Vanderbilt picks up two pitchers in the transfer portal

Shortly after being eliminated from the NCAA Tournament, the Vanderbilt Commodores got off to an early start in the transfer portal by getting two pitchers to commit to the team. These new arms are the first two to commit to Vanderbilt in this new recruiting cycle.

Vanderbilt finished the 2024 season with an overall record of 38-23 with a conference record of 13-17. This wasn’t great, but it got them into the NCAA Tournament. They failed to win a game in the tournament, which resulted in changes at the hitting coach position. Head Coach Tim Corbin knew that he needed to make changes to the team.

Part of the change was heavily targeting players in the transfer portal. Last year, the Commodores only picked up four players in the portal. Corbin has already got half of the 2023 transfer class in just a few days.

Improving the pitching depth was important for Vanderbilt as their depth was tested in 2024 with lots of injuries. Let’s go over these two new arms to join the Commodores.

Cody Bowker, Georgetown

Cody Bowker is a sophomore right handed pitcher from Georgetown University. He was one of the consistent arms in Georgetowns pitching staff as he performed well in the rotation and in the bullpen.

Bowker has been a consistently good arm for Georgetown for two seasons. In those two years, Bowker has a 6-2 record with an earned run average of 2.80 in 90 innings pitched and struck out 106 batters. Opponents batted .219 against him and his WHIP was at 1.26.

These are some solid numbers that could provide a lot of reliability for Vanderbilt in whatever role he is given. Whether it is in the rotation or out of the bullpen, Cody Bowker has been solid.

Tommy O’Rourke, Stanford

Tommy O’Rouke is graduate student from Stanford University. He is a right handed pitcher, but has not appeared in a game since 2022. He has dealt with injuries for two consecutive seasons.

O’Rourke was a very big piece of the Stanford bullpen in 2021 and 2022. In those two seasons, O’Rourke had a 4-5 record with an earned run average of 4.26 in 57 innings pitched and struck out 60 batters. Opponents had a batting average of .235 against him and his WHIP was at 1.50.

Although he allowed a lot of baserunners, he still is a solid arm to have. If Vanderbilt can get him back in the groove of games, then he could solidify himself a spot in the bullpen. With his injury history, his health will be a big thing to pay attention to.

This is not it for the transfer portal. Tim Corbin still looks to get a few more bigger names.

There are still lots of players looking for a new school to play for in 2025. So far, Vanderbilt has increased their pitching depth with two solid arms.