HOOVER, Ala. – Freshman third baseman Brodie Johnston and right-hander Austin Nye delivered on the biggest stage, helping the Vanderbilt Commodores secure a 3-2 win over the Ole Miss Rebels and claim the program’s fifth Southeastern Conference Tournament title Sunday in front of 13,518 fans at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium.
With the win, Vanderbilt clinched an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
VANDERBILT BRINGS HOME ANOTHER SEC TOURNAMENT TITLE 🏆
It's the FIFTH conference championship in @VandyBoys history! pic.twitter.com/GLWhFXvLHE
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) May 25, 2025
Vanderbilt head coach Tim Corbin became the first in SEC history to win 50 conference tournament games.
GOT COACH WITH THE BATH 👏
Tim Corbin is the first head coach to win 50 SEC tournament games 👏⚓️ @VandyBoys pic.twitter.com/5I48KDKDsc
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) May 25, 2025
Vanderbilt’s pitching staff under Corbin featured starter Austin Nye and relievers Miller Green, Luke Guth, Levi Huesman, and Sawyer Hawks. The group combined for nine innings, allowing four hits, two earned runs, six walks, 10 strikeouts, nine flyouts, six groundouts, and turned two double plays.
Guth earned the win after throwing 1.2 innings, allowing no hits or earned runs, with two walks and three strikeouts on 34 pitches, 18 of which were strikes.
Riley Nelson was named MVP of the 2025 SEC Tournament after his three-game performance in Hoover.
Mississippi’s pitching staff, led by head coach Mike Bianco, used starter Walker Hooks and relievers Taylor Rabe and Hudson Calhoun. They combined for eight innings, allowing seven hits, three earned runs, no walks, and five strikeouts.
Mississippi left seven men on base during Sunday’s championship loss.
Game Recap
The Commodores struck early. Johnston cracked a two-run home run over the left-center field wall in the bottom of the first, his 13th of the season, scoring Nelson to give Vanderbilt a 2-0 lead.
BRODIE BARRELS pic.twitter.com/Bu1HSDPSMJ
— Vanderbilt Baseball (@VandyBoys) May 25, 2025
In the top of the fifth, Nye retired designated hitter Campbell Smithwick on a swinging strikeout and catcher Austin Fawley on a popup to first baseman Riley Nelson. Nye then walked Hayden Federico and hit Luke Cheng to put runners on first and second with two outs.
Corbin went to the bullpen for Miller Green. Nye’s final line: 4.2 innings, two hits, one earned run, two walks, five strikeouts, five flyouts, three groundouts, one double play, 76 pitches, 45 strikes.
Austin Nye (Fr. @VandyBoys) excellent feel for the two plane slider. Can throw for strikes and bury for a whiff @ 85. Cruising early on @ 93-96 T97. Flashed CH 83 & CB 77. ‘27 Elig. pic.twitter.com/bzaGz9QtMH
— PG College Baseball (@PGCollegeBall) May 25, 2025
Green gave up an RBI single to left fielder Mitchell Sanford, cutting Vanderbilt’s lead to 2-1.
Corbin made another quick move and called on Guth, who got third baseman Luke Hill to fly out to RJ Austin, ending the inning.
Bianco went to Rabe in the bottom of the fifth to replace Hooks, who threw four innings, allowed two earned runs, struck out three, and tossed 42 pitches—33 for strikes.
Vanderbilt extended the lead to 3-1 when right fielder Jacob Humphrey led off the inning with a solo homer, his fourth of the season.
HUMP DAY pic.twitter.com/8laa4tUewK
— Vanderbilt Baseball (@VandyBoys) May 25, 2025
Corbin trusted his bullpen down the stretch. Hawks entered in the eighth to attempt a six-out save, replacing Huesman.
Ole Miss didn’t score again until the top of the ninth, when center fielder Isaac Humphrey blasted a solo home run, his 11th of the year, to make it 3-2.
