Vanderbilt Commodores (18-12, 5-4 SEC) at #20 Texas A&M Aggies (23-5, 5-4 SEC)
Thursday @ 6 p.m. • SECN+ • 94.9 The Fan
Friday @ 6 p.m. • SECN+ • 102.5 The Game
Saturday @ 2 p.m. • SECN+ • 102.5 The Game
Weekend Preview: Vanderbilt plays its second road SEC series Thursday through Saturday at No. 20 Texas A&M.
- This series is Vandy’s fourth of eight consecutive weekends against opponents ranked in the D1Baseball poll.
- Texas A&M leads the all-time series 16-13.
- The home team has swept in each of the last two meetings. Vandy took all three games in Nashville last season while the Aggies swept the Commodores in College Station in 2024.
Power Surge: Vanderbilt’s 62 home runs are second among DI programs, trailing only Georgia’s 85.
- The Commodores have homered in all but six games this season.
- Vanderbilt’s .972 team OPS ranks 13th in DI.
- Vanderbilt has hit five grand slams this season, already surpassing last season’s total.
- Vandy’s seven homers in the win over North Dakota State on March 6 was the most in a game for the Dores since 2018.
- The Dores are just four homers shy of matching last season’s total of 66 (61 games).
Walk This Way: Vanderbilt’s 167 walks rank 16th among DI programs.
- Ryker Waite leads the team with 29 walks.
- Second on the team is Logan Johnstone with 27. Johnstone is fifth in the SEC and 36th in DI. The transfer is sporting a .439 OBP.
- After drawing 10 walks last season, Brodie Johnston has already surpassed that total as a sophomore, currently sitting at 17.
- Speaking of getting on base, Waite has reached safely in all but one game this season.
Fresh Arms: Five freshmen pitchers have combined for 88.1 innings on the mound for Vandy this season.
- Wyatt Nadeau has made four starts with 36 strikeouts over 28 innings. He was named SEC Freshman of the Week on March 16 after shutting down LSU over seven frames.
- Tyler Baird was electric in the 16-inning thriller vs. Tennessee. Baird came out of the pen and tossed five scoreless innings.
- Nate Schlote has yet to allow an earned run over his first 11 collegiate innings.
- Connor Hamilton threw a nine-inning, complete game against Belmont on March 31, totaling 11 strikeouts.
Turning Two: Vanderbilt has turned 30 double plays this season, more than any SEC team and third in DI.
- The Dores have at least one double play in 23 of 30 games.
Brooks Wallace Award Watch List: Ryker Waite was named to the Brooks Wallace Award Watch List on March 4.
- Waite is one of 100 shortstops on the list. He is hitting .340 this season with 16 extra-base hits, 23 RBI and a team-leading 29 walks.
- The Arizona native has reached base in 29 of 30 games this spring.
- He currently leads the team in walks and OBP while starting all 30 games at shortstop.
- Waite’s 29 walks are fourth in the SEC, 21st in DI.
- The award honors the nation’s top shortstop and will be presented by the College Baseball Foundation later this year.
