HOOVER, Ala. — The No. 12 seed Vanderbilt Commodores rallied from a 4-1 fifth-inning deficit to beat the No. 13 seed Kentucky Wildcats 8-5 on Tuesday afternoon at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium, eliminating Kentucky and advancing the defending SEC Tournament champion into a Wednesday second-round matchup with No. 5 Florida. The official attendance was 6,748 on an 87-degree partly cloudy afternoon.
Vanderbilt improved to 33-24 overall and 14-16 in conference play. Kentucky dropped to 31-21 and 13-18 SEC, with the loss ending the Wildcats’ tournament after one game and pushing them into a tense wait for Selection Monday on May 25 — the NCAA Tournament Selection Show airs at 12 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
For Tim Corbin, in his 23rd season at Vanderbilt and now four years removed from the program’s 2019 national title, the win extended Vanderbilt’s recent dominance in Hoover. Corbin has won 11 of his last 13 games at the SEC Tournament. The Commodores will face Florida at 2 p.m. ET Wednesday on the SEC Network.
Brodie Barrels loves Hoover pic.twitter.com/uu2S5DdJwb
— Vanderbilt Baseball (@VandyBoys) May 19, 2026
Johnston leads off, delivers
The story of the game was the move Corbin made before first pitch: shifting third baseman Brodie Johnston to the top of the order. Johnston rewarded the change with three RBI on a 2-for-4 day, including a two-run home run to left in the eighth inning that effectively sealed the win.
“We wanted to shake things up for him, and also put him at the top where he’s done pretty good damage against right-handed pitching, and he’s pretty good with not people on as well,” Corbin said. “We just felt like it was the right move.”
Johnston’s first contribution came in the bottom of the third, an RBI single up the middle that scored Colin Barczi to put Vanderbilt on the board and cut Kentucky’s lead to 2-1.
By that point, Kentucky had already established command of the game. Tyler Bell — the projected first-round draft pick and MLB Pipeline’s No. 23 prospect — set up Kentucky’s first run by leading off the top of the first with a double to right-center. Second baseman Luke Lawrence followed with an RBI single up the middle to make it 1-0.
Bell extended the lead himself in the top of the third with his seventh home run of the season, a solo blast to right field to make it 2-0.
https://x.com/UKBaseball/status/2056822131363606575
Right fielder Carson Hansen made it 3-1 in the top of the fourth with his fourth home run of the year, a solo shot to left. Lawrence added an RBI double to left-center in the top of the fifth, scoring Caeden Cloud to push Kentucky’s lead to 4-1.
The sixth inning
Kentucky starter Jaxon Jelkin had been excellent through five-plus innings. The Houston transfer, back from Tommy John surgery and Kentucky’s second-team All-SEC pick on the mound, sat down the first two Vanderbilt batters in the bottom of the sixth. Then the game changed in roughly seven minutes.
Ryker Waite singled up the middle to score Logan Johnstone and cut the deficit to 4-2. Rustan Rigdon followed with an RBI single up the middle that scored Tommy Goodin to make it 4-3. Barczi singled through the left side to score Waite and tie the game at 4-4. Catcher Korbin Reynolds — the freshman who has played 30 of 31 SEC games behind the plate this season for Vanderbilt — then reached on a throwing error by Cloud at third, allowing Rigdon to score and give Vanderbilt the lead at 5-4.
Four runs, all with two outs. Jelkin came out after 5.2 innings, charged with the loss (8-3) after allowing seven hits, four earned runs, and three walks across 99 pitches.
“We’ve talked about it during the course of the year how oftentimes offense can get going because of a pitcher,” Corbin said. “[Kranzler] certainly did that.”
Alex Kranzler, the right-hander who had struggled early in the season but found his form down the stretch, entered in the top of the sixth and silenced Kentucky’s offense over 4.1 innings — one hit, one earned run, five strikeouts, on 55 pitches. He picked up the win to improve to 3-3.
