Vanderbilt baseball kept key pieces in transfer portal window. Who left, who is back
· Yahoo Sports
The transfer portal is closed for Vanderbilt baseball, and it's mostly good news.
The Commodores didn't lose anyone the caliber of Camden Kozeal or Ethan McElvain to the portal like in previous years, though a few contributors did exit. Vanderbilt retained its offensive core of Brodie Johnston, Ryker Waite and Rustan Rigdon.
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So far, Vanderbilt has added five players through the transfer portal − Bud Coombs, Niko Brini, Hunter Ray, Blaize Ward and Gavin Lauridsen. Players already in the portal still have until the fall semester starts to commit, and the Commodores tend to add 2-3 more transfers each July and August.
Here are the players who are staying with, and exiting, the Commodores:
Who's returning to Vanderbilt baseball in 2027
Vanderbilt's key retentions include third baseman Brodie Johnston, who hit .333 with 15 home runs a season ago; shortstop Ryker Waite, an elite defender who had a .305 batting average and 13 stolen bases; and Rustan Rigdon, who has a strong glove at both shortstop and center field.
Catcher/DH Mack Whitcomb said he would be returning after a season in which he hit .323 with three home runs in just 79 plate appearances as injuries to himself and Colin Barczi cut into his playing time. Korbin Reynolds, who took over the starting catcher job in his stead, is also returning.
On the pitching side, Vanderbilt will return all of its second-year pitchers: Wyatt Nadeau, Tyler Baird, Connor Hamilton, Aiden Stillman, Nate Schlote and Adria Casoliba. Nadeau, Baird and Hamilton all topped 30 innings in 2026 and have the chance to be starters or high-leverage relievers in 2027. Stillman was invited to Team USA training camp, though he'll need to throw more strikes after walking 18 batters in 14 innings in 2026. Schlote and Casoliba project as bullpen arms.
Also returning are Austin Nye, England Bryan and Matthew Shorey. Expected to be three of the Commodores' top arms, all three missed the majority of the season because of injuries. They combined for just 21⅓ innings. Shorey got healthy by the end of the season, while Nye and Bryan had internal brace surgery that clouded their outlooks.
Nate Taylor will also return. An attempted conversion to the rotation after transferring from Georgia didn't go well and he put up an 8.89 ERA. But other pitchers, like Sawyer Hawks and Levi Huesman, have broken out in their second year after transferring.
Who has a draft decision to make for Vanderbilt baseball
Several players with eligibility left have draft decisions to make this offseason. Braden Holcomb, the outfielder who hit .352 with 14 home runs in 2026, is expected to turn pro, but there are several others who could return.
Two of Vanderbilt's top power hitters, catcher/DH Colin Barczi and first baseman Tommy Goodin, are draft eligible but with multiple seasons of NCAA eligibility remaining. Barczi hit .263 with 11 home runs while dealing with a shoulder injury and Goodin hit .287 with 12 home runs after winning the starting job partway through the season. Goodin, a draft-eligible redshirt freshman, seems likely to return, but a strong stint in the Cape Cod League in which he's hit .320 with three homers through 14 games, could garner him some interest.
On the pitching side, Connor Fennell and Alex Kranzler both have decisions to make. Fennell started 15 games with a 4.95 ERA and Kranzler made 19 appearances with a 6.18 ERA but was much better in the second half of the season. A stint in the MLB Draft League raised Kranzler's stock significantly and he seems likely to be drafted. Fennell should have opportunities to turn pro, but another year in college with NIL could pay off.
Who transferred out of Vanderbilt baseball
While many of Vanderbilt's 10 portal entries were players who saw minimal playing time, the Commodores did lose a few contributors.
Most notable were its trio of third-year relievers: Miller Green, Luke Guth and Brennan Seiber. Green missed most of 2026 due to injury and Guth struggled in 2026, but Green was a standout in 2024 and Guth in 2025. Seiber never had a particularly high ceiling, but he ate a lot of innings with his sinker-slider combo.
Although none of those were needle-moving losses on their own, the loss of all three means that Vanderbilt is very light on experience on the pitching staff. If Fennell and Kranzler don't return, the Commodores won't have any pitchers with more than 61 career college innings.
Of the four position players who transferred out, Carter Johnstone was the one who had the most potential impact, though he hit just .143 in 2026 and was unlikely to have a starting spot in the infield.
Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at [email protected] or on X @aria_gerson.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Vanderbilt baseball kept key pieces in transfer portal window. Who left, who is back