Tops in Perfect Game

Vanderbilt ranked first in Perfect Game’s preseason poll

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Vanderbilt received another preseason top-five ranking as Perfect Game tabbed the Commodores first in its Top 25 rankings Thursday.

Vanderbilt was among five teams from the Southeastern Conference in the top 10 while the SEC led all conferences with seven teams in the rankings. The Commodores are joined by LSU (No. 4), Mississippi State (No. 6), Arkansas (No. 9), Ole Miss (No. 10), Tennessee (No. 21) and Florida (No. 23).

The Dores 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 Feb. 18 as the Commodores will welcome the Oklahoma State Cowboys, who were ranked No. 16 in Perfect Game’s preseason poll, to Hawkins Field for a three-game weekend series.