Vanderbilt Commodores baseball


The Vanderbilt Commodores baseball team is an American National Collegiate Athletic Association college baseball team, and the reigning Division I national champion. From Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, the team participates in the Eastern division of the Southeastern Conference and plays its home games on campus at Hawkins Field. The Commodores are coached by three-time National Coach of the Year and three-time SEC Coach of the Year, Tim Corbin. During Corbin's tenure as head coach, Vanderbilt has become one of the premier college baseball programs in the United States, responsible for 12 first-round picks in the MLB draft.

History

Vanderbilt first fielded a baseball team in 1886. Herbert Charles Sanborn, the chair of the Department of Philosophy and Psychology from 1921 to 1942, who was also the president of the Nashville German-American Society, coached the team in 1912-1913. Baseball became a scholarship sport in 1968.
The Commodores secured only three NCAA appearances in the 20th century—in 1973, 1974, and 1980. They had only three other winning seasons in SEC play in the first 35 years of the scholarship era. However, they have been to every NCAA Tournament but one since 2004. The team qualified for the NCAA Super Regionals in 2004, had the nation's top recruiting class in 2005 according to Baseball America, made the NCAA field again in 2006, and won the 2007 SEC regular-season and SEC tournament crowns. The Commodores were ranked first in most polls for a majority of the 2007 season and earned the #1 national seed for the 2007 NCAA tournament. Vanderbilt's victory over the University of Virginia in the finals of the 2014 NCAA tournament marks the program's first national title and second appearance in the College World Series, having first appeared in 2011. In 2019, Vanderbilt’s fourth College World Series appearance, they beat Michigan two games to one in the finals, winning their second national title.

Stadium

The original venue for the Commodores ball club was Dudley Field. Currently, the Commodores play their home games at Hawkins Field, which is an on-campus facility with a 3,700 seat capacity. Temporary outfield bleachers were installed for the 2007 Regionals and all of the 2008 season, bringing the capacity to 3,535. In May 2008, Vanderbilt announced extensive plans to upgrade its athletic facilities, including the addition of permanent seats down the first base line and outfield seats in both left-center and right field. These additions increased the size of Hawkins Field to its current capacity of 3,700 seats. It is adjacent to both Vanderbilt Stadium and Memorial Gymnasium and is across the street from the McGugin Center. Hawkins Field opened in 2002 and is named after a donor who gave $2 million to help finance construction. The stadium was also the site of the first NCAA Baseball Tournament Regional that Vanderbilt ever hosted when it was the site of the Nashville Regional in 2007. Vanderbilt and Hawkins Field again hosted Regionals in 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2019, and hosted Super Regionals in 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018 and 2019.

Head coaches

TenureCoachYearsGWLTWinning %
1904T. W. Davis1251960.760
1908Grantland Rice1221192.538
1909–1910E. J. Hamilton23819181.513
1911Drew Fann115870.533
1912–1913Herbert Charles Sanborn24021172.550
1914Dick Lyle1231382.609
1917, 24–40&52Bill Schwartz192681551121.580
1918John Palmer113580.384
1919Ray Morrison16330.500
1920–1921Byrd Douglas25031190.620
1922–1923Wallace Wade23926130.667
1942&1947James A. Scoggins24020191.513
1948Tommy Harrison1221192.545
1949–51&54–56Dave Scobey611843750.364
1953Woody Johnson1185130.278
1957–1959&61Dick Richardson48724630.276
1960Harley Boss36321420.333
1962Jerry Elliot1222182.136
1965–1967George Archie36018420.300
1968–1978Larry Schmittou115593062521.548
1979–2002Roy Mewbourne2412726556089.518
2003–presentTim Corbin171,0957403541.675
Totals23 coaches10135671933161123.540

RankNameSeasons
1Roy Mewbourne24
2Bill Schwartz19
3Tim Corbin17

RankNameWins
1Tim Corbin740
2Roy Mewbourne655
3Larry Schmittou306

RankNamePct.
1T. W. Davis.760
2Tim Corbin.675
3Wallace Wade.667

Year-by-year results

Records taken from the 2011 Vanderbilt baseball media guide.
In 1997, Vanderbilt forfeited 30 games due to an ineligible player.
√ Vanderbilt forfeited 30 games due to Hunter Bledsoe being ineligible player.

NCAA Tournaments

YearRecordPctNotes
19732–2.500Eliminated by Miami in the Starkville Regional
19741–2.333Eliminated by Georgia Southern in the Starkville Regional
19800–2.000Eliminated by UNO in the Tallahassee Regional
20043–2.600Won Charlottesville Regional
Eliminated by Texas in the Austin Super Regional
20062–2.500Eliminated by Georgia Tech in the Atlanta Regional Finals
20073–2.600#1 Overall seed in the tournament
Eliminated by Michigan in the Nashville Regional Finals
20081–2.333Eliminated by Oklahoma in the Tempe Regional Semi-finals.
20093–2.600Eliminated by Louisville in the Louisville Regional Finals
20105–3.625Won Louisville Regional
Eliminated by Florida State in the Tallahassee Super Regional
20117–2.778#6 Overall seed in the tournament
Won Nashville Regional
Won Nashville Super Regional
Finished Third in the 2011 College World Series
20122–2.500Eliminated by in the Raleigh Regional Finals
20133–3.500#2 Overall seed in the tournament
Won Nashville Regional
Eliminated by Louisville in the Nashville Super Regional
201410–3.769Won Nashville Regional
Won Nashville Super Regional
Won College World Series
20159–2.818Won Nashville Regional
Won Champaign Super Regional
College World Series Runner-up
20160–2.000Eliminated by Washington in the Nashville Regional. Vanderbilt pitcher Donny Everett died the night before the Regional.
20173–3.500Won Clemson Regional
Eliminated by Oregon State in Corvallis Super Regional
20184-2.666Won Clemson Regional
Eliminated by Mississippi St. in Nashville Super Regional
201910-2.833#2 Overall seed in the tournament
Won Nashville Regional
Won Nashville Super Regional
Won College World Series
TOTALS68–40.62918 Regional Appearances
9 Super Regional Appearances
4 College World Series Appearances
2 National Championships

NCAA records

Batting

Pedro Alvarez">Pedro Alvarez (baseball)">Pedro Alvarez

Notable players