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Vanderbilt

Vanderbilt baseball unveils 2023 SEC Tournament championship rings

Wade-Peeryby:Wade Peery•01/18/24
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(Wade/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

The Vanderbilt Commodores have one of the most storied baseball programs in college baseball. They’ve won two national championships (2019 and 2014). They’ve also made five appearances in the College World Series since 2010. There’s certainly no shortage of hardware in the ‘Dores trophy case and on Thursday evening, they added some more hardware–their 2023 SEC Tournament Championship rings.

The rings are pretty sharp looking. The players/coaches last name is on the side. Then on the inside of the rings, it’s got all the different scores in their march to glory, 6-4 win over Auburn, a 3-6 loss to Florida, a 9-2 win over Alabama, a 11-6 win over Florida, and the 10-4 win over Texas A&M to lift them to the SEC 2023 SEC Tournament Championship.

The Vanderbilt offense carried them to the SEC Tourney crown

Vanderbilt’s offense was strong throughout the entire tournament, collecting an impressive 15 hits in the championship game against Texas A&M, along with five walks. The hit party matched a new SEC Tournament record, as the Commodores logged 10-plus hits in four straight SEC Tournament games on the way to their title win. Their 10-run performance followed their 11-run game versus Florida in the semifinals and marked the 18th double-digit scoring showing of the season (which all resulted in wins).

Vanderbilt freshman second baseman RJ Austin took home the SEC Tournament’s Most Valuable Player Award for his impressive showing in Hoover. Austin ended the week with seven hits and five RBIs, recording two singles, two runs, and two base on balls in the championship game.

Another freshman for Vanderbilt, designated hitter Chris Malanado, also made the SEC Baseball All-Tournament team, recording seven hits of his own throughout tournament play.

Vanderbilt will play 36 home games in their 2024 schedule, including 56 games overall. They’ll start the season with a 10-game home stretch, starting with a three-game series against the Florida Atlantic Owls on Feb. 16-18. The ‘Dores will then host the Dayton Flyers (Feb. 20th) and Eastern Kentucky (Feb. 21), before rolling out the welcome mat for the Gonzaga Bulldogs on Feb. 23-25.

Their 2024 slate features 26 games against teams that were in the 2023 NCAA Tournament, with 11 of those games coming at home. Vanderbilt returns 25 players from last year’s SEC Tournament Championship, including three players that won All-SEC honors, Devin Futrell, Davis Diaz, and R.J. Austin.

For a full look at their 2024 schedule you can find that here.

On3’s Kaiden Smith also contributed to this article.