2015 Vanderbilt Commodores baseball team

In 2014, the Commodores finished the season 3rd in the SEC's Eastern Division with a record of 47–19, 17–13 in conference play. They qualified for the 2014 Southeastern Conference Baseball Tournament and were eliminated in the second round. They qualified for the 2014 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament, and were selected to host the Nashville Regional, which included Oregon, Clemson, and Xavier. The Commodores won their first three games of the regional, defeating Xavier by a score of 11–0, Oregon by a score of 7–2, and Oregon again, this time, 3–2, to advance to the Super Regional, of which they were hosts. In their first game against Stanford, the Commodores won 11–6, before dropping the second game, 4–5. In game three, Vanderbilt won, 12–5, to advance to the College World Series.

In the College World Series, Vanderbilt defeated Louisville and UC Irvine to advance to the semifinals and play Texas. In the first match-up with the Longhorns, the Commodores dropped their first game of the College World Series, losing 0–4. In the second game, the Commodores won 4–3 in ten innings, advancing to the College World Series finals to play Virginia.

Vanderbilt opened the finals against Virginia, the #3 national seed in the tournament, with a 9–8 victory. The Commodores proceeded to drop the second game, 2–7, before winning game three, 3–2. Vanderbilt were crowned national champions, their first championship in program history.

After a slow start, the Commodores easily qualified for the 2015 Southeastern Conference tournament, where they finished second to the Florida Gators. They then played host to the 2015 NCAA Nashville Regional, where they defeated Lipscomb University, The University of Indiana and Radford University, the last opponent by a record-tying shutout score of 21-0. The Commodores then faced the University of Illinois in the NCAA Superegional, defeating them in a two-game sweep and advancing to the College World Series.

In 65 games in his junior year for the team, Rhett Wiseman hit .318/.419/.566 with 66 runs (2nd in the Southeastern Conference), 39 walks (tied for 6th), and 14 home runs (tied for 6th).[1][2] He was named an All-American.[3]

In their opening-round game in the 2015 College World Series, Vanderbilt defeated Cal State Fullerton, 4–3, on a walkoff home run in the bottom of the ninth in a game that had been suspended due to rain the night before, advancing into the winners' bracket. In their second-round game, Vanderbilt defeated the number 7 national seed TCU, 1–0. Zander Wiel hit a home run in the 7th inning to score the lone run of the game and break up a no-hitter.

Behind an offensive outburst and dominating performance behind the arm of Walker Buehler, the Commodores beat TCU 7–1 to advance to their second straight College World Series Championship Series. Commodores outfielder Rhett Wiseman was hit in his neck by an 89 mph fastball while batting during the game, and was hit so hard it left a red mark that even showed the outlines of the baseball's laces on his neck. He stayed in the game (telling their coach "it's the College World Series, baby. You're not taking me out of this game"). Wiseman went on to hit a home run innings later.[4][5]

In game 1 of the championship series Vanderbilt defeated Virginia 5–1 thanks to an outing by Carson Fulmer. Virginia held Vanderbilt scoreless (3-0) for just the second time all year, forcing a winner-take-all third game for the national championship. The Cavaliers beat Vanderbilt 4–2 to win their first baseball national championship in program history.

All rankings from Collegiate Baseball.

^ Collegiate Baseball ranks 40 teams in their preseason poll, but only ranks 30 teams weekly during the season.
† NCBWA ranks 35 teams in their preseason poll, but only ranks 30 teams weekly during the season.
* New poll was not released for this week so for comparison purposes the previous week's ranking is inserted in this week's slot.

Carson Fulmer

• Louisville Slugger Pre-season First team All-American[7]
• Perfect Game USA Pre-season First team All-American[8]
• Baseball America Pre-season First team All-American[9]
• SEC Pitcher of the Year
• Won SEC Pitching Triple Crown (Wins, ERA, and Strikeouts)
• Collegiate Baseball First team All-American
• First team All-SEC
• SEC All-Defensive Team
• Golden Spikes Finalist
• Nashville NCAA Regional All-Tournament

Walker Buehler

• Louisville Slugger Pre-season First team All-American
• Perfect Game USA Pre-season First team All-American[8]
• Baseball America Pre-season First team All-American[9]

Dansby Swanson

• Louisville Slugger Pre-season First team All-American
• Perfect Game USA Pre-season First team All-American[8]
• Baseball America Pre-season first-team All-American[9]
• College Baseball second-team All-American
• Second Team All-SEC
• Golden Spikes finalist
• SEC All-Tournament
• MVP of the Nashville NCAA Regional

Zander Wiel

• SEC All-Tournament
• Nashville NCAA Regional All-Tournament

Rhett Wiseman

• Nashville NCAA Regional All-Tournament

Bryan Reynolds

• Louisville Slugger Pre-season Third team All-American
• Perfect Game USA Pre-season Second team All-American[8]
• SEC All-Tournament
• Nashville NCAA Regional All-Tournament

Ro Coleman

• Nashville NCAA Regional All-Tournament

Jeren Kendall

• Freshman All-SEC
• Nashville NCAA Regional All-Tournament

Will Toffey

• Freshman All-SEC

Kyle Wright

• Freshman All-SEC