming SEC schedule, tougher than some of the top 25 team’s schedules, it begs to ask the question: What will constitute a “successful” season for the Vanderbilt Commodores?

Prior to this season and since 2019, Vanderbilt has only won five games–three in 2019, zero in 2020 and two with first-year head coach Clark Lea in 2021. The 2020 season was the first time in program history that Vandy failed to win at least one game, digging a deep mental hole in the program.

Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea with linebacker Anfernee Orji. Photo: Courtesy of Vanderbilt Athletics

Though having Vandy alum Lea come in and show some progress, a two-win season is as bad as you can get, especially as the college football landscape continues to change dramatically, getting more competitive within top-tier programs. But so far this season, Vandy has already showed that they are committed to building a quality program and will make early season moves to make sure they have the best chances to win.

For this season to be deemed a “success,” a few things need to happen.

Vandy needs one, if not two, SEC wins and they need to be able to give teams like Tennessee and Florida a run for their money by putting up solid offensive numbers.

Last season, the ‘Dores scored 10 or less points four times, two of which were shutouts. So far this season, they’ve scored 25 or more points against their opponents, including 25 against top 25 ranked Wake Forest. With the rise of Swann, Vandy could average 20 points or more per game. They averaged a little over 15 points last year with the help of decent performances in their final four games.

The odds they keep up with Georgia or Alabama these next three weekends is very, very low, but it will be interesting to see if they can scrape up a few touchdowns before the top two teams lay the hammer down.

Will Sheppard. Photo: Courtesy of Vanderbilt Athletics

The two games fans should keep their eyes on are against Missouri and South Carolina. Both teams are two of the weaker ones in the SEC and are prime candidates for Vanderbilt to pick their first conference wins in three seasons.

In 2021, Vanderbilt lost just 21-20 to South Carolina who went on to play in a bowl game. They also lost to Missouri by just nine points. Last year’s Mizzou team was able to pick up three conference wins but won’t be nearly as competitive this year.

Vanderbilt takes on these two on back-to-back weeks after facing the Crimson Tide, Ole Miss and the Bulldogs. They may be a bit beat-up or they could be building off performances against the country’s best teams, ready to win.

AJ Swann. Photo: Courtesy of Vanderbilt Athletics

Another variable that will help determine a “successful” season for Vandy is their quarterback situation.

Wright started off the season with relatively strong performances against Hawaii and Elon,  where he threw six touchdown passes for 391 yards and no interceptions. When he got pulled during his poor performance during the Wake Forest game, Swann emerged as a potential quarterback that could develop in coach Lea’s program.

He showed promise by throwing two touchdown passes against Wake Forest, going 8-for-11 in pass completions. Against Northern Illinois, he threw four touchdown passes for 255 yards. He was named SEC Freshman of the Week for his performance and looks to be the new QB1 for the Commodores.

If Swann can continue to put up solid numbers and stay competitive against teams like Bama and Georgia, he will be the future of Vanderbilt football.

It’s so important that Lea builds a foundation of players so that Vandy can be a competent team again, and Swann could be the key. He will no doubt have some bad games as he finds himself as a player, but by showing growth in the huddle and as an intelligent playmaker, he most definitely can be the future of the Commodores.

MTSU’s Build Blue Campaign Surpasses Fundraising Goal, Ground Set To Break This Winter

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Renderings of MTSU’s Student Athlete Performance Center.

Middle Tennessee State University’s Build Blue campaign has surpassed its initial fundraising goal and reached overall funding milestones that will allow construction to begin for the $66-million Student Athlete Performance Center this winter.

As part of the announcement, additional renderings of the current state of the project were released by the athletics department. MTSU Athletics also announced Wednesday (Sept. 21) that the Build Blue Campaign fundraising goal has been increased from $15 million to $20 million.

“We are pleased and proud of the donor support that allowed us to quickly reach these major milestones in the Build Blue campaign,” says MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee. “This is truly a transformative effort, not only for our 17 sport programs, but also as a gateway and destination on our beautiful campus.”

The three-story, 87,000-square-foot performance center will provide all MTSU student-athletes with new facilities for weight training, nutrition, and sports medicine. It will also be the new home for Blue Raider Football, allowing MTSU to relocate student-athlete locker rooms and offices from Murphy Center to Floyd Stadium. The Student Athlete Performance Center is scheduled to break ground early this winter and to open in the north end zone of Floyd Stadium by the start of the 2024 football season.

