Why Vanderbilt Baseball Is Working To Embrace a Pressure-Free Mindset In SEC Tournament
HOOVER—Tim Corbin took a second to stare through the ground and collect himself for a second as he processed what he’d just heard. Corbin was working to internalize the jarring reality that somewhere along the line, a number of Vanderbilt players had begun to feel the weight of its 19-season regional streak.
After a pause, Corbin said that he hated that Vanderbilt shortstop Ryker Waite said that he and a number of his teammates are feeling the pressure to make sure the streak doesn’t end. Corbin declared that regardless of what happens the rest of the way, this group isn’t failing Vanderbilt baseball and its history.
Waite’s comments were a reminder to Corbin that he needed to be mindful of how he was approaching this, though.
“I mean obviously, yeah there is [pressure],” Waite said. “But we’re just trying to win one game at a time and we want to do this for Corbs and do this for the program. He puts so much into this. He’s the best coach of all time and I just love playing for him and we don’t want to be done.”
Corbin wanted to clarify after Vanderbilt’s Tuesday win over Kentucky in the SEC Tournament that he wasn’t disappointed in Watie as much as he was worried about the impact that was having on his team as its head coach. Corbin said Saturday that he wished he could just let his team operate independently of him, although he acknowledged that he doesn’t get paid to do that. Waite feeling the way he did sat with Corbin beyond his Saturday press conference, though.
“It’s almost like you’re a parent where you're thinking you're applying too much pressure to your kids, and I didn't want him to feel that–or the team,” Corbin said. “I just didn't want them to feel that way.”
Corbin made his remarks out of a care for his group, but also in a strategic move that could help his Vanderbilt team to propel itself forward as its back sits firmly against the wall in Hoover. If Vanderbilt lost on Tuesday–and if it loses Wednesday–that would be its final game of the season and its NCAA Tournament streak would have ended.
It didn’t, though. Tuesday felt different than a number of Vanderbilt’s previous high-stakes games. Corbin recalls his team pressing in its series loss to Missouri and attributes it partly to it losing in Columbia. This outing felt different, though.
“It’s so fun to be here,” Vanderbilt designated hitter Colin Barczi said. “We obviously really pride ourselves on taking the SEC tournament super seriously. So, we're always giving our best foot here. And like I said, yeah, it's just fun to be here, to play out on this field. It's just a great experience and we’re all grateful for it and the show when we play.”
If Vanderbilt considered the big picture and what making a run here in Hoover could’ve required of it, it would’ve been demoralized by the time it was down 4-1 in the fourth inning of Tuesday’s game and Connor Fennell was close to exiting it. Instead, though, it came back to win and kept its bullpen intact while doing so.
Vanderbilt never appeared to panic. It never appeared to think that the moment in which it faced on Tuesday was big enough to rattle it. It appeared as if the streak wasn’t, either. The reality that this Vanderbilt team is playing to avoid being labeled the least successful team in the past 20 years within this program is real, but it never appeared to bear that weight.
Corbin’s mission between his Saturday media availability and first pitch of Vanderbilt’s Tuesday opener to the SEC tournament was to make sure that was the case. He knew he couldn’t ignore the big picture at play here anymore.
“It’s the elephant in the room, right?” Corbin said. “You know that they’re trying to play for Vanderbilt and try to do something and what I really asked them to do was get away from that and remove that from it. I said ‘if they want to do something for the coaches and do something for themselves, then you can’t carry the program.’ All you can do is just play the game and enjoy what you’re doing. They’ve had a lot of fun.”
Corbin admits that it’s easy to say after a win, but he declared Tuesday that he felt his group is in a good place mentally as it works to do enough in Hoover to find its way into the NCAA Tournament. That doesn’t mean everything at this stage, but it means that he clearly said something that hit home for this Vanderbilt team.
All he can ask is that they continue to internalize that as they look to take advantage of their final opportunity to work their way into the NCAA Tournament.
Follow us onTwitter/X,Facebook,YouTube,Instagram,ThreadsandBlue Skyfor the latest news.
Add us as a preferred source on Google_(1)-b3e453dfe426b2dd4b83a12540ebdb37.jpeg "Joey Dwyer")
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.
Follow joey_dwy