The Starting Lineup- 01/29/2026

It is 10:00 AM Central time, proving any expectation you may have of this daily blog series to have a set time to be false.  On day 3, in an effort to give myself some sort of organization, I believe I am going to start writing about some of my favorite College World Series memories, even if fractured.  Each day will focus on one event for the time being, unless something crazy happens in the college baseball world that requires my immediate blogging.

Today’s topic: 2014 Vanderbilt.  

I was roughly 16 when the Commodores reached Omaha in 2014, as I will get in to in later editions of these productions, I had attached myself to certain teams over the years but the field in 2014 lacked any of them.  I found myself interested in Vanderbilt due to their SEC background while simultaneously being the underdog.  It’s absolutely crazy to look back at Tim Corbin’s Vanderbilt as the spunky, overlooked, underdog but that’s how they were perceived, at least by me, in 2014.  

As part of this, I am not going to look at rosters, schedules or any sort of resource outside of my brain.  I want this to be an exercise in memory, as opposed to some sort of research paper.  I remember being excited about the prowess of Tyler Beede, he was the Friday night guy, at least in Omaha and leading up.  Beede was cool to me as I seeked autographs and a chance to learn of my new favorite team, I have since enjoyed Twitter interactions with he and his dad.  I also enjoyed watching Carson Fulmer on the mound, a 1-2 punch in Beede and Fulmer that in hindsight was truly dynamic.  The Commodores also had a fun infielder by the name of Dansby Swanson, though it was Rhett Wiseman who I found to be my favorite member of the lineup. 

If you look hard enough online, you can find an article in the Tennesseean regarding my Vanderbilt fanhood written by Adam Sparks in either 2014 or 2015.  Mr. Sparks certainly got an earful of me after the fact as I felt his press credentials granted him way more powers than they do.  I haven’t seen Adam since, but I know our paths will cross some day and I will feel obligated to apologize for my hounding of him for tickets and access he didn’t have.  

Anyway, the Commodores didn’t just draw me in.  See, I don’t know if non-locals realize just how much impact the likable underdog has on the development of Omaha youth.  It was not uncommon for my middle school and high school peers to feature South Carolina, Vanderbilt and Coastal Carolina gear in their closets.  Omaha loves the underdog, but even more so they love a likable winner that breaks up the monotony of blue blood success.  Again, the concept of Vanderbilt being the opposite of monotony is hilarious now, but everyone has to start somewhere.

Fun fact, one of the schools I selected to send my ACT results to was Vanderbilt.  I had no idea of their academic prowess until my mom clued me in a short time later.  They were probably like “who is this moron from Nebraska that thought we would be impressed with math and science deficiencies”.  I never heard back. 

Vanderbilt made themselves even more likable when players like Ro Coleman and members of the bullpen added choreography to stretches between innings.  Each inning, fans would watch as the Commodores who didn’t have as big of a role organize routines like faux-football plays that ended with a baseball being thrown in the stands.  All of the sudden, eyes had to be on the field at all times… and the eyes were on Vanderbilt.  They became thrilling to watch even when the ball wasn’t in play and their ability to win games in exciting fashion made them a fan-favorite.  This was a short-lived stint before Corin and the ‘dores became an Omaha staple and something closer to the New York Yankees rather than a more-talented Stony Brook, UCSB or Kent State.  

This really didn’t dive much into my specific memories, like Tyler Coleman walking off Texas to send Vanderbilt to the national championship.  But, I think it’s important to identify where they started, in their second trip to Omaha after opening up TD Ameritrade Park in 2011.