Vanderbilt Commodores Baseball Star Ranked Among Country’s Best Juniors
The Vanderbilt Commodores continue to be a big part of Perfect Game’s class rankings leading up to the 2025 college baseball season.
RJ Austin, a middle infielder for the Commodores, was ranked No. 24 among the Top 75 juniors in the country by the prep and college baseball site.
This comes after two teammates earned Top 25 class rankings earlier this week.
Shortstop Jonathan Vastine was named the No. 1 senior in the country by the site, while left-hander Ethan McElvain was ranked No. 24 among all sophomores.
Like Vastine, Austin is MLB Draft eligible after this season, but he has another year of college eligibility if he wants to play one more year or is unhappy with where he is selected.
Austin is ranked No. 79 among the Top 100 draft prospects by MLB.com. Scouts grade him as an above-average runner, fielder and hitter who has the versatility to play all three outfield positions.
Austin’s second season in Nashville saw him make the Golden Spikes Award midseason watch list and slash .335/.402/.471 with five home runs and 54 RBI. Notably, he stole 28 bases, up from four his freshman season.
He saved some of his best games at the plate against No. 1 Tennessee, as he went 3-for-5 with a double against the Volunteers in the SEC Tournament, which was preceded by a 2-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI in their last regular-season matchup.
He made waves as a freshman in 2024, as he was named the MVP at the SEC Tournament, along with all-tournament selection. For the campaign he slashed .257/.351/.390 with seven home runs and 43 RBI.
Earlier this week, Perfect Game released its preseason Top 25 rankings, and the site placed the Commodores at No. 15. Last year was a somewhat disappointing year for Vanderbilt, as it went 38-23 overall and a 13-17 record in SEC action.
The Commodores got three games deep into the SEC Tournament before losing to Tennessee and being eliminated. Vandy then lost both of its games in the Clemson regional.
Vanderbilt is a two-time national champion, having claimed the Men’s College World Series in both 2014 and 2019. The Commodores were also runners-up in 2015 and 2021 and have been to Omaha five times since 2011.
Vanderbilt’s first regular season games will come at the MLB Desert Invitational in Phoenix from Feb. 14-16. The Commodores’ home opener is against Air Force on Feb. 18.
