Vanderbilt Commodores

Unsurprisingly, Vanderbilt Falls in Latest Top 25 Rankings

Find out how far the Commodores fell after a 1-3 week that included a loss to Middle Tennessee and series loss to Ole Miss.
Taylor Hodges|
Vanderbilt pitcher Michael Wagner lets the ball fly against an Belmont batter during the Commodores 4-1 victory at their Hawkins Field before a crowd of 1,546 on April 19, 2005.
Vanderbilt pitcher Michael Wagner lets the ball fly against an Belmont batter during the Commodores 4-1 victory at their Hawkins Field before a crowd of 1,546 on April 19, 2005. | Eric Parsons / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

It wasn’t a question of “if” Vanderbilt would fall backwards in the latest top 25 rankings. Instead, the question was how far the Commodores would fall.

Turns out not very far.

The Commodores (31-12, 12-9 SEC) managed to stay in the top 16 of both D1Baseball and Baseball America’s latest top 25 rankings. They fell six spots in both the D1Baseball poll (to No. 15) and Baseball America (to No. 14). Those rankings would make Vanderbilt one of the 16 teams to host a NCAA Regional.

Considering the huge jump in the rankings Vanderbilt got after sweeping Georgia, a six-spot fall isn’t that bad. It probably would’ve been a bigger fall if not for Connor Fennell’s dominant Sunday performance (and Vanderbilt’s bats finally coming to life) avoided a sweep at the hands of Ole Miss.

Here’s what Baseball America had to say about the Commodores:

“It was a week to forget for Vanderbilt, which followed up its upset loss to Middle Tennessee with a series loss at then-No. 22 Ole Miss. Between Friday and Saturday, the Commodores’ bats were able to muster just four runs on 10 total hits before salvaging the series with a commanding 13-0 win. In Sunday’s finale, all nine Vanderbilt starters registered at least one hit and seven different drove in at least one run. Connor Fennell was undoubtedly their player of the weekend after striking out a season-high 12 across seven shutout innings. Vanderbilt returns home this week where it will take on Indiana State and No. 23 Alabama.”

Here are the complete top 25 rankings released Monday morning:

D1 Baseball Top 25 Rankings

  1. Texas (37-5)
  2. LSU (36-9)
  3. Clemson (36-10)
  4. North Carolina (33-10)
  5. Florida State (31-9)
  6. Oregon (30-12)
  7. Oregon State (32-10)
  8. UC Irvine (32-9)
  9. Georgia (36-11)
  10. Auburn (30-14)
  11. Arkansas (37-9)
  12. Tennessee (35-9)
  13. NC State (30-12)
  14. UCLA (32-11)
  15. Vanderbilt (31-12)
  16. West Virginia (37-5)
  17. Louisville (30-13)
  18. Alabama (35-10)
  19. Coastal Carolina (33-11)
  20. Troy (31-13)
  21. Oklahoma (30-13)
  22. Southern Miss (31-13)
  23. Ole Miss (31-13)
  24. Arizona (30-13)
  25. Kansas (35-10)

Baseball America Top 25 Rankings

  1. Texas (37-5)
  2. LSU (36-9)
  3. North Carolina (33-10)
  4. Georgia (35-11)
  5. Auburn (30-14)
  6. Clemson (36-10)
  7. Tennessee (35-9)
  8. West Virginia (37-5)
  9. UC Irvine (32-9)
  10. Arkansas (37-9)
  11. Coastal Carolina (33-11)
  12. Oregon (30-12)
  13. Ole Miss (31-13)
  14. Vanderbilt (31-13)
  15. Troy (31-13)
  16. Oregon State (32-10)
  17. Louisville (30-13)
  18. NC State (30-12)
  19. Florida State (31-9)
  20. UCLA (32-11)
  21. Oklahoma (30-13)
  22. TCU (31-13)
  23. Alabama (35-10)
  24. Kansas (35-10)
  25. Dallas Baptist (30-13)

Vanderbilt Commodores On SI:

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Taylor Hodges
TAYLOR HODGES

Award-winning sports editor, writer, columnist, and photographer with 15 years’ experience offering his opinion and insight about the sports world in Mississippi and Texas, but he was taken to Razorback pep rallies at Billy Bob's Texas in Fort Worth before he could walk. Taylor has covered all levels of sports, from small high schools in the Mississippi Delta to NFL games. Follow Taylor on Twitter and Facebook.

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