NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A pair of Commodores were named 2026 Preseason All-SEC on Thursday, the conference announced.
Braden Holcomb and Connor Fennell were each selected by the league’s coaches to the second team.
Holcomb, a junior from Orlando, Florida, surged in conference action last season. He led Vandy in home runs and slugging against SEC opponents and was second on the team in batting average and RBI.
Holcomb hit a three-run, walk-off home run in the ninth inning vs. Kentucky to complete Vandy’s five-run comeback on May 15. On May 4 vs. Alabama, he tripled in the sixth inning, homered in the eighth and then hit a two-run, walk-off homer in the ninth.
Fennell held one of the nation’s top strikeout percentages last season after totaling 84 K’s to just 11 walks over 53.1 innings. In SEC games, Fennell led the league in opponent batting average at .178.
The right-hander earned Third Team All-America honors from the NCBWA and a Second Team All-Region nod from the ABCA last spring.
He was selected to the D1Baseball Preseason All-America Third Team in January.
Vanderbilt will enter the 2026 campaign ranked No. 23 in the D1Baseball poll. The Commodores open the season February 13-15 at the Shriners Children’s College Showdown in Arlington, Texas.
