Photo by David Cohen (BHEphotos)
Nashville, Tenn. – Vanderbilt is set to open fall practice tomorrow at Hawkins Field with 22 returning letterwinners on the roster.
The Commodores hosted a NCAA Regional for the sixth time in school history last season, finishing the year 43-19. Included in the Dores’ 22 returning student-athletes are 10 players that started at least 10 games and six pitchers that appeared in at least 10 games. Juniors Jeren Kendall and Kyle Wright lead the way after starring for Team USA over the summer. Kendall led the Dores in 2016 with a .332 average, 63 runs, eight triples, 59 RBI and 28 stolen bases. After a slow start to the year because of an injury, Wright proved to be Vanderbilt’s steadiest arm as a sophomore. The right-hander went 8-4 with a 3.09 ERA over 16 starts, striking out 107 over 93.1 innings.
Six players on the roster enter their fourth year in the program with Ro Coleman, Jason Delay and Nolan Rogers beginning their senior seasons while Tyler Green, Ryan Johnson and Penn Murfee begin their redshirt junior campaigns. Junior third baseman Will Toffey is back with over 130 career starts under his belt, the most on the team. Three more junior arms join Wright on the pitching staff with Joey Abraham, Matt Ruppenthal and Collin Snider entering their third year in Black & Gold. Ruppenthal and Snider followed solid sophomore campaigns with strong showings in the Cape Cod League over the summer. A strong sophomore class bolsters the VU roster headlined by Freshman All-Americans Ethan Paul and Alonzo Jones. All-SEC Freshman shortstop Connor Kaiser is back after earning Defensive Player of the Year honors in the New England Collegiate Baseball League over the summer. Fellow sophomore Stephen Scott picked up Rookie of the Year accolades in the same summer league after hitting 10 homers during the summer season. Pitchers Maddux Conger, Chandler Day, Matt McGarry and Patrick Raby along with Walker Grisanti and Julian Infante round out the stellar class.
Joining Vanderbilt’s returners is a 12-man recruiting class that includes six pitchers and six position players. The class features three transfers from junior colleges with Justin Wilson, Paxton Stover and Reed Hayes. Position players JJ Bleday, Alex Brewer, Tyler Duvall and Harrison Ray combine with pitchers Drake Fellows, Jackson Gillis, Zachary King, Michael Sandborn and Reid Schaller to complete the Commodores’ recruiting class.
The Commodores’ practice schedule will run Tuesday through Sunday until October 28 when the team’s annual Black & Gold series begins. With Hawkins Field under renovation in left field, the venue will shift to downtown Nashville at First Tennessee Park, home of the Triple-A Nashville Sounds. The Dores will play a three-game series at First Tennessee Park October 28-30. Friday night’s game is set for 6 p.m. with Saturday and Sunday at 1 p.m.
Fans are welcome to attend any of the Commodores’ fall practices at Hawkins Field.
