Student-Athlete Features
Omaha World-Herald – Vanderbilt’s Kumar Rocker exemplifies trend: More players choosing college over early pro career (June 2019)
The Tennessean – Vanderbilt baseball: Kumar Rocker’s mom didn’t know what a no-hitter was while he was pitching one (June 2019)
Associated Press – Vandy pitcher says picking baseball over football was easy (May 2019)
Head coach Tim Corbin on Rocker: “Very invested young man…in himself and his teammates. Shows up with the same disposition to improve every single day. He loves the competitive arena and thrives in it. His enjoyment for the collegiate environment and his ability to stay present in it, has been very satisfying to be part of. He has taken full advantage of his situation here and embraced these moments of his life with great enthusiasm. I love what he is doing and who he is becoming.”
As a Junior (2021)
• Selected by the New York Mets with the 10th overall pick in the first round of the 2021 MLB Draft
• Unanimous First Team All-American
• Finalist for the Golden Spikes Award and Dick Howser Trophy
• Named to the ABCA All-Southeast Region First Team
• Registered 14 wins and 179 strikeouts on the season to lead the nation in both categories
• Became just the second player since 1988 to lead the nation in both strikeouts and wins in the same season
• Selected to the All-SEC first team
• Tabbed as a finalist for the Dick Howser Trophy
• Golden Spikes Award Semifinalist
• Selected as the District 3 Co-Player of the Year by the NCBWA
• Consensus Preseason All-American
• Won first seven decisions of the season
• Eight strikeouts and a season-best one hit allowed in season debut versus Wright State (Feb. 22)
• 11 punchouts, two hits and one walk surrendered to Illinois-Chicago (March 6)
• Season-best 14 Ks in 8.0 innings pitched in first SEC start of the season against South Carolina (March 19)
• Tossed a complete-game and struck out eight in the series-opening win over No. 4 Mississippi State (April 23)
• Fanned nine and allowed two hits across 7.0 scoreless frames in the 10-0 NCAA Regional opening-win over Presbyterian (June 4)
• Worked 7.2 scoreless innings in a 2-0 win over East Carolina (June 11), striking out 11 batters in the effort while allowing just three hits
As a Sophomore (2020)
- Season canceled due to coronavirus outbreak
- First Team Preseason All-America by Collegiate Baseball
- First Team Preseason All-America by D1Baseball
- First Team Preseason All-America by Perfect Game
- Second Team Preseason All-American by Baseball America
- SEC’s top 2021 MLB Draft prospect by D1Baseball
- No. 3 among Baseball America’s Top 150 Overall Players for 2020
- Team-best 28 strikeouts in 15.0 innings
- In three starts, went 2-1 with a 1.80 ERA
- Held opponents to a .118 batting average
- Fanned 12 in six innings vs. Illinois-Chicago (Feb. 22)
- Did not allow an earned run in six innings vs. UConn (Feb. 15)
As a Freshman (2019)
- D1Baseball.com Freshman of the Year
- Baseball America Freshman of the Year
- College World Series Most Outstanding Player
- The Tennessean 2019 Sportsperson of the Year
- Went 2-0 with a 1.46 ERA at the College World Series
- SEC All-Freshman Team
- NCAA Nashville Regional All-Tournament Team
- Finished third nationally with 12 victories
- Set a Vanderbilt College World Series record with 11 strikeouts vs. Michigan
- Struck out 19 batters and tossed Vandy’s first no-hitter since 1971 (June 8 vs. Duke)
- First pitcher to throw a no-hitter in the super regional history
- Eighth pitcher to toss no-hitter in NCAA Tournament
- Went 10-1 with a 2.17 ERA in his last 11 starts, striking out 82 in 70.2 innings
- Fanned five-plus batters in 14 of his last 15 starts
- Sturck out six-plus batters in 11 of his last 14 starts
- In four NCAA Tournament starts, went 4-0 with a 0.96 ERA
- Boasted a 44-5 strikeout-to-walk ratio in the NCAA Tournament
- Held opponents to three earned runs or fewer in 18 of his last 19 appearances
- Did not permit more than two walks in 18 of his 19 appearances
- Fanned double-digit batters three times while finishing with 114 on the season
The Rocker File
- Prepped at North Oconee (Bogart, Georgia)
- Lettered two years in football
- No. 2-rated high school right-handed pitcher in the 2018 MLB Draft (MLB.com)
- Third-ranked right-handed pitcher in 2018 class (Perfect Game)
- Eight-best overall player nationally in the 2018 class (Perfect Game)
- 2018 Rawlings-Perfect Game First-Team All-American
- 2017-18 Gatorade Georgia Baseball Player of the Year
- 2018 Under Armor All-American
- Captain of team as a junior and senior
- Drafted by Colorado Rockies in the 38th round of 2018 MLB Draft
- Undecided on a major
- Recipient of the John C. Rich Baseball Memorial Scholarship
- Son of Tracy and Lalitha
- Father Tracy played college football at Auburn
- Father Tracy was first SEC player to win both the Lombardi Award and the Outland Trophy
- Father Tracy played four years with the Washington Redskins