NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Vanderbilt received 494 points and enters the 2022 campaign ranked No. 2 in Collegiate Baseball’s preseason poll, the publication announced Monday.
The Commodores, who were ranked second by the publication for a fourth season in a row, are among four Southeastern Conference programs in the top nine. Texas sits at the top spot in the poll, while LSU (No. 3), Texas Tech (No. 4) and Stanford (No. 5) round out the top five. The SEC led all conferences, placing 10 teams inside the top 50.
Vanderbilt has been ranked inside the top 10 for 12 consecutive seasons. During that stretch, the Commodores have captured two national titles and advanced to the College World Series five times.
The Commodores registered a 49-18 record across the 2021 campaign, culminating in the program’s fifth trip to the College World Series while closing out the season as the national runner-up. Despite losing six MLB Draft selections and a national-best two top-10 picks from last year’s team, Vanderbilt returns four players who were ranked among D1Baseball’s 2022 Top 100 MLB Draft Prospects – Carter Young (No. 25), Spencer Jones (No. 60), Dominic Keegan (No. 66) and Nick Maldonado (No. 74).
Vanderbilt is set to open the 2022 season on Feb. 18, as the Commodores will welcome seventh-ranked Oklahoma State to Hawkins Field for a three-game weekend series.
