One of the keys to Vanderbilt’s 2019 CWS Championship season was roster stability from 2018’s team which came one half inning from reaching Omaha. We returned our entire weekend rotation of Drake Fellows, Patrick Raby, and Mason Hickman. Further, the only starting position player we lost to the draft was SS Connor Kaiser. Beyond that, we brought in another top recruiting class, as College World Series Most Outstanding Player Fr. RHP Kumar Rocker eschewed millions from MLB teams to play for the Commodores.
There was a reason we began and ended the season at #1.
It may be hard to believe—what with 12 of the 13 players drafted off the 2019 team signing deals with the teams that drafted them—but Vanderbilt will likely have more impact players returning and/or freshmen joining the program that any other team in NCAA baseball.