Hump cuts the lead to one!#HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/9Fy9jEXkSA
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) May 25, 2025
Hawks then issued a two-out walk to Fawley and was called for a balk, allowing Fawley to move to second. After walking Federico, Ole Miss had runners on first and second with two outs.
But Hawks closed it out, getting pinch hitter Brayden Randle to fly out to center fielder RJ Austin to seal the 3-2 win and SEC title.
Postgame Reactions
Following Vanderbilt’s 3-2 win in the SEC Tournament championship game, head coach Tim Corbin praised both the performance and poise of his team. “More to come, but just reaching an accomplishment that is very special because this is a very demanding league,” Corbin said. He highlighted Vanderbilt’s ability to play clean baseball all week. “This team can defend now with the best of them. We didn’t give anything away all tournament.”
Junior outfielder RJ Austin, who won SEC Tournament MVP honors as a freshman, reflected on the growth of the program and the emergence of the next generation of Commodores. “We’ve got to learn how to play tournament baseball. This was a great start for us,” Austin said. “Seeing the freshmen step up like Austin Nye and Brodie Johnston makes me proud. They’re mature beyond their years.”
Infielder Jonathan Vastine echoed those sentiments, calling the win a major confidence boost. “We knew we had the pieces. Now we’ve got the trophy,” Vastine said. “That kind of confidence can carry us a long way.”
On the other side, Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco commended his squad for its strong showing in Hoover, despite the loss. “I’m really proud of our guys—not just today but for the way we played this week,” Bianco said. “We feel we’re in a good spot heading into next week. Leaving without the trophy stings, but we’ve shown we belong.”
Pitcher Hunter Elliott also spoke positively about the Rebels’ momentum. “We’ve known we’re really good for a while. Now people are seeing it,” Elliott said. “Guys like Hooks and Rabe really stepped up on a big stage.”
Key Takeaways
The Commodores allowed just three runs across their three tournament games, the fewest ever by an SEC Tournament champion. They also became the first team to hold opponents to fewer than five hits in three straight SEC Tournament games. Defensively, they were flawless—becoming just the second SEC champion to commit zero errors during the entire tournament.
The Commodores pitching staff leads the nation in strikeouts per nine innings at 11.9 and ranks fourth in strikeout-to-walk ratio at 3.26.
Notably, Vanderbilt dropped two of three games in the regular season against Ole Miss in Oxford prior to Sunday’s championship rematch.
Vanderbilt is ranked No. 9 in the Top 25 rankings published by D1Baseball.com on May 19. Mississippi is ranked No. 17.
Vanderbilt Tournament Results and Upcoming Schedule
The Rebels will wait to see where they land in the NCAA Tournament on Selection Monday, May 26, at noon EDT on ESPN2.
Vanderbilt was one of eight SEC programs selected to host a 2025 NCAA Regional, joined by Arkansas, Auburn, Georgia, LSU, Ole Miss, Tennessee, and Texas.
🚨 The host sites for the 2025 DI Baseball Regionals 🚨
Host sites are in alphabetical order.#RoadToOmaha pic.twitter.com/pAwaTP0qKk
— NCAA Baseball (@NCAABaseball) May 26, 2025
2025 SEC Baseball Tournament Results
Hoover Metropolitan Stadium, Hoover, Ala.