“There’s always adjustments, whether things are going good or bad,” Kranzler said. “I’d say the main thing is me and Browny just kept talking. And the big, I guess, difference maker was stop focusing or worrying about stuff in the past, future — just kind of be where you are and kind of just use that.”
Corbin said Kranzler’s fastball velocity has ticked up from 92-93 mph early in the year to as high as 96 over recent outings, attributing the jump less to mechanics and more to rhythm. “He’s let himself go in some ways and he’s throwing more strikes. There’s no doubt about it. His strike percentage has elevated in last three weeks.”
Johnston seals it
Vanderbilt added two more runs in the bottom of the eighth. Rigdon stole third and scored on a throwing error by Kentucky catcher Owen Jenkins to make it 6-4. Two batters later, Johnston launched a two-run home run to left field — his second of the day with RBI on it — scoring Reynolds and pushing the lead to 8-4.
Kentucky avoided the shutout-of-the-rally in the top of the ninth when Jenkins singled to right-center, scoring Will Marcy to make the final 8-5, but the comeback never materialized.
Bell finished 2-for-4 with a home run and an RBI. Lawrence went 2-for-3 with a double and two RBI. Hansen also went 2-for-4 with a homer.
Mingione’s tournament resume case
For Nick Mingione, the 10th-year Kentucky head coach who guided the program to its first College World Series appearance in 2024, the postgame press conference became less about the loss than the program’s NCAA Tournament case. Kentucky enters Selection Monday with an RPI in the top 40 and quality wins, despite a sub-.500 SEC record.
“We beat the best teams. If you look at our resumé. In order to be considered one of the best teams, you have to beat them,” Mingione said. “There’s only three teams in the conference that beat every conference opponent on their schedule, that beat every team on their schedule — Georgia, Texas A&M and us. That’s pretty good company.”
Mingione’s most striking argument: “We’re 5-4 against the number-one projected seeds in the country. We have the 10th most wins against the top 30 RPI countries in the country — 10. We’re tied for 10th. Like, we’ve beat the best teams. Therefore, we’re one of the best teams.”
He also pushed back on the framing that Kentucky’s eight series losses outweigh its two series wins. “We’re five plays away from 18 SEC wins. Five. We had five one-run losses against deciding series. That’s how small the margin of victory is.”
Asked specifically about Bell and Jelkin, Mingione didn’t hold back. “Superstars, superstars. Literally, superstars. You talk about star power. And in order to be like we believe one of the best teams, right? Like, well, we are one of the best teams, okay? You’ve got to have the best players. Tyler, think about the list of first-team all-SEC shortstops in this league. The guy is a superstar. Best high school player I’ve ever coached. I’ve never coached a second-rounder. Like, second-rounders don’t literally just show up at school.”
“And Jaxon, there’s not a team in that tournament that’s, like, yes, I can’t wait to face Jaxon Jelkin. I mean these two guys will play in the big leagues. I’m confident of that.”
Bell, asked his message to teammates as Kentucky now waits on the selection committee: “Just stay consistent, keep grinding and be ready for whatever is next.”
The reaction
College baseball Reddit picked up on Vanderbilt’s sixth-inning surge in real time. A Texas A&M fan summarized Jelkin’s loss-of-rhythm collapse in five words: “Damn, that boi is Jelkin it.”
Florida fans watched their Wednesday opponent regain form. “Wheels falling off…” one wrote as Kentucky’s lead disintegrated, capturing the moment in just three words.
The first batter-initiated ABS challenge of the day was a successful overturn of an inside strike by Ryker Waite in the bottom of the sixth — a moment that became part of the inning’s rally narrative.
What’s next
Vanderbilt advances to face No. 5 Florida on Wednesday, May 20 at 2 p.m. ET on the SEC Network. The Gators, ranked No. 18 in the D1Baseball Top 25 at 37-18 (18-12 SEC), are led by SEC Pitcher of the Year Aidan King. The Vandy-Florida matchup is the second of four second-round games at Hoover.
