How SEC’s Greatness Blurs Lines of Contender vs. Pretender

In the nation’s best conference, Vanderbilt has shined against some and struggled against the best.

Vanderbilt Commodores RJ Hamilton (2) slides safely into second base for a steal against the Air Force Falcons at Hawkins Field in Nashville, Tenn., Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. The Commodores beat the Falcons 3-1. | Denny Simmons / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

During last weekend’s series against Oklahoma, the broadcast announcers said something that has stuck with me and I think it perfectly describes Vanderbilt’s season so far.

“This league will make you look great. This league will also make you look bad.”

More than half of the conference’s teams are ranked, including six of the top 10, and some NCAA Tournament predictions have up to 13 SEC teams making the tournament. It’s become almost too cliché to point out how every weekend series is against a good-to-great baseball team (well, unless it’s Missouri), but it’s true.

So, when a team wins, they look good, and thoughts of bigger things begin to creep in. But when a team loses, the doom-and-gloom creeps in. Vanderbilt is no different.

The Commodores have posted an 8-7 record in SEC play, so far, and that’s only good enough to be the No. 9 seed in the SEC Baseball Championship tournament. Breaking that record down, the Commodores have played three ranked SEC teams and two unranked teams.

Against those unranked teams (Texas A&M and Florida), Vanderbilt is a perfect 6-0. The pitching was stellar, the fielding was nearly flawless (nobody’s perfect), and the batters produced timely hitting through a mix of small ball and home runs.

In those games, Vanderbilt looked great.

Against the ranked SEC teams (No. 2 Arkansas, No. 8 [but No. 25 at the time] Auburn and No. 18 Oklahoma), Vanderbilt is just 2-7. The Auburn series was close, with just five runs being the difference in the Commodores’ two losses.

Arkansas, though, swept Vanderbilt at home and the Sooners dominated the Commodores in the first two games of their series before the Commodores came back strong in the series finale to get a win.

In those games, Vanderbilt has looked somewhere between mediocre to bad.

So, how should Vanderbilt fans feel headed into this weekend’s series against Georgia, who just took 2-of-3 games from Arkansas? Based on that 2-7 record against ranked SEC teams, they couldn’t be blamed for not feeling great.

But they play the games for a reason, right? And it’s not a stretch to envision a way Vanderbilt wins two games this weekend. If Texas A&M can win two against then-No. 1 Tennessee, anything is possible.