Vanderbilt Baseball head coach Tim Corbin along with Carter Holton and RJ Austin spoke to the media for the first time about the upcoming 2024 season and the program’s goals.
The VandyBoys are coming off a season where they won the SEC Championship and hosted a regional in the NCAA playoff. Despite this, however, the Commodores were eliminated in the regional round for the second year. The last time Vanderbilt experienced back-to-back regional eliminations was the 2008 and 2009 seasons, while the last time it failed to advance to the regional final game was in 2016. As always, this year’s goal is straightforward: hoist the College World Series trophy in Omaha, Neb., at the end of the season.
Corbin started the discussion by examining returning players, who have set the bar regarding what the program seeks to achieve this season. Vanderbilt will return over 60% of its innings pitched and plate appearances from the 2023 season, which should prove valuable, especially at the beginning of the season.
“[There are players] returning now that have played here for periods of one or two years,” Corbin said. “We have returned a decent amount of guys that have been on the mound, so I think that’s really helpful.”
Corbin also spoke about Vanderbilt’s freshmen and transfer classes.
“The younger group has blended in pretty well, [and have] paid attention, [which] I think [is] because it’s modeled with the older group,” Corbin said. “[The transfers] have been fitting in very good. We had some history with all of them. So that always helps. I would say their blending abilities have been really good. They’re all very personable and team-first guys.”
Corbin also addressed the pitching staff, where Vanderbilt is consistently one of the best in the SEC. In the 2023 season, Vanderbilt starters struggled with injuries among its weekend starters, such as Carter Houlton and Hunter Owen (now drafted), who missed parts of the season, especially in the latter half. The pair of junior left-handers Carter Holton and Devin Futrell are the best candidates to fill two of three weekend starter spots. Corbin and Co. liked what they saw of the two players in the fall and the inter-team scrimmages, which started last Friday.
“[Futrell] has gotten stronger, his fitness level has gotten better, which were the areas we talked about before he left last year,” Corbin said. “He’s a command guy [who] pitches very competitive. [Futrell will be] pitching some big games for us…I just want him to continue to get better.”
Corbin feels confident in the abilities and depth of the pitching staff for the 2024 season. He has seen newcomers adjust well, with returners continuing to improve their game. With Corbin and his staff trying to utilize each player’s skill set, pitching rotation and appearances will be pretty fluid, especially at the beginning of the season.
“We possibly have four or five guys that could sit in [the high-leverage] relief role,” Corbin said. “[It] might be the guys that don’t necessarily start..those might not be the decisions you make long term…so it will be pretty fluid.”
Corbin noted that the field positions are also fluid as of right now. Recent scrimmages have seen a lot of movement in both field positions and players’ batting orders. Austin has been playing in the infield and the outfield after being a starter at second base in 2023. Additionally, senior Jack Bulger has played some outfield after appearing as a catcher and designated hitter last year. As of right now, players are competing for positions on the field and in games during scrimmages, and the coaching staff is trying to configure everything in such a way as to create a power-packed lineup.
Austin, who was named SEC Tournamet MVP as a true freshman last year, talked about the intentionality within this team to make it back to Omaha.
“The mindset really doesn’t change; it’s getting on board and winning the national championship. That’s the biggest thing for all of us this year,” said Austin “We have more competitors and everybody just wants more.”
As of right now, players are competing for positions on the field and in games during scrimmages, and the coaching staff is trying to configure everything in such a way as to create a power-packed lineup.
“[Competition for positions] starts to happen towards the end of the fall,” Corbin noted. “But it’s certainly happening right now. I would say in totality, this is probably the toughest decision-making process in terms of putting guys on the field because of the quality that exists between them.”
