Vanderbilt Commodores

Former Vanderbilt Baseball Players Make MLB Opening Day Rosters: The Anchor, March 28, 2025

Your daily briefing on what's going on with Vanderbilt Athletics.

Taylor Hodges

St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Sonny Gray (54) pitches against the Minnesota Twins during the fourth inning at Busch Stadium.
St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Sonny Gray (54) pitches against the Minnesota Twins during the fourth inning at Busch Stadium. / Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

MLB officially began its 2025 season yesterday and Vanderbilt was well-represented on the opening day rosters.

Eleven former Commodores were included on nine of MLB’s opening day rosters, including a pair of pitchers in the same starting rotation. Here’s the full list of former Vanderbilt players on MLB rosters:

  • JJ Bleday, Athletics
  • Walker Buehler, Boston Red Sox
  • Tyler Ferguson, Athletics
  • Sonny Gray, St. Louis Cardinals
  • Jack Leiter, Texas Rangers
  • Bryan Reynolds, Pittsburgh Pirates
  • Kumar Rocker, Texas Rangers
  • Collin Snider, Seattle Mariners
  • Dansby Swanson, Chicago Cubs
  • Kyle Wright, Kansas City Royals
  • Mike Yastrzemski, San Francisco Giants

Leither and Rucker both made the Rangers’ opening day starting rotation and Leiter is scheduled to make his first start of the season on Friday against the Boston Red Sox (a day before Buehler takes the mound for Boston, which would’ve been cool to watch). Rocker will make his debut on Monday at Cincinnati.

Today’s Commodores Schedule

Baseball: No. 2 Arkansas at No. 14 Vanderbilt, 7 p.m., SEC Network

Women’s Tennis: Vanderbilt at No. 9 LSU, 2 p.m.

Women’s Track Field: Vanderbilt at Bobcat Invitational (San Marcos, Texas), Texas Relays (Austin, Texas), Raleigh Relays (Raleigh, N.C.)

Yesterday’s Commodores Results

Men’s Tennis: Vanderbilt at Georgia, 5 p.m.

Women’s Track Field: Vanderbilt at Bobcat Invitational (San Marcos, Texas) and Texas Relays (Austin, Texas)

Did You Notice?

  • Complimentary tickets for Vanderbilt’s 2025 Black and Gold Spring Game are now available here. The game is scheduled for 1 p.m., April 12 at FirstBank Stadium. The game will not be televised or streamed but will air on 102.5 The Game.

Countdown to Vanderbilt’s 2025 Football Season Opener

155 days

Commodores Quote of the Day

"We realize now that [Roy] Skinner is a better coach than we thought he was.”

- Jan Van Breda Kolff

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Taylor Hodges
TAYLOR HODGES

Taylor Hodges is a staff writer for Vanderbilt Commodores On SI covering all-things Vanderbilt. Taylor brings more than a decade’s worth of award-winning sports writing, photography and video experience covering every level of sports — from Little League baseball to professional sports and other sports like hunting and fishing. Taylor is fueled by his lifelong passion for sports that began the same day Kirk Gibson hit his legendary World Series walk-off home run, Arkansas beat Texas in Austin and No. 4 Notre Dame beat No. 1 Miami in the Catholics vs. Convicts game.

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