Vanderbilt vs UCLA: 2023 SEC Baseball series preview, prediction

One of two ranked-vs-ranked matchups this weekend involving an SEC baseball team, Vanderbilt is set to host UCLA in a high-profile showdown between two of college baseball’s top conferences.

Vanderbilt vs UCLA: 2023 SEC Baseball series preview, prediction

When: Friday, February 24 – Sunday, February 26 on SEC Network+

Where: Hawkins Field, Nashville, TN

Ranked as the No. 10 overall team in the country according to D1Baseball.com, Vanderbilt, who is one of SEC baseball’s most talented teams, enters the weekend coming off a 3-2 start to the 2023 season. The Commodores originally began the year with a 2-1 showing in the College Baseball Showdown that included a loss to TCU, as well as wins over Oklahoma State and Texas, but are coming off a split midweek that included a 5-4 loss to Central Arkansas, along with a win over UAB.

The Commodores lineup is led by one of college baseball’s top outfielders in Enrique Bradfield Jr., as well as infielder Jonathan Vastine, who currently leads Vanderbilt with a .444 AVG, two HR, and eight RBI. Freshman infielder RJ Austin and catcher Alan Espinal are also Vanderbilt’s lone other .300+ hitters at the moment, while outfielder Calvin Hewitt has been a factor so far on the basepaths, currently a perfect six-for-six on stolen base attempts.

Vanderbilt’s weekend rotation will likely feature names such as Devin Futtrell, Carter Holton, and Hunter Owen, while Nick Maldonado is a familiar name in the Commodores bullpen. Two others in Bryce Cunningham and David Horn could also be names to know as well, both of which have thrown at-least three scoreless innings of relief this season.

UCLA comes to Nashville ranked as the nation’s No. 17 team according to D1Baseball.com, with the Bruins currently sitting at an undefeated 4-0. The Bruins originally began the season with a dominant home sweep over Omaha last weekend, and was followed by a 11-2 home win over Pepperdine on Tuesday.

The Bruins lineup enters the weekend owning a combined .349 AVG as a team, led by three .500+ hitters in JonJon Vaughns, Duce Gourson, and Jack Holman. Infielder Kyle Karros also leads UCLA with nine RBI for the year, with Daylen Reyes and Malakhi Knight also hitting at-least .300 this season.

UCLA’s weekend rotation of Jake Brooks, Alonzo Tredwell, and Kelly Austin was dominant to begin the year against Omaha, with Tredwell in particular having struck out 10 batter over six innings. The Bruins also have two relievers to potentially watch for in Cody Delvecchio and Chris Aldrich, both of which have made three scoreless appearances this season.

As for a prediction on who wins this series, this is certainly going to a three-day span in which Vanderbilt will be tested against what is a very good UCLA team. I’ll say that the Bruins win at-least one game in Nashville, but Vanderbilt still leaves with a series victory.

Prediction: Vanderbilt 2-1