How to Watch: Tennessee vs. Vanderbilt, SEC Tournament Second Round

The Commodores and Volunteers renew their rivalry one more time this season in Saturday's SEC Baseball Tournament semifinal game.

Vanderbilt pitcher JD Thompson throws a pitch during Thursday's SEC Tournament quarterfinal game against Tennessee. | Vanderbilt Athletics

Vanderbilt’s history of success prevents it from being declared a Cinderella team or any other fairly tale protagonist, but if college baseball had a script writer and needed an antagonist for Vanderbilt’s season, there’s really only one choice.

And it’s the team the Commodores will face in Saturday’s semifinal game of the SEC Tournament, the Tennessee Volunteers.

The Volunteers advanced to the semifinal game with a 7-5 win against No. 1-seed Texas and Vanderbilt defeated Oklahoma, 6-1 later in the day, setting up a rivalry showdown in Hoover, Ala.

Vanderbilt won the SEC series against its instate rival this season by scores of 10-6, 7-5 and a 3-2 loss. That loss came with the nation’s strikeout leader, Liam Doyle, on the mound, but won’t be something to concern the Commodores this time since Doyle started Wednesday’s second round game.

With Friday off for both Vanderbilt and Tennessee, the two teams should have their entire bullpens available. And in tournament baseball, pitching strategies can make or break a team.

Here are the complete tv listings and other broadcast information for Saturday’s semifinal SEC Tournament game:

How to Watch: No. 8 Tennessee vs. No. 4 Vanderbilt

Who: Tennessee Volunteers (38-18, 16-14 SEC) vs. Vanderbilt Commodores (40-16, 19-11 SEC)

When: Noon, Saturday

Where: Hoover Metropolitan Stadium; Hoover, Ala.

TV: SEC Network

Radio: Live Radio

Stats: Live Stats

Series: Tennessee leads all-time series 188-164-2

Last Meeting: Vanderbilt 7, Tennessee 5 (May 11, 2025)

Last time out, Commodores: def. Oklahoma

Last time out, Volunteers: def. Texas 7-5 (12 innings)