Renderings of MTSU’s Student Athlete Performance Center.

The news comes less than a week after breaking ground for another Build Blue project, the $7.1-million, on-campus Outdoor Tennis Complex for the Men’s and Women’s programs.

Athletics Director Chris Massaro said reaching these milestones, “is a major statement for each of our sport programs that we are serious about positioning ourselves for a successful future within the changing landscape of college athletics.

“Reaching, and now increasing, our goal for the Build Blue Campaign is a reflection of the excitement around Blue Raider Athletics and a reflection of the generosity of donors and the hard work of our volunteer fundraisers led by Build Blue co-chairs Andy Womack and Drew Shea.”

In all, the Build Blue campaign has secured over $16 million in donor cash, donor pledges and additional funds towards the over $100 million in transformational changes to the athletics facilities landscape in Murfreesboro.

Over 220 individuals and families have contributed to the Build Blue campaign so far.

Vanderbilt Football Drops Schedule For 2023 Season

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Photo: Courtesy of Vanderbilt Athletics

In conjunction with the Southeastern Conference, Vanderbilt has announced its 2023 football schedule, which includes home games against Georgia, Auburn and Hawaii.

After hosting Hawaii in its season opener on Aug. 26 at FirstBank Stadium, Vandy will host Alabama A&M during the nonconference slate and then travel to Wake Forest and UNLV. In conference play, Kentucky, Missouri, Georgia and Auburn will visit Nashville, while the Commodores travel to Florida, Ole Miss, South Carolina and Tennessee.

The Commodores have only played Alabama A&M once, defeating them 42-0 in Nashville in 2017. Their game against UNLV will be an exciting one as the ‘Dores will play at Allegiant Stadium–their first game in an NFL stadium since the Texas Bowl in 2018.

Vanderbilt and Auburn, the 2023 rotating opponent from the SEC East, have tied the all-time series, 21-21-1, while the Commodores have won two of the last three meetings.

2023 Vanderbilt Football Schedule:
Aug. 26 – Hawaii
Sept. 2 – Alabama A&M
Sept. 9 – at Wake Forest
Sept. 16 – at UNLV
Sept. 23 – Kentucky
Sept. 30 – Missouri
Oct. 7 – at Florida
Oct. 14 – Georgia
Oct. 21 – Open Date
Oct. 28 – at Ole Miss
Nov. 4 – Auburn
Nov. 11 – at South Carolina
Nov. 18 – Open Date
Nov. 25 – at Tennessee

Vanderbilt Quarterback AJ Swann Named SEC Freshman Of The Week

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AJ Swann. Photo: Courtesy of Vanderbilt Athletics

After winning his first collegiate start, Vanderbilt quarterback AJ Swann has been named SEC Freshman of the Week. He becomes the second Vanderbilt player to earn Freshman of the Week honors this season.

Swann led the Commodores to a 38-28 win at Northern Illinois on Saturday (Sept. 17), finishing 18-for-28 for 255 passing yards and four touchdowns. He engineered a third-quarter rally from a 28-14 deficit with three touchdowns in less than six minutes to seal the victory.

The White, Georgia native became just the second true freshman in the SEC since 2002 to throw for at least four touchdowns in their first career start. His 225 passing yards were the fourth-most by a true freshman at Vanderbilt since 2000.

Swann became the third Vanderbilt quarterback of any class to throw for at least 250 yards and four touchdowns in a road game since 1996.Over his two games played this season, Swann leads the SEC with a passing efficiency of 188.6. That mark places him second among all freshmen in FBS.

Swann replaced former starter Mike Wright in last week’s loss to Wake Forest. He scored two touchdowns and rushed for a successful two-point conversion.

The freshman joins Jayden McGowan as members of Vanderbilt’s freshman class to win weekly honors from the SEC this season. Entering the season, Vanderbilt had won Freshman of the Week honors just four times since the award was instituted in 2005.

Swann and the Commodores return to action at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday (Sept. 24) at No. 2 Alabama. Vandy returns to FirstBank Stadium on Oct. 8 when Ole Miss visits FirstBank Stadium.