“The first game of a tournament is always tough, regardless of whether it was last year, year before, I think,” Corbin said. “You win the first one, and it kind of relieves a little bit. They’ve been loose. And we’ve talked about it. It’s like the elephant in the room. They’re trying to play for Vanderbilt, and play to do something, and what I really asked them to do was get away from that and remove that from it.”
For Kentucky, the next destination is the team flight back to Lexington and the wait until next Monday at noon.
By the Numbers
Score: Vanderbilt 8, Kentucky 5 (FINAL)
Box score: Vanderbilt 12 H, 1 E · Kentucky 8 H, 2 E
Left on base: Vanderbilt 9, Kentucky 4
Weather: 87°F, partly cloudy
Attendance: 6,748
Pitching:
- Vanderbilt: Connor Fennell 4.2 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 5 K (90 pitches). Alex Kranzler (W, 3-3) 4.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K (55 pitches).
- Kentucky: Jaxon Jelkin (L, 8-3) 5.2 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 4 K (99 pitches). Jack Sams 1.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K (46 pitches). Nile Adcock 0.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K (18 pitches).
Hitting leaders:
- Vanderbilt: Brodie Johnston 2-4, HR, 3 RBI, 1 BB (leadoff debut). Tommy Goodin 2-5, 1 R. Rustan Rigdon 2-4, 2 SB, 1 RBI, 2 R. Colin Barczi 2-4, 2B, 1 RBI. Korbin Reynolds 1-3, 1 R, 1 HBP.
- Kentucky: Tyler Bell 2-4, HR, 2B, 1 RBI, 2 R. Luke Lawrence 2-3, 2B, 2 RBI, 1 HBP. Carson Hansen 2-4, HR, 1 RBI, 1 SB. Owen Jenkins 2-4, 1 RBI.
For More on the 2026 SEC Tournament
- Game 1 Recap: Missouri 10, Ole Miss 8
- How to Watch the SEC Baseball Tournament: TV, Streaming, Schedule, Bracket
- 2026 SEC Tournament Preview: Seeds No. 1-4
- 2026 SEC Tournament Preview: Seeds No. 5-8
- 2026 SEC Tournament Preview: Seeds No. 9-12
- 2026 SEC Tournament Preview: Seeds No. 13-16
2026 SEC Baseball Tournament Schedule
All times Eastern. Second game of each session begins approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first.
Tuesday, May 19 — First Round (SEC Network)
Game 1: No. 9 Ole Miss vs. No. 16 Missouri — 10:30 a.m. (Missouri 10, Ole Miss 8 — FINAL)
Game 2: No. 12 Vanderbilt vs. No. 13 Kentucky — 2 p.m. (Vanderbilt 8, Kentucky 5 — FINAL)
Game 3: No. 10 Tennessee vs. No. 15 South Carolina — 5:30 p.m.
Game 4: No. 11 Oklahoma vs. No. 14 LSU — 9 p.m.
Wednesday, May 20 — Second Round (SEC Network)
Game 5: Missouri vs. No. 8 Mississippi State — 10:30 a.m.
Game 6: Vanderbilt vs. No. 5 Florida — 2 p.m.
Game 7: Winner Game 3 vs. No. 7 Arkansas — 5:30 p.m.
Game 8: Winner Game 4 vs. No. 6 Auburn — 9 p.m.
Thursday, May 21 — Quarterfinals (SEC Network)
Game 9: Winner Game 5 vs. No. 1 Georgia — 4 p.m.
Game 10: Winner Game 6 vs. No. 4 Alabama — 8 p.m.
Friday, May 22 — Quarterfinals (SEC Network)
Game 11: Winner Game 7 vs. No. 2 Texas — 4 p.m.
Game 12: Winner Game 8 vs. No. 3 Texas A&M — 8 p.m.
Saturday, May 23 — Semifinals (SEC Network)
Game 13: Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10 — 1 p.m.
Game 14: Winner Game 11 vs. Winner Game 12 — 5 p.m.
Sunday, May 24 — Championship (ABC)
Game 15: Winner Game 13 vs. Winner Game 14 — 2 p.m.
