Column: Vanderbilt baseball takes its pain and looks to use it to its advantage in 2026
NASHVILLE—-Walk around Hawkins Field in the early afternoon nowadays and you’re likely to see a program that’s stripped it down to the basics.
No logos on training uniforms or hats. No access to the locker room, these guys can change in the press box. That’s how Vanderbilt baseball coach Tim Corbin operates this time of year, everyone has to earn everything.
Want to play? Want to represent this brand? Well, you better handle your business in the classroom and on the field.
Corbin has rolled this way for more years than most of his players likely remember, he believes in it because of all those who have successfully come and gone. Some won national titles, some never made it out of a regional. All of them can reflect on how privileged they’ve been, though.
“It’s just trying to understand how to rent what you have first before you own it,” Corbin said. “Every young guy that comes out of this program says ‘Corbs, just continue to do that because it instills gratefulness into the kids.’ That’s just something we’ve done.”
Tim Corbin is making Vanderbilt’s players earn the Vanderbilt logo.
— Joey Dwyer (@joey_dwy) September 16, 2025
No logo on training shirts or hats. pic.twitter.com/S0k8yzP92V
Perhaps without that context, Corbin’s efforts to strip this thing down to the studs could be viewed as a drastic effort to change his program's culture after its fourth-consecutive regional exit. Corbin is sticking to his guns, though.
Perhaps–out of neccessity–he’s had to evolve in his stance on the transfer portal and player compensation, but Corbin isn’t changing what he’s about. Vanderbilt’s regional exit–which was sealed with a loss to Wright State–juxtaposes the idea that what Corbin did last season was more effective than in past years.
The emotions that flowed in the third-base dugout on that summer day at Hawkins Field indicated that Corbin is on to something. By the time that Vanderbilt team had left the NCAA Tournament field, it had already deeply bonded, it had already won a championship together, it had already proven that Corbin’s ways can likely still work in an era that some believed had passed him by.
“Unfortunate the way it ended, nobody wanted it to end like that,” Vanderbilt utility man Braden Holcomb said. “But, it still was an amazing team. What we accomplished, you can’t really look past that. I mean, No. 1 seed, the record we had in the SEC, we were SEC Champions. It was still a great year, just unfortunate the way it ended.”
The visible pain that was inflicted on Corbin’s team that day indicated the belief it had that it had more ahead of it than it. His postgame remarks lended themselves to the idea that he believed the same thing.
Corbin will never get the benefit of knowing what could’ve been had his offense come through in that regional or if he had managed swingman Connor Fennell differently down the stretch. All he can do now is acknowledge what that group did and move on.
“I felt like we did a good job of getting to that point of the season and playing well,” Corbin said as he reflected on Tuesday afternoon. “I thought we were dangerous going into the postseason, so I felt good about their accomplishments. Everyone wants to go a little bit further, there’s only one team that wins it. But, I did enjoy that team.”
The subject of Vanderbilt’s Jun. 1 exit doesn’t appear to be as sore as it once was, but this Vanderbilt team–which is made up of a significant number of returners from that group–can’t forget about it.
Nor should they.
When a program like Vanderbilt’s dips below the standard, it can’t just move forward as if nothing ever happened. That would be a malpractice of pushing down emotion. This Vanderbilt team is separate from the last one, but it’s not forgetting its past or writing off the idea that the pain it experienced can propel it to future performance.
“That stings,” Fennell said. “Nobody wanted the season to end like that and none of us were expecting that, but I think it definitely sets a little fuel to the fire for this year and gets us ready for this upcoming year.”
As Vanderbilt’s players go through each day and work to earn the Vanderbilt logo, they look to do so with an extra degree of intensity. The same theory could hold as they have to get through a chilly midweek game in February.
Perhaps the sting that Fennell refers to could make a difference when Vanderbilt gets back to a regional, as well.
“I think it will definitely give us a little bit of motivation,” Holcomb said. “The returners who experienced it, maybe it’ll hopefully give us a little boost of hunger.”
_(1)-b3e453dfe426b2dd4b83a12540ebdb37.jpeg "Joey Dwyer")
Joey Dwyer is the lead writer on Vanderbilt Commodores On SI. He found his first love in college sports at nearby Lipscomb University and decided to make a career of telling its best stories. He got his start doing a Notre Dame basketball podcast from his basement as a 14-year-old during COVID and has since aimed to make that 14-year-old proud. Dwyer has covered Vanderbilt sports for three years and previously worked for 247 Sports and Rivals. He contributes to Seth Davis' Hoops HQ, Southeastern 16 and Mainstreet Nashville.
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