#23 Vanderbilt Commodores (0-0, 0-0 SEC) • Shriners Children’s College Showdown
Friday vs. #10 TCU • 3 p.m. CT • FloSports
Saturday vs. Texas Tech • 11 a.m. CT • FloSports
Sunday vs. Oklahoma State • 10:30 a.m. CT • FloSports
Opening Weekend: Vanderbilt opens up the 2026 campaign in Texas at the Shriners Children’s College Showdown.
- Vanderbilt will face three schools from the Big 12, TCU, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State, at Globe Life Park.
- The Commodores also opened the 2023 season at Globe Life, home of the Texas Rangers. Vandy lost to TCU that year before beating Oklahoma State and Texas to round out the weekend.
- The Dores are 4-3 all-time against the Horned Frogs, 5-3 vs. the Cowboys and will be meeting the Red Raiders for the first time.
- Two Commodores will be competing in their home state this weekend in Tristan Bristow (Helotes) and Jakob Schulz (Houston).
Preseason Honors: Multiple Commodores received recognition ahead of the 2026 season.
- Connor Fennell was selected to two preseason All-America teams, garnering third-team honors from both D1Baseball and the NCBWA.
- Fennell and Braden Holcomb were each voted by the league’s coaches to the Preseason All-SEC Second Team.
- Miller Green and Alex Kranzler were named to the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Watch List.
Starting Rotation: Connor Fennell, Austin Nye and Nate Taylor will be Vandy’s starting rotation for Opening Weekend.
- Fennell will get the nod on Friday against TCU. He made 17 appearances last season with seven starts. He went 6-0 with a 2.53 ERA and 84 strikeouts over 53.1 innings.
- Nye made 15 appearances in 2025, all in a starting role. He finished with a 2-1 record and a 3.55 ERA.
- Taylor will be making his first collegiate start on Sunday after nine appearances, all in relief, at Georgia last season.
The 2026 VandyBoys: Vanderbilt’s 2026 roster features 23 returners and 16 newcomers.
- Seventeen states and two countries are represented on the roster. Tennessee leads the way with eight Commodores followed by California with five and Georgia with four.
- There are three graduate students, two seniors, 11 juniors, 14 sophomores and nine freshmen on the squad.
- Among the 16 newcomers, seven transferred in during the offseason.
- Former Commodore Jason Esposito returned to Nashville in the offseason as the program’s new hitting coach. Esposito played under Tim Corbin from 2009-11 before being selected by the Baltimore Orioles in the third round of the 2011 MLB Draft. He most recently worked in the Cleveland Guardians organization as the MLB assistant hitting coach.
Position Rankings: Ten Commodores were recognized by D1Baseball in their preseason positional rankings.
Starting Pitchers
Connor Fennell – No. 13
Austin Nye – No. 48
Nate Taylor – No. 151
Relievers
Miller Green – No. 32
Luke Guth – No. 38
England Bryan – No. 39
Outfielders
Logan Johnstone – No. 89
Shortstop
Ryker Waite – No. 36
Second Basemen
Carter Johnstone – No. 29
Catchers
Colin Barczi – No. 44
Unrivaled Consistency: Since head coach Tim Corbin took charge in 2003, no program has enjoyed more consistent success than the Commodores.
- Vanderbilt owns the nation’s longest active NCAA Tournament streak at 19 consecutive appearances.
- Vandy has been to the College World Series five times, the finals four times and has won it all twice (2014, 2019).
- More than 50 Commodores have been named All-America, including 18 first-teamers.
- Corbin has tutored more than 30 future MLB players.
- Corbin reached 1,000 career wins on March 5, 2024, vs. Eastern Michigan. He recorded his 900th Vandy win on March 16, 2024, vs. Auburn.
- Among active D1 coaches, Corbin ranks seventh by most wins. He is third in the SEC behind South Carolina’s Paul Mainieri (1,533) and Arkansas’ Dave Van Horn (1,304).
- The Dores were crowned SEC Tournament Champions in 2025 for the third time in the last six tournaments. Four of the program’s five SEC Tournament titles have come under Corbin.
The Fennell Factor: Preseason All-American Connor Fennell was one of the most electric pitchers in all of college baseball in 2025.
- Fennell totaled 84 strikeouts over 53.1 innings to just 11 walks. The righty struck out 40-percent of the batters he faced, good for third-best in Division I.
- Fennell allowed just one run over his final four outings, working 14 scoreless frames against Tennessee, Kentucky, Tennessee at the SEC Tournament and Louisville in the NCAA Regional.
- He tossed a seven-inning, complete-game shutout at Ole Miss, posting 12 strikeouts to earn SEC Pitcher of the Week.
- Fennell received Third Team All-America honors from the NCBWA and was Second Team ABCA All-Region.
Brodie Brings the Boom: Brodie Johnston made an immediate impact as a freshman last season, launching 15 homers and driving in 55 runs, both team-highs.
- Johnston’s 15 long balls were the most by a Vanderbilt freshman sicne Pedro Alvarez hit 22 in 2006.
- The freshman was named MVP of the SEC Tournament. His two-run homer in the first inning of the title game vs. Ole Miss helped lead the Dores to their third championship in the last six tournaments.
Team USA: This weekend’s game will reunite some former Team USA teammates.
- Tristan Bristow and Austin Nye played with TCU’s Nolan Traeger on the 2021 15U squad.
- Nye also competed on the 2022 18U team with Oklahoma State’s Campbell Smithwick, winning gold at the WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup Americas Qualifier.
Breaking Down the Schedule: Vanderbilt will once again face one of the nation’s toughest schedules this season after finishing the 2025 slate with the No. 2 strength of schedule according to WarrenNolan.com.
- Vanderbilt’s 2026 schedule features 30 games against 14 teams that made an NCAA Regional last season.
- Nine of Vandy’s opponents are ranked in the D1Baseball preseason poll, including five in the top 10 and three in the top five.
