Vanderbilt Baseball Will Get Two Impact Pieces Back Who Were Missing Last Season

With these two players back for Vanderbilt, that should help them get back to the top of the sport.

Vanderbilt batter Chris Maldonado points to the dugout after singling home a run against Florida Saturday, May 27, 2023, at the Hoover Met in the semifinal round. / Gary Cosby Jr.-Tuscaloosa News / USA TODAY NETWORK

It's been a while since Vanderbilt was viewed as the top baseball program in the sport.

Since their last College World Series title in 2019, they have been surpassed by multiple schools in the SEC, let alone around the country.

The Commodores are trying to change that, and head coach Tim Corbin made some changes to his staff by bringing in two new members; Jayson King to be the hitting coach and Ty Blankmeyer to be an assistant.

While that could pay off in the future, Vanderbilt would love to compete in 2025.

Right now, they are viewed as one of the best teams heading into the upcoming season, but they are nowhere near where they would like to be compared to how they were routinely seen in the past.

One thing that will help the Commodores prove doubters wrong is getting two of their best players back who were injured last year.

According to Chris Lee of 247Sports, standout Chris Maldonado is expected to be back after getting hurt in the first week of the 2024 season which caused him to miss the rest of the campaign. Sawyer Hawks will also be back after being limited to just six innings pitched.

This is huge for Vanderbilt.

Maldonado was one of the team's best hitters during his freshman year in 2023, slashing .310/.411/.542 with eight homers, 20 extra-base hits and 32 RBI. He also drew 20 walks and struck out just 37 times across his 187 plate appearances, all elite marks for someone his age at the time.

They missed that production in 2024, and with him back in the mix, the offense should be improved.

Similarly, Hawks, who transferred from Air Force, was a key cog missing since he was expected to deliver similar numbers to when he had a 2.84 ERA and eight saves across 50.2 innings pitched with 70 strikeouts in 2023.

He'll be a huge part of the bullpen for the Commodores if he can stay healthy.

With these two players returning for Vanderbilt, that should give them a better chance of getting back into contention for the program's third-ever national championship.