NASHVILLE, Tenn. — This time last year, Justyn-Henry Malloy was trying to find his way as a first-year Commodore on Vanderbilt’s campus training with one of college baseball’s elite programs. His recent experience during that period of adjustment has helped him evolve into a better teacher and teammate this fall.
“They got here for a reason – everyone is here for a reason,” Malloy said about what he has been telling Vanderbilt’s large crop of true freshmen during fall training. “Just for them to kind of be themselves and play the game. The game isn’t different at all, it’s just played a little bit faster.
“But they’re here and they know how to play at that speed. They’re going to adapt very quickly, they’re going to adapt very nicely and they’re going to do what they do best – and that’s play ball.”
Vandy head coach Tim Corbin brought in 15 freshmen to help the Commodores try to make another run toward a national title. Seven seniors graduated from the 2019 roster including five who are pursuing professional baseball careers.
The new batch to put on the black and gold includes pitcher Jack Leiter (son of former MLB pitcher Al Leiter), pitcher and outfielder Spencer Jones and infielder Parker Noland, to name a few. This past Saturday, in a 16-inning exhibition against Oklahoma State at the Urban Youth Academy in Kansas City, Missouri, Noland drove in four runs and Leiter pitched two scoreless innings while striking out four.
“They’re doing the things they need to academically right now, which I think is important,” Corbin said of his freshmen class. “There are some of them that are pretty bright – they don’t speak much, which is good. No one taped their mouth shut, but they’re not really saying much. They’re listening a lot which is really what they need to do. I think they’re respectful of the situation that they have and they’re handling it well.
“As a group, I would say collectively, they’ve been, I think to a man, really consistent. I think if you asked the older players they don’t think there’s anyone that stands out as being a poor representative of our program. So far so good.”
The Commodores are coming off a 59-win season, SEC regular-season and tournament titles and a national championship – the program’s second in six years. So the expectations for a group of new faces to continue those sort of winning ways is awfully high.
But those who arrived on West End this offseason knew exactly what those expectations were going to be. So far they’ve risen to the occasion of buying into the Commodore way.
“Weight room, you can see clear differences in guys from when they first came in when we had our first type of assessment with weights. You can see a physical difference in their bodies,” Malloy said. “And then on the field, we’ve only been on the field for (a few) weeks now, but these guys put together some really good at-bats against some high-level pitching.
“Just to be able to see that and where their foundation is as ballplayers – they have very good foundations. They got some good tools and I think it’s going to be used to their advantage very well.”
Vanderbilt resumes fall trailing this week before taking part of the David Williams Fall Classic on Nov. 10 against Michigan at Hawkins Field.
