NASHVILLE, Tenn. — There’s no doubt that 2019 was another banner year for Vanderbilt Athletics.
The Commodores won a national championship in baseball, staked claim to numerous conference titles and ushered in a new era by welcoming Malcolm Turner as vice chancellor for athletics and university affairs and athletics director. Those elements made for an unforgettable year.
Here are a few of the moments from 2019 that stand out and are worth remembering before turning toward a new chapter that is 2020:
Turner’s Tenure
Turner took office officially Feb. 1 and in doing so started a new regime of Vanderbilt Athletics.
A former member of the NBA’s senior leadership team and president of the NBA G League, Turner came to West End with a long and impressive resume in academia, business and sports. He’s tasked with keeping Vandy at the forefront of college competition in one of the nation’s great cities.
“I’ve never gone into any new situation with all the answers to the test,” Turner said in February. “I’m going to do a bit of a listening tour and try to talk to as many people as I can within the athletic department – student-athletes, coaches, fan base, partners and well beyond … I come to this role with initial ideas that I will test in those conversations.”
Stack’s House
In early April, Vanderbilt turned to a college and professional basketball legend to take the men’s hoops program to new heights.
After one year as an assistant coach with the Memphis Grizzlies, Jerry Stackhouse spent two seasons as head coach of the NBA G League’s Raptors 905. That team had a 39-11 regular season record and 6-1 playoff record in the 2016-17 season before winning the NBA G League championship – Stackhouse was named NBA G League Coach of the Year.
Stackhouse led the team to a 31-19 regular season record and a second straight appearance in the NBA G League finals in 2017-18. Stackhouse was also an assistant coach for the Toronto Raptors during the 2015-16 season.
“I don’t think there’s really a coach in the country that has a better blueprint of what’s needed and what is prepared to go to that next level, because I’ve done it,” Stackhouse said in April. “I see the kids coming in, see the development that’s needed for them to have success.”
Stackhouse appeared in 970 games (564 starts) for eight teams during his 18-year NBA career and averaged 16.9 points, 3.3 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 31.2 minutes. A two-time All-Star with the Detroit Pistons (2000, 2001), Stackhouse posted career highs of 29.8 points (second in the NBA) during the 2000-01 season, leading the league in total points and free throws made.
He reached the 2006 NBA Finals as a member of the Dallas Mavericks.
Saying Goodbye to David Williams
The Vanderbilt family and Nashville community lost one of its treasured members in February when David Williams died Feb. 8. He was 71.
Williams, who spent 15 years at Vanderbilt as athletic director, had his life celebrated throughout the remainder of the 2019 year. In October the school’s Recreation and Wellness Center was named in his honor.
“The name on this building is a fitting tribute to (Williams) because he was the ultimate teacher,” former Vanderbilt Chancellor Emeritus Nicholas S. Zeppos said in October. “He believed that if you give someone an education, you give them an opportunity to change their lives, just like education changed his life.”
The 2013 renovation and expansion of the recreation and wellness facility was designed to serve the entire Vanderbilt community. Upgrades included a four-lane bowling alley, a demonstration kitchen for preparation of healthy meals, and expanded cardiovascular and fitness areas.
In addition, the field house was constructed which features a 120-yard-long indoor turf practice field surrounded by a 300-meter track. The field house received LEED silver certification from the U.S. Green Building Council for its environmentally responsible construction.
SEC Dominance
The Vanderbilt program has become synonymous with winning in college baseball. But in 2019 the Commodores raised the bar they themselves may not be able to equal in some time.
Head coach Tim Corbin saw his squad win 23 of 30 games against Southeastern Conference competition in the regular season – including five three-game sweeps. The Dores won the league’s regular-season title.
Vandy then went to Hoover, Alabama, at the end of May and completed an impressive 4-0 run through the SEC Tournament. That stretch featured a 1-0 win over Mississippi State and an 11-10 triumph over Ole Miss in which the Commodores came back from down eight runs.
Champs Again
Vandy began its national postseason run with a major target on its back. And that run nearly came to a quick end in early June.
The Commodores swept through NCAA Regional play with wins over Ohio State and Indiana State (twice). But the following weekend upstart Duke stunned Vanderbilt with an 18-5 win at Hawkins Field.
The Kumar Rocker legend was born a day later when the freshman pitcher threw a no-hitter during a 3-0 Vandy win that saved the season. The Dores went on to win the NCAA Super Regional finale 13-2 and punched their ticket to Omaha, Nebraska.
Once again Vanderbilt smoothed into the next round with wins over Louisville (twice) and Mississippi State. And once again it was on the brink of elimination after a 7-4 defeat to Michigan in the College World Series best-of-three final series.
The Commodores got off the deck for 4-1 and 8-2 wins, respectively, to capture the school’s second baseball national championship. In December, Rocker was named 2019 Sportsperson of the Year by The Tennessean.
Welcome to Our City
All eyes in the professional and college football world were in Nashville in April.
The NFL Draft came to town and took over the city for the three day event. Vanderbilt’s most-memorable moment came April 26, the second of those three days, when a hometown hero and Commodore took center stage.
