2015 Vanderbilt Commodores baseball team


The 2015 Vanderbilt Commodores baseball team represented Vanderbilt University during the 2015 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Commodores played their home games at Hawkins Field as a member of the Southeastern Conference. They were led by head coach Tim Corbin, in his 13th season at Vanderbilt.

Previous season

In 2014, the Commodores finished the season 3rd in the SEC's Eastern Division with a record of 47–19, 17–13 in conference play. They qualified for the 2014 Southeastern Conference Baseball Tournament and were eliminated in the second round. They qualified for the 2014 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament, and were selected to host the Nashville Regional, which included Oregon, Clemson, and Xavier. The Commodores won their first three games of the regional, defeating Xavier by a score of 11–0, Oregon by a score of 7–2, and Oregon again, this time, 3–2, to advance to the Super Regional, of which they were hosts. In their first game against Stanford, the Commodores won 11–6, before dropping the second game, 4–5. In game three, Vanderbilt won, 12–5, to advance to the College World Series.
In the College World Series, Vanderbilt defeated Louisville and UC Irvine to advance to the semifinals and play Texas. In the first match-up with the Longhorns, the Commodores dropped their first game of the College World Series, losing 0–4. In the second game, the Commodores won 4–3 in ten innings, advancing to the College World Series finals to play Virginia.
Vanderbilt opened the finals against Virginia, the #3 national seed in the tournament, with a 9–8 victory. The Commodores proceeded to drop the second game, 2–7, before winning game three, 3–2. Vanderbilt were crowned national champions, their first championship in program history.

2015 regular season

After a slow start, the Commodores easily qualified for the 2015 Southeastern Conference tournament, where they finished second to the Florida Gators. They then played host to the 2015 NCAA Nashville Regional, where they defeated Lipscomb University, The University of Indiana and Radford University, the last opponent by a record-tying shutout score of 21-0. The Commodores then faced the University of Illinois in the NCAA Superegional, defeating them in a two-game sweep and advancing to the College World Series.
In 65 games in his junior year for the team, Rhett Wiseman hit.318/.419/.566 with 66 runs, 39 walks, and 14 home runs. He was named an All-American.

2015 NCAA College World Series

In their opening-round game in the 2015 College World Series, Vanderbilt defeated, 4–3, on a walkoff home run in the bottom of the ninth in a game that had been suspended due to rain the night before, advancing into the winners' bracket. In their second-round game, Vanderbilt defeated the number 7 national seed TCU, 1–0. Zander Wiel hit a home run in the 7th inning to score the lone run of the game and break up a no-hitter.
Behind an offensive outburst and dominating performance behind the arm of Walker Buehler, the Commodores beat TCU 7–1 to advance to their second straight College World Series Championship Series. Commodores outfielder Rhett Wiseman was hit in his neck by an 89 mph fastball while batting during the game, and was hit so hard it left a red mark that even showed the outlines of the baseball's laces on his neck. He stayed in the game. Wiseman went on to hit a home run innings later.
In game 1 of the championship series Vanderbilt defeated Virginia 5–1 thanks to an outing by Carson Fulmer. Virginia held Vanderbilt scoreless for just the second time all year, forcing a winner-take-all third game for the national championship. The Cavaliers beat Vanderbilt 4–2 to win their first baseball national championship in program history.

Personnel

Roster

Coaching staff

Schedule

All rankings from Collegiate Baseball.

Rankings

Awards and honors

;Carson Fulmer
;Walker Buehler
;Dansby Swanson
;Zander Wiel
;Rhett Wiseman
;Bryan Reynolds
;Ro Coleman
;Jeren Kendall
;Will Toffey
;Kyle Wright
RoundSelectionPlayerPositionTeam
11Dansby SwansonSSArizona Diamondbacks
18Carson FulmerRHPChicago White Sox
124Walker BuehlerRHPLos Angeles Dodgers
3101Phillip PfeiferLHPLos Angeles Dodgers
3103Rhett WisemanOFWashington Nationals
6168Tyler FergusonRHPTexas Rangers
12350Zander Wiel1BMinnesota Twins
19558Xavier Turner3BTexas Rangers
391,163John KilichowskiLHPChicago Cubs