#51 JJ Bleday Season 2018-19

Coach Corbin Quote: “JJ had a prominent role on our team as a sophomore and I thought he really started to reveal his abilities as a player at the end of last year. He played regularly in right field and became a very consistent offensive piece in our lineup. He was able to challenge some of the better SEC arms and became one of the stronger hitters in the league. Although he battled injury for a portion of the conference schedule, he came back and succeeded in big moments. JJ is serious, tough, deliberate and a winner…he is fun to coach. Very low-maintenance young man.”

As a Junior (2019)

• Selected with the fourth overall pick of the MLB Draft by the Miami Marlins
• Six-time first-team All-American (ABCA, BA, CB, D1Baseball, NCBWA, PG)
• SEC Player of the Year, SEC Tournament MVP and First-Team All-SEC
• Named among four finalists for the Golden Spikes Award
• Named to All-College World Series Team after batting .300 (6-for-20) with five runs
• Vanderbilt single-season record holder and national leader in home runs (27)
• Closed his career with a 51-game on base streak (March 19-present)
• Second in Commodore single-season runs (82) and walks (61); third in RBIs (72)
• First Commodore since Scotti Madison (1979) to lead the SEC in home runs
• National leader in total bases (192), fourth in runs (82), fifth in hits (95) and sixth in walks (61)
• Reached base in 97 of his final 98 games including 27 straight in SEC play
• Hit .358 (53-for-148) with runners and .337 (31-for-92) with runners in scoring position
• Team leader with 19 multi-RBI games including a pair of five-RBI performances
• Became the ninth player and first since 2003 to record five hits in an SEC Tournament game, doing so with a 5-for-5 performance on May 22 against Auburn
• Recorded three multi-homer games including two alongside five RBIs vs. Lipscomb
• Logged multiple walks 12 times including three on three occasions
• Scored a run in 52 games and registered an RBI in 41 games (played in and started 71 games)
• In 30 SEC games, Batted .304 (35-for-115) in SEC games with 34 runs, 30 RBIs and 13 homers
• In 12 NCAA Tournament games, posted a team-best .295 average (13-for-44)

As a Sophomore (2018)

• Led Vanderbilt with a .368 batting average, .511 slugging pct. and .494 on-base percentage
• Batted .391 (18-for-46) with seven runs and five RBIs across 12 SEC games
• 35 starts in 39 appearances after missing 22 games with an oblique injury (March 30-May 6)
• 14 multi-hit performances
• Game-winning walk-off home run against Georgia for a 4-3 victory (June 9)
• 28-game reached base streak and 10-game hitting streak
• One or more hits in 32 of his 39 appearances
• Reached base in all but one game
• Batted .385 (5-for-13) with two runs and one RBI against Mississippi State at the NCAA Nashville Super Regional (June 8-10)
• Tied for third on the team with 31 walks on the season
• Matched a program record with five walks on May 15 against Middle Tennessee
• Batted .372 average (16-for-43) with two outs and batted .310 (22-for-71) with runners on base

As a Freshman (2017)

• 48 starts in 51 appearances, batting .256 with 42 hits, 23 runs and 22 RBIs
• Scored twice on three singles in win over Clemson at Clemson Regional (June 5)
• Second homer of the season with a two-run shot at Ole Miss (March 19)
• First career home run with a go-ahead solo shot in win over SE Louisiana (March 1)
• Career-best three RBI with three hits, including two doubles, in win over UIC (Feb. 25)
• Tied the game in the eighth inning with a two-run double against UIC (Feb. 24)
• Drew three walks, drove in a run and scored in team’s first win of the year at San Diego (Feb. 17)
• Earned opening say start at right field as a true freshman at San Diego (Feb. 16)

The Bleday File

• Product of A. Crawford Mosley High School in Panama City Beach, Fla.
• Third team All-American by Rawlings-Perfect Game
• Lettered four years in baseball, two years in golf and two in swimming in high school
• Holds six swimming school records at previous high school (Titusville HS) in Pennsylvania
• Won back-to-back region championships in 2013-14 at Titusville HS before winning two region and district titles at A. Crawford Mosley HS in 2015-16
• 2015 & 2016 Florida first-team All-State honors
• Environmental sociology major
• Native of Danville, Penn.
• Son of Raymond and Kathy Bleday, brother to Jennifer and Amy, and Adam
• Brother Adam played baseball at the University of Pennsylvania
• Cousins Alec and John Bleday ran track at the University of Pennsylvania and Dartmouth, respectively