Tim Corbin is Back For Year 24. He's Still Tim Corbin.

NASHVILLE—When Vanderbilt takes the field in Arlington on Feb. 13, it will make the beginning of year 24 for Vanderbilt coach Tim Corbin. But, Corbin says it doesn’t feel like it’s been this long.

Sure enough, though, the stat is right. Corbin has been around this place and cultivating this environment for longer than most of his players have been alive, but here he is.

Corbin is different than he was when he first moved into his office at this place, but he says he’s still energized like he always has been.

“Just being able to be out here, keep up and adapt,” Corbin said in regard to what excites him. “It goes back to when I first started at Presbyterian College. I don’t think anything has really changed with me with my focus or what I’m looking for once I get out here, now I’m more experienced.”

Corbin is as seasoned as anyone in his profession these days–in terms of years and experiences–but he’s made it clear that he’s looking for more these days. Corbin is enough of a competitor to never appear complacent.

The part of Corbin’s demeanor that’s endeared so much of Vanderbilt’s fanbase to him over the years is his reflectiveness on what his program has accomplished over the years, though. If Thursday’s season-opening media availability indicated anything about Corbin, it’s that he’s right–he hasn’t changed all that much.

Corbin spoke often about the classroom. He refused to make any declarations about his starting lineup. When he was asked about playing time battles at shortstop and in center field, he mentioned that his main evaluation area was “ball security.” As usual, though, most of Corbin’s best answers throughout the availability didn’t have as much to do with baseball as they did life.

Whether he says it or not, Corbin knows that he’s made an impact on a seemingly countless number of players over the years. Corbin doesn’t want to be done, though, and he appears to be open to doing it until he can’t anymore. The Vanderbilt coach appears to be in a position to keep this up down the line.

“In terms of health, if you have your health you have everything,” Corbin said. “At age 64 I’m proud and happy about that. To be out here and just be able to compete with them, talk with them, stay up with them, that’s the key. My age goes up, but that locker room always stays the same—it’s always 18, 19, 20. Even though that margin of difference between me and them, it widens, what I’m trying to do is shrink it in age to a point where I still can do the things they need from a coach, a leader and a mentor.”

The day in which Corbin can’t do what he loves to effectively hasn’t come yet for the Vanderbilt coach, but his competitive fire likely doesn’t allow him to roll over and be okay with the results that this program has endured in recent memory.

Corbin’s Vanderbilt program hasn’t found its way to a Super Regional since 2021 and has encountered a glass ceiling of sorts when it reaches the Regional round. Vanderbilt appeared to be closer to breaking through the glass ceiling it faced than it had been at any point since 2021. It was the No. 1 overall seed, yet its run never became magical. Instead, it was defined by heartbreak.

“You can use experience in the past, but at the same time I can’t allow these guys to think that what happened last year or the year before was, you know, a sticking point for them,” Corbin said. “[It’s not about] Vanderbilt history for them, it’s about their destiny and what they can do and how they can really build the engine of their move.”

By nature, this group’s destiny is Corbin’s as well. If this group has the ability and the mental fortitude to get this program back to the places that Corbin has taken it over the years, it can enhance his legacy. As much as Corbin cares about development and the environment that his program creates, he’d likely be lying if he said those results didn’t bother him.

Even with the results, Corbin doesn’t appear to be all that jaded. He believes in this environment. He believes in what he does for a living. He believes in the mission of this team.

“I haven’t at any point wanted to make a move [to the pros],” Corbin said. “And that’s because I believe in this environment.”