Dec. 19, 2014
Nashville, Tenn. – Four Commodores have been named Louisville Slugger preseason All-Americans by Collegiate Baseball.
Juniors Walker Buehler, Carson Fulmer and Dansby Swanson lead the way as preseason first team All-Americans with sophomore Bryan Reynolds earning a third team nod. Vanderbilt’s three first team members are the most of any school and the four Commodores on all three teams lead the nation. The quartet helped lead the Commodores to Vanderbilt’s first-ever men’s national title in June with a victory over Virginia in the College World Series and later starred for Team USA during the summer.
Buehler held down the team’s midweek starting role most of the season racking up a team-high 12 wins going 12-2 with a 2.64 ERA. The Lexington, Ky. native struck out 111 batters in 102.1 innings in his 19 starts, including a team-best two complete games. The right-hander was tabbed the top prospect in the Cape Cod League by multiple media outlets.
After a move to the starting rotation, Fulmer moved to the front of the line for the Dores. The right-hander led the Commodores with a 1.97 ERA in 26 games going 7-1 while also leading the squad with 10 saves. The Lakeland, Fla. native punched out 95 in 91 innings while allowing opponents to hit just .195. The Commodores won all three of his starts in the College World Series, including the clincher against Virginia.
Swanson was named the CWS Most Outstanding Player as a sophomore. The Marietta, Ga. native led college baseball and matched the Vandy school record with 27 doubles in 2014, hitting .333 with a team-best 63 runs scored and 22 stolen bases. Swanson was an All-American second baseman last season but has named a preseason All-American at shortstop.
Brentwood, Tenn. native Reynolds led Vanderbilt in hitting as a freshman hitting .338 with a team-best 54 RBI and a VU freshman record 24 doubles while playing all three outfield spots for the 2014 champs. Reynolds was a consensus Freshman All-American last season.
In 2015 the Commodores face off against the teams of 12 preseason All-Americans, including first team pitchers Preston Morrison and Riley Ferrell of TCU and UCLA’s David Berg in the Dodgertown Classic in early March in Los Angeles.
Vanderbilt opens the 2015 campaign at Hawkins Field against Santa Clara on February 13.
2015 preseason Louisville Slugger All-Americans
First Team
RHP Kyle Funkhouser (Louisville)
RHP Preston Morrison (Texas Christian)
RHP Carson Fulmer (Vanderbilt)
RHP Walker Buehler (Vanderbilt)
LHP Nathan Kirby (Virginia)
RHP Thomas Eshelman (Cal. St. Fullerton)
Relief Riley Ferrell (Texas Christian)
Relief David Berg (UCLA)
C Zack Collins (Miami, Fla.)
1B Eric Gutierrez (Texas Tech.)
2B Casey Jones (Elon)
3B Connor Panas (Canisius)
SS Dansby Swanson (Vanderbilt)
OF D.J. Stewart (Florida St.)
OF Brandon Rawe (Morehead St.)
OF Christin Stewart (Tennessee)
UT Jacob Cronenworth (Michigan)
Second Team
LHP Blake Fox (Rice)
RHP James Kaprielian (UCLA)
LHP Christian Trent (Mississippi)
LHP Cole Irvin (Oregon)
RHP Mike Murray (Florida Gulf Coast)
LHP Andrew Suarez (Miami, Fla.)
RHP Zach Plesac (Ball St.)
RHP Tyler Davis (Washington)
RHP Justin Garza (Cal. St. Fullerton)
RHP Casey Bloomquist (Cal. Poly)
LHP Jared Poche’ (Louisiana St.)
LHP Brandon Waddell (Virginia)
LHP Tyler Jay (Illinois)
RHP Matt Warren (Creighton)
Relief Sam Moore (U.C. Irvine)
Relief Dillon Tate (U.C. Santa Barbara)
Relief Bryan Garcia (Miami, Fla.)
C Taylor Ward (Fresno St.)
C Shaun Chase (Oregon)
1B Alex Close (Liberty)
1B Sikes Orvis (Mississippi)
1B Jacob Hoyle (Western Carolina)
2B Bradley Strong (Western Carolina)
3B Brett Hoffman (S.E. Louisiana)
SS Alex Bregman (Louisiana St.)
SS Kevin Newman (Arizona)
SS Blake Trahan (Louisiana-Lafayette)
OF Joe McCarthy (Virginia)
OF Gio Brusa (Pacific)
OF Chris Shaw (Boston College)
UT Alex Robles (Austin Peay)
Third Team
RHP Bailey Ober (College of Charleston)
RHP Matt Eckelman (St. Louis)
LHP Brett Lilek (Arizona St.)
LHP Ryan Kellogg (Arizona St.)
RHP Kyle Cody (Kentucky)
RHP Jake Lemoine (Houston)
RHP Trent Thornton (North Carolina)
RHP Cal Quantrill (Stanford)
RHP Chance Sinclair (Nebraska)
RHP Brennan Leitao (Sacramento St.)
Relief Reilly Hovis (North Carolina)
Relief Ryan Burr (Arizona St.)
Relief Ashton Perritt (Liberty)
Relief Thomas Burrows (Alabama)
Relief Brandon Koch (Dallas Baptist)
C/2B Paul DeJong (Illinois St.)
C Jameson Fisher (S.E. Louisiana)
1B Austin Byler (Nevada)
1B Charles Sikes (Savannah St.)
1B Reagan Fowler (Creighton)
2B Scott Kingery (Arizona)
2B Mark Mathias (Cal. Poly)
2B Hutton Moyer (Pepperdine)
2B Jake Noll (Florida Gulf Coast)
3B Ty France (San Diego St.)
3B Andy Lennington (S.E. Missouri St.)
SS Dylan Bosheers (Tennessee Tech.)
SS Kevin Kramer (UCLA)
SS Travis Maezes (Michigan)
OF Steven Duggar (Clemson)
OF Ian Happ (Cincinnati)
OF Kewby Meyer (Nevada)
OF Bryan Reynolds (Vanderbilt)