Tuesday-Sunday, May 20-25
All Game Start Times Are Eastern Daylight Time
*Second Game Of Each Session Will Begin Approximately 30 Minutes After The Conclusion Of First Game
Tuesday, May 20 – First Round
Game 1: No. 9 Alabama 4, No. 16 Missouri 1 – Final
*Game 2: No. 12 Oklahoma 5, No. 13 Kentucky 1 – Final
Game 3: No. 10 Florida 11, No. 15 South Carolina 3 – Final
Wednesday, May 21 – Second Round
Game 4: No. 14 Texas A&M 9, No. 11 Mississippi State 0 – Final – First Round
Game 5: No. 8 Tennessee 15, No. 9 Alabama 10 – Final
*Game 6: No. 12 Oklahoma 3, No. 5 Georgia 2 – Final
Game 7: No. 10 Florida 1, No. 7 Ole Miss 3 – Final
Thursday, May 22 – Quarterfinals
Game 8: No. 14 Texas A&M 3, No. 6 Auburn 2 – Final – Second Round
*Game 9: No. 8 Tennessee 7, No. 1 Texas 5 – F/12
*Game 10: No. 12 Oklahoma 1, No. 4 Vanderbilt 6 – Final
Friday, May 23 – Quarterfinals
Game 11: No. 7 Ole Miss 5, No. 2 Arkansas 2 – Final
*Game 12: No. 14 Texas A&M 3 vs. No. 3 LSU 4 – Final
Saturday, May 24 – Semifinals
Game 13: No. 8 Tennessee 0, No. 4 Vanderbilt 10 – F/7
*Game 14: No. 7 Ole Miss 2, No. 3 LSU 0 – Final
Sunday, May 25 – Championship Game
Game 15: No. 4 Vanderbilt 3, No. 7 Ole Miss 2 – Final
SEC MLBPipeline.com Top 150 Draft Prospects
No. 7 – OF – Jace LaViolette – Texas A&M
No. 8 – RHP – Kyson Witherspoon – Oklahoma
No. 9 – LHP – Kade Anderson – Louisiana State
No. 10 – LHP – Liam Doyle – Tennessee
No. 16 – 2B – Gavin Kilen – Tennessee
No. 20 – OF/C – Ike Irish – Auburn
No. 24 – SS – Wehiwa Aloy – Arkansas
No. 28 – OF – Max Belyeu – Texas
No. 33 – RHP – Riley Quick – Alabama
No. 35 – 1B/3B – Andrew Fischer – Tennessee
No. 36 – OF/3B – Ethan Petry – South Carolina
No. 44 – LHP – Zach Root – Arkansas
No. 54 – SS/3B – Dean Curley – Tennessee
No. 55 – RHP – A.J. Russell – Tennessee
No. 60 – OF – Charles Davalan – Arkansas
No. 66 – 2B – Daniel Dickinson – Louisiana State
No. 69 – RHP – Marcus Phillips – Tennessee
No. 72 – LHP – J.D. Thompson – Vanderbilt
No. 78 – RHP – Chase Shores – Louisiana State
No. 79 – LHP- Jared Spencer – Texas
No. 90 – 1B – Jared Jones – Louisiana State
No. 99 – LHP – Justin Lamkin – Texas A&M
No. 100 – OF – RJ Austin – Vanderbilt
No. 101 – C – Easton Carmichael – Oklahoma
No. 102 – LHP – Pico Kohn – Mississippi State
No. 113 – RHP – Nate Snead – Tennessee
No. 116 – RHP – Mason Morris – Mississippi
No. 117 – SS – Jalin Morris – Texas
No. 123 – OF/1B – Tre Phelps – Georgia
No. 131 – SS – Colby Shelton – Florida
No. 133 – RHP – Malachi Witherspoon – Oklahoma
No. 141 – 3B – Brent Iredale – Arkansas
2025 SEC All-Tournament Team
P: Hunter Elliott, Ole Miss
P: Connor Spencer, Ole Miss
C: Cannon Peebles, Tennessee
DH: Jace LaViolette, Texas A&M
1B: Riley Nelson, Vanderbilt
2B: Judd Utermark, Ole Miss
3B: Brodie Johnston, Vanderbilt
SS: Jaxon Willits, Oklahoma
OF: RJ Austin, Vanderbilt
OF: Hunter Ensley, Tennessee
OF: Richie Bonomolo Jr., Alabama
Most Valuable Player: Brodie Johnston, Vanderbilt
