No. 6 VandyBoys win SEC Tournament, will host NCAA regional tournament for ninth time in program history

On Monday, the NCAA placed the Vanderbilt Commodores as the No. 6 seed in the 64-team NCAA baseball tournament.

The Vandyboys celebrated after winning the SEC Championship on May 28, 2023 (Vanderbilt Athletics).

By Andrew Wilf, Sports Editor

May 29, 2023

After winning the SEC Tournament for the fourth time in school history, the Vanderbilt Commodores (41-18) were one of 16 teams tabbed by the NCAA on Sunday to host an NCAA regional tournament. As hosts of the Nashville regional, Vanderbilt came in as the No. 6 overall seed in the entire NCAA bracket.

The Nashville regional will begin on Friday, June 2, and conclude on Monday, June 5. The No. 1 seeded Commodores will compete with the No. 2 seed Oregon Ducks, No.3 seed Xavier Musketeers and the No. 4 seed Eastern Illinois Panthers in a double-elimination style tournament. It is the only regional in which all four teams won their conference tournament. Vanderbilt’s first matchup will be against the Eastern Illinois Panthers on June 2nd at Hawkins Field.

Of the four teams in the Nashville regional tournament, only one will advance to the super regional tournament. The super regional tournament features the winner of the Nashville regional, along with 15 other regional tournament winners. The eight super regional winners will move on and clinch a spot in the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska.

The winner of the Nashville regional will play the winner of the Stillwater regional in the super regional tournament. The Stillwater regional will feature No. 1 seed Oklahoma St., No. 2 seed Washington, No. 3 seed Dallas Baptist and No. 4 seed Oral Roberts.

Following a slump that featured series losses to Florida, Alabama and Tennessee at the end of the regular season, there was a lot of doubt surrounding the Commodores’ postseason abilities. However, Vanderbilt’s last regular-season series (vs. Arkansas) put the team back in rhythm. The Arkansas series proved to be a strong momentum builder for the Commodores heading into the postseason. Vanderbilt has outscored their opponents 36-22 in the past five games — a span which includes their SEC Tournament final victory over Texas A&M.

Vanderbilt is hot at the perfect time. With the way the Commodores have been playing, a trip to Omaha does not seem as far away as it did just one month ago.

About the Contributor

Andrew Wilf, Former Sports Editor

Andrew Wilf (’24) is Sports Editor for The Vanderbilt Hustler. He is from Livingston, N.J., and is majoring in history and minoring in business. He joined the sports staff his freshman year, previously serving as a Staff Writer, Assistant Sports Editor and Deputy Sports Editor. Beyond writing for The Hustler, he is also the host of Anchor Analysis, Commodore Clash and Live From West End. In his free time, Andrew enjoys watching the NFL and playing golf. He can be reached at [email protected].

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