Joejuan Williams was selected 45th overall – in the second round – by New England.
“It was definitely special. It was a long time coming. Growing up here, going to school here, high school here, middle school, elementary school, college, it was definitely special to hear my name called here in Nashville too,” Williams said at the time. “Everything I do, I try to represent for the 615, and that’s what I’m going to try to do once I get to the next level.”
Drafting Darius
Darius Garland’s career in black and gold was short-lived, unfortunately. The NBA rookie will still always be a Commodore.
Garland saw his professional basketball dreams come true June 20 when the Cleveland Cavaliers selected him fifth overall. The 6-foot-2 point guard averaged 16.2 points per game before a knee injury ended his collegiate career.
“It was really challenging for me,” Garland said in June about his college injury. “That was the first time I had been away from the game that I really love, so it was really hard. But everyone faces adversity, I got over the whole thing, and that’s all in the past. Now I’m ready to get going in Cleveland.”
A Nashville product, Garland was a McDonald’s All American.
Down Goes Mizzou
Homecoming games are traditionally days in the fall that help spark memories while creating new ones. The Commodores definitely did the latter in October.
Head coach Derek Mason and Vanderbilt beat No. 21 Missouri thanks to a late touchdown pass from Riley Neal and an offensive jolt from junior quarterback Mo Hasan who had started the game.
Neal’s pass to Cam Johnson came with just less than nine minutes to play and gave the Commodores a 21-14 win. The celebration inside Vanderbilt Stadium was on.
Victory in Knoxville
Vanderbilt women’s basketball team had traveled to Knoxville to play Tennessee 33 times. And all 33 times it left with a defeat.
That changed Feb. 28.
Mariella Fasoula had 19 points and nine rebounds while the Commodores beat Tennessee 76-69 for the first time ever in Thompson-Boling Arena.
Bowling Into April
Vanderbilt’s bowling program has undoubtedly risen to become one of the elites in the sport. In April head coach John Williamson’s team nearly made more history.
The Commodores fell just short of repeating as national champions when losing 4-1 to Stephen F. Austin in the NCAA title game. Vandy had rallied to climb out of the loser’s bracket just to have a chance at a second national title in program history.
Still, the Dores won five tournament titles during the regular season and 97 matches overall.
“The players that we have are pretty incredible,” Williamson said in April. “They put up a fight this whole year, I think we were undervalued most of the year. Most people didn’t give us credit for the stuff we were doing, but we just kept working and kept our head down. Outside validation isn’t really important, but it is nice to see, especially when you work hard to get it.”
Where There’s a Will
Will Gordon finished a great career for the Vanderbilt golf program by leaving as the SEC’s Player of the Year.
He became the Commodores’ fourth SEC Player of the Year joining Brandt Snedeker in 2003, Hunter Stewart in 2015 and Theo Humphrey in 2018. The senior from Davidson, North Carolina, had a historic season for the Commodores by posting a program-best 69.21 stroke average, winning two individual championships and finishing in the top five in seven of the team’s 11 tournaments this season.
Gordon was also named to the SEC Community Service Team for his work off the course.
Shooting Into May
Head coach Scott Limbaugh’s team made a sixth straight trip to the NCAA Championships. In Fayetteville, Arkansas, the Commodores needed a dramatic finish to advance to the final four.
Vandy beat Texas A&M 3-2 in the quarterfinals thanks to Gordon’s 12-foot putt for par on a 19th hole gave the Dores the victory. Patrick Martin and John Augenstein also recorded victories to propel Vanderbilt onto the semifinals where it would eventually fall to Stanford.
Leaving Auburn as Champs
The Vanderbilt women’s golf team made a return trip to the NCAA Championships thanks to an historic weekend in Opelika, Alabama.
Head coach Greg Allen saw his team rally to win the NCAA Auburn Regional in May thanks to an 8-under team performance in the event’s final round. Auston Kim led the way by finishing with a 6-under to earn medalist honors.
The Commodores placed 23rd at the NCAA Championships.
A 7-1 Start
Vanderbilt head coach Beth Hewitt watched her team surge into the 2019 season with a 7-1 start – the best in program history. Three of those seven wins were by 31 goals.
The Commodores would go on to claim 10 victories – the first time the program had accomplished that since 2010 and won six matches at home. Vandy also made the American Athletic Conference tournament for the first time since 2014.
Denk Does It
Kristen Denk ended her junior season as a first team All-American.
A North Royalton, Ohio, native, Denk cleared 14 feet, 3 1/2 inches during this past season to set a career best and Vanderbilt program record. She cleared a quarter-inch less than that to finish among the top eight in the nation and earn All-American status.
Denk also become the first Commodore to win a SEC pole vault championship.
Championship Run
The Vanderbilt women’s tennis team went 19-8 this spring and made a remarkable run in the NCAA Tournament to the quarterfinals where it ran into No. 1 Georgia.
Head coach Geoff Macdonald saw his team fall 4-3 in that match, but the trip to the elite eight of the national event was the program’s fourth in a row.
