Vanderbilt Baseball's Three Most Likely Juniors To Be Taken In MLB Draft + Honorable Mentions
NASHVILLE---Vanderbilt baseball's season is likely over, and now it has to worry about managing an offseason with a number of draft risks ahead.
Vanderbilt will likely see Mike Mancini and Logan Johnstone--who will graduate--get their names called, and could lose a few other big names in addition to them.
Here's a few likely candidates.
Braden Holcomb
Holcomb had a true breakout offensive season in 2026 while raising his average from .275 in 2025 to .352 this season and going from nine homers to 14 as well as nine doubles to 19. It was the leap that Vanderbilt needed Holcomb to make, and he did it.
As Holcomb stood in the third-base dugout with his arms propped up on the rail and stared out at the field at the Hoover Met in the moments following what was likely Vanderbilt’s season-ending loss to Florida, it appeared as if he knew that it was plausible that this was his final college game.
This place means a lot to Holcomb, and he likely wouldn’t rule out coming back, but he may not have much more that he can prove at this level.
“It's all the reasons you would send a kid to school in hopes that he would gain some of those things that will help him once he leaves here,” Vanderbilt coach Tim Corbin said. “I'm happy for him that he's playing well, and Braden has a way of getting into these Aprils and Mays and really putting it together. He's done that for three consecutive years.”
Holcomb isn’t likely to go in the first few rounds of the draft, but he’s perhaps the most likely Vanderbilt junior to be taken. There’s still some holes in Holcomb’s offensive game, but he improved dramatically as a hitter as a whole, is a versatile defensive piece and has power that makes him an intriguing prospect.
He’ll have an interesting summer ahead.
Connor Fennell
Fennell didn’t have the junior season that he would’ve hoped for, but it appears as if his stock may be high enough for an organization to make it make sense for him to leave anyway.
After a debut season at Vanderbilt in which Fennell posted a 2.53 ERA and 6-0 record, he’s regressed to a 4.96 ERA and a 4-2 mark. Fennell navigated pitch tipping, a few mechanical changes that he needed to make and what he calls the most individual adversity he’s been through at any point in his career.
He believes he’s better off for it, though.
“I've learned how to deal with struggle,” Fennell said. “This is the first year that in competition, I've actually dealt with struggles, dealt with tipping, dealt with pitching mechanics to work on throughout the year. So it's been good to learn myself.”
Fennell isn’t as likely to go high as previous Vanderbilt Friday night guys like JD Thompson, Carter Holton and Bryce Cunningham. His pitchability, body of work and unusual pace makes him an intriguing prospect, though.
Vanderbilt will have to monitor his status all summer.
Colin Barczi
Barczi is an interesting case in that he went for a .917 OPS and perhaps his best offensive season yet and plays a valuable position, but he was draft eligible a season ago and didn’t end up in an organization. Barczi also didn’t play in the field down the stretch of the season and may need shoulder surgery in the offseason if he’s truly going to get back to form.
"I'm getting back and I'm grateful for our training staff and everyone that's helped me get to this point," Barczi said during the SEC Tournament. "There's been ups and downs for sure, obviously with my shoulder. But just doing everything I can to get back and be full health so I can help my team out."
Barczi is an intriguing prospect because of his bat, ability behind the plate and general athleticism, but he hasn’t had a true breakout season offensively. Now, he’s got a decision on his hands in regard to whether to come back for his senior season or not.
Others intriguing cases
Vanderbilt relievers Alex Kranzler, Miller Green, Luke Guth and Brennan Seiber are all draft eligible and have demonstrated enough to get onto MLB radars throughout the last three seasons.
Kranzler, in particular, broke out down the stretch of the 2026 season.
“The big, I guess, difference maker was stop focusing or worrying about stuff in the past, future -- just kind of be where you are and kind of just use that,” Kranzler said. “We have a kind of ongoing joke right now, like, even if I mentioned going out to eat the night before, he'll kind of get on me and say that's the past. So just trying to stay as present as possible has been the big one.”
Green missed significant time at the beginning of the 2026 season and had his worst numbers since arriving on Vanderbilt’s campus in the fall of 2023. He’s an intriguing lefty option that Vanderbilt’s staff has often relied upon since his freshman season, though.
Seiber has been as reliable as they come for this Vanderbilt program since his arrival in that same fall of 2023. He doesn’t have flashy stuff, but he’s eaten more innings than just about anyone in this program since his arrival. Guth has a similar profile in some ways.
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Joey Dwyer is the lead writer on Vanderbilt Commodores On SI. He found his first love in college sports at nearby Lipscomb University and decided to make a career of telling its best stories. He got his start doing a Notre Dame basketball podcast from his basement as a 14-year-old during COVID and has since aimed to make that 14-year-old proud. Dwyer has covered Vanderbilt sports for three years and previously worked for 247 Sports and Rivals. He contributes to Seth Davis' Hoops HQ, Basket Under Review and Mainstreet Nashville.
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