Vanderbilt Baseball has had their fair share of prominent alumnus over the years, notably including pitchers such as David Price, Walker Buehler and Sonny Gray. While all these individuals have made a marquee name for themselves, Dansby Swanson has been adamantly stockpiling and skillfully grounding tennis balls ever since he was born in the Peach State of Georgia.
Swanson has created reminiscent memories and has laid a plausible foundation for younger talent such as Kyle Wright, JJ Bleday, and more to carve out fantastic careers and perform extremely well. Here are the best college moments of the highest overall MLB draft pick to play at Vanderbilt.
Top Vanderbilt Baseball moments from Dansby Swanson
Swanson’s Jeter Play
Dansby Swanson has always been known for his tremendous glove, with no play more evident of that than his jump throw in the bottom of the ninth inning against Indiana in the 2015 NCAA Regionals.
Swanson takes immense strides and sprints to the ball before accurately throwing to the reaching first baseman for a single out. Talk about astounding athleticism on the side of Swanson. The play was a vivid reminder of prestigious Cooperstown inductee Derek Jeter, and just how ruthless and aggressive he was whether the game ball landed in the crowded stands or elsewhere.
Recruitment
It is every athlete’s dream to be recruited, whether that is MLB or college baseball, with Swanson being a highly-touted prospect out of Marietta High School in Georgia back in 2012.
Head coach Tim Corbin took a deliberate chance on Swanson and once said, “Dansby is a rare talent… he affects the game in so many different ways, whether it’s physically on the field or in the clubhouse. Plain and simple, he’s a winning baseball player. There isn’t much he can’t do well. He has a ‘care’ level for his personal game and the team, which naturally balances itself out. He’s a lot of fun to coach and watch and a tremendous student as well.”
Speaking of education, Swanson earned Honor Roll in most of his years at Vanderbilt. As coach said, Swanson became a transformative player, even considering the right handed batter and flamethrower went from a 38th round selection to a first round pick in the 2015 MLB Draft.
College Baseball World Series
During Swanson’s freshman year, he was not as productive. He started out gradually in his development by playing only 11 games and making 24 plate appearances, but that did not tentatively stop Swanson from excelling in arguably his best season ever for Vanderbilt when Nashville folks witnessed their hometown team win the 2014 College Baseball World Series.
“Dansby is a rare talent… he affects the game in so many different ways, whether it’s physically on the field or in the clubhouse. Plain and simple, he’s a winning baseball player. There isn’t much he can’t do well. He has a ‘care’ level for his personal game and the team, which naturally balances itself out. He’s a lot of fun to coach and watch and a tremendous student as well.”
Swanson became the Most Outstanding Player of the College World Series and hit .323 on average with five runs scored, three doubles and four stolen bases, which are not getting significantly bigger as MLB evidently proposed. After the 2014 season, Swanson was touted second and third team All American in arguably the best year of his career, leading Vanderbilt Baseball to two of their only championships throughout the 2010’s.
Junior Year
Even though Vanderbilt vehemently lost to Virginia in the national championship game, Swanson was confidently able to deploy a nice season in which he became one of four finalists, along with former teammate Carson Fulmer, for the Golden Spikes award, given to the nation’s top amateur baseball player.
Swanson also generated some really good numbers with a line of .335 batting average, 15 home runs and whopping 1.046 OPS to cap off an unforgettable legacy at Vanderbilt.