After the Vanderbilt Commodores eliminated the Tennessee Vols from the SEC Tournament last month, Vandy infielder Riley Nelson made a comment about the UT baseball program.
He expressed to reporters how “awesome” it was to defeat the Volunteers in the tournament and advised recruits to pick Vanderbilt over Tennessee if they are being courted by both teams.
“It’s awesome,” Nelson stated. “We don’t like those guys, and they don’t like us. I think this is the best rivalry in college baseball right now. If you’re a young player being recruited by both schools, you probably know which one to choose.”
However, Nelson’s remarks didn’t age well after Vanderbilt was eliminated from the Nashville Regional on Sunday by Wright State. In fact, the Commodores didn’t even make it to the Nashville Regional final and became the first No. 1 overall seed since 1999 to fail to reach their Regional final.
THE FINAL OUT. 👀@WSURaidergang eliminates (1) Vanderbilt to advance to the Regional Final!#RoadToOmaha x 🎥 ESPN+ / @WSURaidergang pic.twitter.com/TC5iTCFD0T
— NCAA Baseball (@NCAABaseball) June 1, 2025
Tennessee, on the other hand, pulled off an exciting victory against Wake Forest on Monday night in the Knoxville Regional final, securing their spot in the Super Regional where they’ll face the Arkansas Razorbacks in Fayetteville.
If high school recruits and transfers were paying attention to the Regional games, they likely saw the defending national champions, Tennessee, playing with enthusiasm and energy as they reached the program’s fifth consecutive Super Regional. Meanwhile, they probably also noted that Vanderbilt’s season has come to an end.
It’s not hard to see which program appears more appealing to high school recruits and transfers right now, and it definitely isn’t Vanderbilt.
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