Vanderbilt Beats Ole Miss, Wins the SEC Championship

SEC Baseball. It Just Means More. The stage was set. Ole Miss and Vanderbilt, two of the hottest teams in the SEC, were ready to play and showcase who is the best in the SEC. 

Both of these teams had a hard path to get here. Ole Miss went through #19 Florida, #2 Arkansas, and #3 LSU, while Vanderbilt went through Oklahoma and #18-ranked Tennessee. Ole Miss had the more challenging path, but a team might not be playing better baseball right now. 

Let’s dive into the action! 

SEC Championship – Ole Miss vs. Vanderbilt

There were some high hopes for the pitching in this tournament, as both teams had guys who had pitched a lot this year available. Left-hander Walker Hooks took the mound for the Rebels, and he made 19 appearances this season and posted a 3.82 ERA.

Going for the Commodores was right-hander Austin Nye, who had 13 appearances and 13 games started and posted a 3.00 ERA this year while striking out 53 batters in 40 innings. 

Despite the pitching matchup, Vanderbilt didn’t waste any time getting on the board. Brodie Johnston hit an absolute rocket over the left field wall in the bottom of the first to give the Commodores a 2-0 lead early. 

Austin Nye was incredible on the bump for the Commodores. He spun 4.2 innings of one-run ball while striking out five. He ran into trouble in the fifth when he walked right fielder Hayden Federico and then hit shortstop Luke Cheng.

That led to Vandy going to the bullpen and bringing in lefty Miller Green. He quickly gave up a single to Mitchell Sanford, making it 2-1 Vandy. Coach Tim Corbin returned to the bullpen and brought in righty Luke Guth, who got Luke Hill to fly out, although it was crushed, you thought for a second Ole Miss would take the lead. Instead, it ended the inning.

Ole Miss’s Walker Hooks matched Nye for the most part, besides the two-run home run Johnston hit in the first. He tossed four innings of two two-run ball while giving up three hits and striking out three. Freshman Taylor Rabe replaced him in the bottom of the fifth. 

Jacob Humphrey wasted no time with the new pitcher. He hit a solo shot to right field that just cleared the wall near the foul pole to put Vandy up 3-1. 

In the top of the 7th, Ole Miss had one of its best chances to come back in this one. Luke Guth walked two batters, which put two on with one out. This led to Vandy attending the bullpen and bringing in junior Levi Huesman. Unfortunately for Ole Miss, he got Collin Reuter to ground in a double play, squashing any chances for the Rebels.

The Vandy bullpen continued to dominate. Following Huseman, Sawyer Hawks came into the game and shut down the top of Ole Miss’ lineup 1, 2, 3 in he top of the 8th.

The top of the ninth was a thriller. Sawyer Hawks returned to the mound to close it out for Vanderbilt. He struck out Judd Utermark to start, but then came Isaac Humphrey to the plate.

Humphrey launched a solo shot over the right field wall to give Ole Miss some hope. The Hawks then got Campbell Smithwick to pop out, and you thought things were going to get closed out, but then the Hawks walked both Austin Fawley and Hayden Federico with two outs.

The pressure was on, but Hawks didn’t cave. Brayden Randle came to the plate, and Hawks got him to pop out to centerfield to make Vanderbilt your 2025 SEC Baseball Champions!

The most impressive part of this Vanderbilt team is its ability to play defense and the consistency of the bullpen arms. It’s what makes them so good.

“They’re one of the best defensive teams we’ve ever had at Vanderbilt. You look up the middle, the strength of your team typically is up the middle,” Head Coach Tim Corbin said. “This guy (Jonathan Vastine) is the best shortstop. That guy’s (RJ Austin) the best center fielder. The catcher does a hell of a job. Second baseman. We’ve been back and forth with second basemen, but Rigdon has done a nice job controlling second base.

“I think the hallmark of any team, particularly today you get in championship game, you’ve got to pitch and you’ve gotta play defense,” Corbin finished off by saying

Vanderbilt had one hell of a run to end the 2025 college baseball regular season and the SEC tournament. They are now first in RPI and likely our upcoming number one team in our next top 2025 update.

Ole Miss has nothing to be disappointed about coming out of this tournament. They played as well as anybody the entire time. As we mentioned earlier, they got huge wins over Arkansas, #19 Florida, #2 Arkansas, and #3 LSU to get to the championship game.

“I’m really proud of our guys, not just for today but the way we played this week, and really in the last few weeks,” Head Coach Mike Bianco said, “We really have played some good baseball and we feel we’re in a good spot heading into next week.”

There is a good chance that Ole Miss will host a regional after this weekend. Friday night, ace Hunter Elliott was asked what it would mean for him, a hometown kid, to play a regional in Oxford.

“It would mean a lot. I’ve never played postseason baseball in Oxford. I’ve heard it’s truly special.,” Elliott said. It would be one of the best environments in college baseball next weekend.”

Things are trending in the right direction for Ole Miss, which will look to make a massive splash in the NCAA Baseball Tournament.

SEC Tournament Awards

Following the game, the SEC handed out all conference team awards and the MVP of the tournament. Here’s who won: 

SEC Tournament MVP

3B Brodie Johnston, Vanderbilt

Stats: 4-for-12, 2 R, HR, 2 RBI

It was no question that Brodie Johnston would take home the tournament MVP after hitting the massive two-run blast that put Vanderbilt on top in the championship game against Ole Miss. Johnston has been a power staple for this Vanderbilt team that doesn’t hit many home runs. He had an incredible run all tournament, and it was more than well-deserving.

SEC All-Tournament MVP

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