Vanderbilt University’s baseball team began its 2026 season at the Shriners Children’s College Showdown in Arlington, Texas, finishing the opening weekend with a 1-2 record. The Commodores lost narrowly to No. 10 TCU on Friday, 5-4, before defeating Texas Tech 13-3 in eight innings on Saturday. The team closed out the weekend with an 11-1 loss to Oklahoma State in eight innings on Sunday.
Over the three games, Vanderbilt hit nine home runs, tying for the most among Division I teams after the first weekend of play. Colin Barczi led the effort by hitting three home runs against TCU on Friday. This achievement made him the first Commodore since Connor Kaiser in 2018 to record three homers in a single game. Johnston contributed two home runs during Saturday’s win over Texas Tech, while Braden Holcomb drove in five runs during one inning of that same game. Newcomer Logan Johnstone had a strong debut, going 5-for-11 with a home run and two doubles across his first three games.
On the pitching side, all three starters delivered solid outings. Connor Fennell started Opening Day against TCU and allowed two runs on two hits over 5.1 innings while striking out seven and walking one batter. Austin Nye pitched four innings against Texas Tech, striking out six and allowing one unearned run. Nate Taylor made his Vanderbilt debut against Oklahoma State and gave up two runs on two hits over 4.1 innings with seven strikeouts.
The Commodores will return to Nashville this week for six consecutive home games at Hawkins Field. They are scheduled to play Eastern Michigan on Tuesday and Wednesday before hosting Marist for a three-game series from Friday through Sunday. All games will be available via streaming on SECN+.
