On Saturday evening, Vanderbilt Baseball landed its eighth player from the transfer portal when Riley Nelson announced his commitment via social media. Nelson previously played for two JUCO programs, Western Texas College and Yavapai College, in his freshman and sophomore years, respectively. The Trophy Club, Texas native de-committed from the University of Texas Rio Grande earlier this month and possesses the ability to make an impact at the bag and the plate for the Commodores.

Nelson is the third power hitter that head coach Tim Corbin has picked up in the transfer portal, following Koby Kropf and Mike Mancini’s commitments, and the program’s first JUCO transfer since Javier Vaz. After posting a .355 average with 3 home runs and 36 RBI his freshman year at Western Texas, Nelson saw a jump in power at Yavapai. The 6’3” left-handed hitter had an impressive season for the Rough Riders, hitting .412 with a .495 slugging percentage while collecting 13 home runs, 21 doubles and 55 RBIs in a wood-bat league. These numbers were among the top in the conference in homers (first), RBIs (second), batting average (third) and slugging (first). Defensively, Nelson was stout, as he held a fielding percentage of .997, with just one error in 311 chances.

While there may be some concern about Nelson’s lack of experience in a power five conference, he played in the MLB Draft League this summer, where he held a .330 batting average. While it’s a small sample size, this should help minimize the concern regarding the level of competition (or lack thereof, in this case) that he has faced. Nelson is a true first baseman and has proven power offensively, both things that the VandyBoys lacked last season. 

After a disappointing de-commitment from left-handed pitcher Joseph Dzierwa earlier this week, it appears as if head coach Tim Corbin and Co. will remain aggressive in attacking the portal for more talent.